Brooks Is Opening Its First Store In Mainland China. Here’s How it Plans to Grow Market Share There
Brooks has officially opened its first store in Mainland China.
The more than 1,200-sq.-ft. store, located in the Kerry Center shopping mall in Shanghai, had a soft opening in mid-July, but celebrated its official grand opening last week in conjunction with the launch of Brooks’ new Glycerin Max running shoe.
“We targeted this location because in addition to being a strong retail outlet, it gives us the opportunity to use it as a running hub for run crews and run clubs after work or on the weekends,” Justin Dempsey-Chiam, Brooks’ general manager of international markets, told FN in an interview. The mall in which the store is based is situated next to Century Park, the largest park in Shanghai with a five-kilometer running loop.
In designing the store, Brooks hired L.L. Lab, a Shanghai based architecture firm, to create the feel of a runner’s vantage point while heading towards a horizon. The concepts complements the brand’s new “Let’s Run There” marketing expression that encourages people to celebrate the power of the run and to reach their own destinations. The store will also take advantage of its eye-catching hero displays to promote the latest product launches from Brooks every 60 days or so. In addition to the store, Brooks will utilize other marketing opportunities around the mall to advertise its new store and products to consumers.
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Brooks relaunched in China in spring 2022 after it exited the region in 2019 following a legal dispute with Anta Sports.
Since then, Brooks’ business in China has been almost entirely online, with the exception of some local pop-up activations as well as a presence at some running events and races. In China, the athletic-wear and sneaker market is mainly composed of mono brand stores as opposed to multi-brand retailers. So with the opening of its new store in the region, Brooks is learning as it goes and making adjustments based on the needs of its new clientele.
“Monobrand retail, for us, is going to be a fast and furious learning curve,” Dempsey-Chiam told FN. “We’ll be iterating based on store performance, but also on consumer feedback.”
Looking ahead, Brooks plans to open between one and two more stores in China in the first half of 2025, including a second store in Shanghai and one in Beijing. As Dempsey-Chiam explained, the brand is intentionally taking a slow approach to its retail rollout in China in order to find the best possible retail locations. In the back half of 2025 and through spring 2026, Brooks plans to eventually partner with a retail operator in China that will open stores and sell products on behalf of the brand to generate a faster expansion.
“China is the second largest running market in the world and we’re just getting started,” Dempsey-Chiam said. “It’s obviously a priority for a brand that just does running. We’re hyper focused on building our capabilities and business there.”
Brooks is also bolstering its Shanghai office that it opened in 2022 and adding team members focused on localized marketing and merchandising for the new stores in China.
“It’s going to further round out Brooks’ global capabilities,” Dempsey-Chiam said of the new push in China. “As we address regional needs, it will benefit our entire product line and how we show up as a brand globally. Essentially, it’s another touch point or learning lab for Brooks to tap into that running market.”
