New Balance turns race preparation into a shared ritual with Runners Table in Copenhagen. Built around food, running and community, the experience places performance product within the everyday culture surrounding the sport. From communal dining and workshops to local ingredients and the SC Rebel, it shows how brands can earn a meaningful role in the rituals runners already value beyond the miles.

New Balance reimagines the performance shoe launch as a London street market for the SC Rebel. Inside Phonica Records, product trial sits alongside food, music, floristry, customisation and running culture, creating a tactile world rooted in Soho and the city beyond. More than a launch, the experience shows how product, place and community can work together to make performance feel culturally relevant and physically memorable.

New Balance builds a permanent home, not just a store, at The Grove. A staircase runs past an athlete wall, turning circulation into storytelling, while sequenced programming, a listening lounge, a café, a capsule machine, keeps giving people new reasons to return. Leadership frames retail as belief-building, not selling. The lesson: a flagship becomes infrastructure once it outlives its own opening weekend.

On builds its first Brazilian stores out of São Paulo's own concrete. JK Iguatemi channels SESC Pompeia's brutalist textures; MorumbiShopping translates Oscar Niemeyer's Copan Building into flow and rhythm. Two distinct references, not one repeated template, giving Swiss design DNA somewhere local to land. Framed as gathering places for movement, not just retail, these stores are core infrastructure for a brand growing its owned channels globally.

Swiss performance brand On has opened its first UAE store at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai — a 265 sqm space featuring the brand's full CloudTec® footwear, apparel, and accessories offer. The opening marks On's third GCC location following Riyadh and Kuwait, with nine more planned across the region. What sets it apart is the community that was already there long before the doors opened.

ASICS turned walking into a four-stage video game. Its Chengdu pop-up builds an entire urban streetscape around the new GEL-PHAI Z, splitting the journey into an Energy Station, a Photography Booth, a Paced Research Institute, and a Teamwork Game Center. By building around walking, not running, ASICS found the one action requiring no skill or training to join — and made an everyday habit feel worth showing up for.

Onitsuka Tiger's new Shinjuku flagship, its largest ever, doesn't compress the brand into one register, it gives heritage, runway, and formalwear their own floor, own materials, own atmosphere. Behind the Tiger Yellow facade sits a 43% sales jump and a fresh subsidiary spinoff. And tucked into a museum-grade space, a capsule toy machine proves even the biggest flagship can still make room for a game.

New Balance's Chengdu installation pairs a century of shoemaking with Daoming bamboo weaving, and the metaphor holds because it's technically true, both crafts bear strength through flexibility, shaping form through interlaced layers. Visitors trace provenance before product, watching cushioning technology rendered as kinetic sculpture and craft tools displayed side by side. The result proves heritage rather than simply asserting it.

For the seventh consecutive year, Golden Goose has completely reinvented its Forte dei Marmi flagship, this time as Frutteria Golden, an immersive Italian fruit market with wooden crates, chalk signage, and its signature Co-Creation studio. The address never changes. Everything inside it does. It's a masterclass in turning a single physical space into a renewable cultural asset, and a reminder that the best retail question isn't how to attract customers, but what makes them c

Performance retail is entering a new era where stores function less as sales floors and more as cultural hubs. On’s Stockholm flagship captures this shift perfectly, blending Swiss precision with Scandinavian minimalism and community-led programming. From architecture inspired by the city itself to weekly run clubs and movement sessions, the space shows how modern sportswear brands are using physical retail to build identity, belonging and emotional connection beyond the prod

In Hangzhou, HOKA transforms its trail-running DNA into a fully immersive “Antelope Space,” where mountain spirit meets urban culture. Built around the SPEEDGOAT franchise, the activation blends rock textures, community workshops, and social spaces to create retail as participation, not display. The result is a narrative-led environment where product, people, and purpose converge, redefining how performance brands show up in the physical world.

Level Shoes’ takeover of BKRY in Dubai is a masterclass in "Lifestyle-Integrated Retail." To launch an exclusive New Balance 204L, the brand traded the mall for a sourdough bakespace. Featuring workshops, QR-enabled shopping, and custom bread-basket packaging, the four-day activation prioritised community over transaction. By merging the craft of baking with sneaker heritage, Level Shoes has created a high-dwell-time sanctuary that proves the future of retail is delicious.

New Balance’s "Run House" in Rome is a masterclass in Legacy Reactivation. By transforming the 15th-century Corsie Sistine into a wellness and recovery hub for the marathon weekend, the brand returned the historic hospital to its original purpose: care. Blending breathwork, product discovery, and community runs with Roman culture, the activation moved the needle from pure performance to holistic wellbeing, creating a high-dwell-time sanctuary in the heart of the Eternal City.

On’s first standalone flagship in South Korea, located in Seoul’s vibrant Hannam district, is a masterclass in atmospheric retail. Inspired by the city’s nighttime running routes, the three-level space features a "cinematic urban landscape" of reflective surfaces and Han River-inspired lighting. With a dedicated basement running hub for community engagement and the debut of LightSpray™ technology, On has created a cultural anchor where performance meets Seoul’s kinetic spirit

Shoe Palace has opened its high-end "Nine Three" Flagship on Melrose Avenue, a concept that merges sneaker culture with the mystique of a Prohibition-era speakeasy. Featuring a private lounge for tastemakers and a design palette of marble, stone, and soft pastels, the store moves beyond traditional retail into an immersive "experience-destination." It’s a masterclass in heritage-led storytelling that positions the brand as a premier cultural curator.

On’s first Kuwait flagship at The Avenues Mall is a 440sqm "Movement Hub." Beyond showcasing the brand's full Swiss-engineered range, the space is designed to foster local fitness culture through hosted runs and a strategic partnership with Barry’s. By featuring Kuwaiti Olympian Amal Al-Roumi, the brand anchors its global "Dream On" philosophy in local excellence. It’s a masterclass in how premium brands can scale across the GCC through community-first retail.

The On Pop-Up Bali in Pererenan is a masterclass in "Contextual Retail." Moving beyond simple product display, the space serves as a community hub featuring coastal runs, strength classes, and a smoothie collaboration with local brand Lenny’s. Centred by a 3D-printed Alpine rock installation reinterpreted by Balinese artist Jemana Murti, the space bridges Swiss precision and island tradition. It is an open, inclusive environment designed for the "movement-first" lifestyle of

adidas Originals brings Lunar New Year to life with an immersive Spring Festival experience at Fotografiska Shanghai, blending youth culture, design, and heritage. Showcasing the China-exclusive Anfu and CHANGLE shoes, the activation fuses local insight, symbolic storytelling, and product innovation. It’s a strong example of how physical brand experiences can celebrate culture, create emotional connection, and turn retail into a meaningful, modern ritual.

On expands its London footprint with a new Kensington store, reinforcing the city as its most important global retail market. Positioned by Hyde Park, the space connects performance product with local running culture. Clean, site-specific design and integrated product storytelling turn the store into a community hub, not just a shop. A strong example of how future retail blends function, place and brand experience.

On’s first Spanish flagship in Madrid marks a key step in its evolution from performance disruptor to premium lifestyle brand. Set within a historic Salamanca building, the store balances local heritage with On’s clean, technical design language. Monochrome interiors, precise lighting and a full head-to-toe offer create a calm, performance-led environment. More than retail, the space acts as a community hub, using run clubs and movement to turn brand into lived experience.

adidas redefines performance retail with Adizero House of Fast at Kite Beach, transforming a runner-favourite route into a fully functional brand ecosystem. More than a pop-up, it’s a community hub for training, recovery and connection, blending product with purpose. It is a clear example of future retail where brands add real value by embedding themselves into everyday culture, not just selling into it.

Salomon’s global flagship in Chengdu’s Taikoo Li reimagines outdoor retail as a cultural experience. Blending skiing and trail running, the two-storey space fuses French performance heritage with Eastern imagination through a “Gateway to the Stars” concept. Immersive architecture, layered light, and multisensory touchpoints transform the store into a lifestyle hub, not just a place to shop. A strong example of how future retail becomes experiential, local, and community-drive

adidas Hybrid Hotel in East London redefines brand activations: a free, immersive recovery space blending red-light therapy, coaching, supplements, and The Circuit Suite for elite product testing. It turns wellness into experience, making performance accessible to all while deepening brand connection and showcasing future retail possibilities. This is experiential retail at its best, interactive, purposeful, and human-centred.

New Balance’s renovated Harajuku flagship shows how physical retail becomes a true brand home. More than a store, it’s a living expression of craft, community and identity. The space blends heritage with future performance, proving retail isn’t about transactions but connection. By creating a human, timeless environment, New Balance turns its flagship into a cultural touchpoint where brand, story and experience come alive.