The decision to conduct a silent versus grand opening any retail outlet is driven by internal operational and marketing goals. A silent opening gives the staff an opportunity to work the bugs out of the system before a full flow of foot traffic is established. However, it can also minimize initial sales, as well as media coverage associated with a grand opening. More often than not, it is ideal to conduct both a quiet opening and a grand opening, typically within a few days or a week of each other.

A grand opening sets the stage to generate media coverage and build store traffic that will establish initial sales and traffic patterns for customers. And while it is a bad idea to open any retail outlet without some initial prep for the sales team, this can be done over a few days beginning with an invitation-only pre-opening event for friends and family (and media), followed by a day or two of unannounced open hours, followed by the official grand opening in the late afternoon, followed by the first full day of operations as usual.