Make store openings something to celebrate

For decades I only knew one kind of new store or remodel opening. It was called a grand opening, and it was just that — a powerful, well-promoted event and, as some say, “all that and a bag of chips.”

A grand opening was indeed all that. It was a web of colorful pennants strung from the store to parking lot lights. It was smoke rising from multiple barbecue cookers or chili roasters positioned on the front sidewalk, the rich aroma wafting out to the street and beyond. A grand opening was announced on circular flyers, in the media and at the store, with giant “Now Open” or “Grand Opening!” banners, sometimes accompanied by special lighting at night.

All this was before a customer even entered the store, where we did our best to stop the shoppers in their tracks as they walked around the aisles, speechless or at the very least, compelled to say, “Wow!” at every turn, at every display.

That’s my recollection of every major grand opening. We hit the ground running.

I’ve also worked for a couple of retail organizations that, in effect, dipped only their big toe in the water, barely creating a ripple, testing to see if shopping conditions were indeed safe to proceed. I have to admit I was not a fan of this — the “soft opening.”

Related: Read more insight from Armand Lobato

A soft opening, as so succinctly described in a Google search, is a trial run for the actual operation with more limited access to features of your facility (or store). This event has less promotion and is sometimes restricted to a few customers.

This produce scribe’s humble opinion? If you have to run a trial period, you’re admitting that you’re not fully prepared.

OK, maybe that’s a bit harsh.

I can understand a soft opening in certain circumstances, such as a smaller independent with new everything to begin with, especially a newer register system, updated technology or some other untested procedures that could use some “live” time before opening the floodgates of a multimillion-dollar investment to the rigors of a larger-scale grand opening. I understand.

However, going through a soft opening in a chain with time-tested equipment and seasoned employees? I’m compelled to ask why — why subject yourself to the stress of what is essentially multiple opening events?

The cons of hosting a soft opening for a retail store? I can attest to a few:

• Customer confusion — Are you open for business or not? “The banner says your grand opening is next week. Do the opening promotion prices still apply? Will you be closed before that date?”
• Stock conditions — Especially with perishable departments like produce. You can only make all the displays absolutely flawless once. In subsequent grand opening attempts, the reworked efforts can come close, but the effort never quite captures the same magic.
• Sanitation — A soft opening takes enough of the shine off the chrome, dulls the perfect sheen on produce racks and tables just enough so that the actual grand opening is nice enough but never quite the same as when your business throws that all-powerful switch to make the store go live for the first time.

I found it interesting that one organization I (briefly) worked for at one time had both a grocery side and what they called a “hardlines” goods side, and that the executives said they routinely favored a soft opening — a tradition that originated in their hardline-only days. A curious contradiction of terms, anyway, considering a customer gets to experience the new car smell or that new home sensory perception but once.

Along these lines, I propose a retailer has but one chance to make that great first impression.

Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His 40 years of experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions.