[First in SH] GiGO, Lay's, Keds & Vann Valrence Land in SH

First in Shanghai is a column about Shanghai's "debut economy," which emphasizes being first, fast and everywhere. The policy project has become a citywide phenomenon combining economic planning and cultural spectacle. This series will examine how local and international companies are using Shanghai to launch goods and create experiences. Its retail is ritual, and commerce is an event, and we're here to explain what it all means. Here are some of the latest "first stores" to launch in the city.

At some point Shanghai stopped being a city where you shop and became a city where you participate. You don't buy sneakers, you visit the sneaker brand's "first China store." You don't grab a bag of chips, you dine at the chip brand's farm-to-table concept restaurant. You don't play arcade games, you enter the gaming oasis. This is either exhausting or exhilarating depending on your disposition and how long you've lived here. GiGO, Calix X Lay's, Keds, and Vann Valrence are the latest to make their case. Read on.

GiGO

GiGO lands in the basement of Bailian ZX on Nanjing Rd E., which is either a bold location choice or a very on-brand one, depending on how you feel about Nanjing Rd E. The brand is Japanese (under Genda Group), and the name is an acronym: Get Into the Gaming Oasis. Someone in a boardroom approved that. Respect.

What it actually is: a claw machine arcade that has grown too ambitious to be called a claw machine arcade. There are claw machines, yes, but also capsule toy stations, IP collaboration cafes, a taiyaki shop with character theming, themed photo spots, and original merchandise. The full taxonomy of contemporary Japanese amusement culture, transplanted to B1, where you descend via a staircase playing GiGO promotional video on loop.

The pitch is that you come in stressed and leave having forgotten your worries. Whether a capsule toy and a fish-shaped waffle accomplish that is between you and your therapist. But as a first China store goes, it's a serious one.

If you go...

Address: B1, Bailian ZX, 340 Nanjing Rd E.

南京东路340号百联ZXB1

Calix X Lay's | 乐事土豆餐厅

The country's first Lay's Potato Restaurant opened in Xintiandi in late March and has been packed ever since. May Day holiday: near capacity. Random Tuesday: presumably the same. This is the reality of the Shanghai debut economy and Lay's, a brand you have eaten out of a bag on a train, has figured it out.

The concept is "farm to table," which here means potatoes, taken seriously, across an entire menu, inside a room designed to make you feel something about potatoes. There is art. There are interactive elements. There is, presumably, a lifestyle angle. Xintiandi was the right call.

The menu does what it needs to do. A Spanish-style potato cake, cheesy potato balls, a chocolate crispy potato youtiao (that one's on the late-night top three, which tells you something about the crowd and the hour). Four limited-edition mashed potato flavors, of which the "Polato" has moved nearly a thousand servings. A brand that sells chips has apparently figured out mashed potatoes.

The drinks are where it gets interesting. Someone at Lay's decided to put potatoes in the coffee. Not metaphorically. Creamy foam with potato aroma over espresso, savory meeting roasted, a combination that should not work and apparently does. The source of this information is their own PR, so calibrate accordingly, but the fact that people keep ordering it suggests it's at least not offensive.

Merchandise available, naturally.

If you go...

Address: 10-12, Lane 181, Taicang Rd

太仓路181弄10-12号

Keds

Keds opened its first China store at Hopson One, the Yangpu mall anchoring the Wujiaochang end of town that most people in Puxi would only visit if they had a very specific reason to. This is a very specific reason. Now, we don't want to downplay Wujiaochang. It is actually a very active commercial center with its own energy. The crowds here skew young, given that this area of the Yangpu District is packed with universities. Now, onto Keds...white walls, a colorful block logo, clean interiors, a room that looks exactly like you'd expect a Keds store to look. They know what they are.

The brand is 109 years old, which is either impressive or just a number depending on how you feel about sneaker heritage. The name was supposed to be "Peds," from the Latin for feet, but that was taken, so they swapped in a K from "Kids" and called it done. This is the kind of origin story that sounds better after a few drinks but is genuinely charming in print.

The claim to fame is the Champion, introduced in 1916: canvas upper, rubber sole, the first mass-produced sneaker of its kind. The word "sneakers" itself comes from Keds, or at least from shoes like it, the rubber sole quiet enough that you could sneak up on someone. A century later, this is mostly a trivia answer, but it's a good one.

The celebrity roster is what you'd expect from a brand that has been around long enough to accumulate icons by accident: Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Olympic athletes, and then in 2012, Taylor Swift, which is where "classic Americana" becomes "contemporary fashion" and the brand finds a new generation of customers. Kate Spade collaborations followed. The formula works.

If you go...

Address: B1, Hopson One, 1099 Xiangyin Rd

翔殷路1099号合生汇B1层

Vann Valrence

Pan Shengxuan (潘圣轩), who goes by Vann, started the brand in Shanghai in 2020, coming out of magazine and celebrity styling work. That background shows: Vann Valrence is clothes that know how to be looked at, bold color combinations, and silhouettes that read clearly in a photo and, allegedly, hold up in person. The brand calls this "avant-garde yet practical," which is what every designer says, but the celebrity and influencer traction suggests something is landing.

The first directly operated store is at TX Huaihai, which is the right address for a young Shanghai label with ambitions. The occasion also brings the brand's first knitwear ready-to-wear collection, each piece representing, per the brand, a unique interpretation of beauty where individuality and functionality come together seamlessly. You know how this goes. Go see for yourself.

If you go...

Address: TX Huaihai, 523 Huaihai Rd M.

淮海中路523号TX淮海