New store openings can be more than a little stressful.
There are the festivities, food and drink, press releases, the media and--oh,
wait--shoppers! New stores need consumers, which often means coming up with
clever grand opening giveaways and events. Sure, 99 Cents Stores give away
iPods and that seems to work for them, but what about stores with merchandise
far over 99 cents?
Sergio Rossi set the bar much higher for all retailers with his
recent Melrose Place store opening in California. He chose a nice, elegant
celebrity guest list--Salma Hayek and Vanessa Williams were the biggies--and
sent them goods from his luxurious footwear and accessories collections. Then,
he invited them, wearing his collections of course, to an intimate dinner at a
swanky restaurant. And if a picture
really is worth a 1,000 words, then Rossi got his 1,000 words. There are now
photos of Salma clasping his red patent leather clutch and wearing patent leather and silk platforms
from Rossi's new S/S collection. Nice work Sergio!
But, it gets better. Salma and friends then noshed on a
five-course meal, and from there were whisked off to a decadent shopping spree
at Rossi's new store. Did I mention that Teri Weinberg and Marc Abrams of NBC
were also present? Um, yeah. Afterwards, Rossi autographed all the celebs'
shoes.
Shameless? Maybe. Genius? Absolutely.
So now that Rossi slapped us all in the face with a fabulous
opening--one that was sure to garner press (I'm writing about it, after all)
and increased store awareness--I'm now in search of an even bigger and better
opening. After a quick brainstorming session, I came up with the ideas below
for store opening events:
-Come by and get your picture taken with Carmen Electra
(who's covered head to toe in your goodies).
-Free chocolate truffles, all day long.
-Sing with the Dixie Chicks and receive an autographed CD. (P.S. They're decked
out in your clothes!)
-On-site massages and a goodie bag filled with teases for
larger store purchases, i.e. sassy luggage tag if you sell travel gear.
-In-store brunch for the first 20 guests while everyone else
peers in from outside. Then private shopping time for up to two hours.
-Meet Regis Philben at our grand opening (who doesn't love
Regis?!)
-Give Simon Cowell the tongue lashing he deserves, come to
our opening and tell him what you really think!
-Have a midnight sleepover and shop-a-thon at our grand
opening with Ellen DeGeneres. Live DJ all night long.
What do you think? Have a fantastic idea for a store opening
promotion that can even top Rossi's fabulousity? Leave a comment here with your
ideas.
--Heather Strang
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