Anta’s first 10th-generation flagship store premiered on the prominent pedestrian section of Shanghai’s East Nanjing Road in the Fall of 2020. A collaborative effort between Anta’s design team and Gensler Shanghai, this store promotes Anta’s status as the official outfitter for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and serves as a pivot towards the international sports market. After researching consumer trends, the Gensler design team discovered that the Chinese target audience’s strongest connection to the health-conscious movement is in the gym, as opposed to the oft over-used stadium concept. The gym as inspiration led to many design features: a series of retail fixtures that recall training equipment, digitally activated installations evocative of stopwatches, and sports mark super-graphics on the walls. All of these solidly anchor Anta in the consumer’s mind as a partner in achieving fitness goals. This kit of parts was the first realization of a national rollout effort that will eventually reach the over 10,000 stores in the Anta portfolio. At some point in this historic building’s life, the interior structure was changed from three floors to four floors. We were challenged to restore the building’s floor count to three, entirely changing the interior structure while respecting and repairing the original façade. We highlighted the existing façade’s historic style, contrasting it with the futuristic interiors, a distinct strategy that makes it feel at home along this famous pedestrian thoroughfare. Transforming the challenges of vertical circulation into a design opportunity led to the creation of the Sneaker Mezzanine. The workhorse of the space, the Sneaker Mezzanine allowed the store to double the amount of retail space dedicated to Anta’s key product: sneakers. The mezzanine serves as a key visual draw through the space, inviting guests to continue the consumer experience upwards, while simultaneously holding fitting and stock rooms underneath. Seamlessly merging all these functions together resulted in a memorable retail experience that sets the store apart. The highlight of the space is a bespoke animated digital shoe wall. This oversized installation features over 600 cast-resin shoes representing a selection of the most iconic shoes in Anta’s history. Each shoe contains an imbedded LED which combine together to form a dynamic “screen” that constantly animates the space, reflecting on the glass balustrades of the sneaker mezzanine to give a strong digital feel to the entire space. The many different design features of this next generation store work together to create a whole that strongly resonates with the client and the target market, representing China’s deepening appreciation for sports and fitness. As an iconic company, this store is a key first step in the brand’s ambition to pivot towards the international market.