# How to plan a store opening event

A store opening event in India is the night or the day a shop opens for the guests who should see it first. Touch Wood Studio produces store openings as launch and PR events. Most need 6 to 10 weeks.

Published 4 November 2026. Written by Meghana Kondury, founder of Touch Wood Studio, an experiential PR and events studio in India.

## What to decide first

- The news of the shop: why it is opening, and why it is opening now
- Who is in the room before the doors open to everyone: press, creators, neighbors, or a mix
- The city, the address, and the date the shop is ready to be walked
- What a guest should do: walk the floor, try a product, or meet the people who will run the shop
- The pictures the brand needs the next morning

The free 30-minute call covers the brand, the audience, the timing, and the budget. The studio shares a first idea on the call. A concept and a budget range follow within a week. [Book the call](https://calendar.app.google/YeXSJKNu9CUJjTgu9).

## What the opening is for

The shop is the set. The store opening event is who sees it first, and what they can say about it on the way home. A preview evening can come before the public open. The public open is the day the doors are for everyone. The studio plans the guest list, the run-of-show, and the capture for whichever of those the brief needs.

The shop, the fit-out, and the stock stay with the brand. The studio produces the opening: invitations, styling for the night, the run-of-show, and the coverage. Some brands call the same night a store launch. The work is the same.

Good fits: product and brand launches, store openings, and press days.

## What Touch Wood Studio handles

- Guest list and press invitations
- Creator seeding, when the brief needs people who will show the shop
- Run-of-show
- Styling for the night: florals, furniture, tablescapes, and signage, sourced and installed
- Photography and content capture, plus a coverage report within two weeks

One producer stays from the first call through the report. [Meghana Kondury](https://www.touchwoodstudio.co/about.md) stays on the project. The budget is set after the call.

[Launches and PR events](https://www.touchwoodstudio.co/services.md#launches), in full.

If the job is a short-run space, rather than a shop that stays, that is a pop-up. [How to plan a brand pop-up](https://www.touchwoodstudio.co/blog/plan-a-brand-pop-up-in-india.md).

## How long to allow

Allow 6 to 10 weeks for a store opening event in India. The date depends on when the shop can be walked. The guest list is locked before the styling of the night is finished.

## What happens after you book

1. Book the call. Thirty minutes, at no cost, on Google Meet with Meghana Kondury.
2. Get a concept, a format, and a budget range.
3. The studio produces the invitations, the styling for the night, the run-of-show, and the opening itself.

## Questions brands ask

### What is a store opening event in India?

A store opening event in India is the night or the day a shop opens for the guests who should see it first. Touch Wood Studio produces it as a launch and PR event. Brands also call this a store launch.

### How long does a store opening event take?

Most store opening events need 6 to 10 weeks. The date depends on when the shop can be walked.

### Does the studio build the shop?

The studio produces the opening. The shop, the fit-out, and the stock stay with the brand. Invitations, styling for the night, the guest list, and the run-of-show are the studio's work.

### Who should be invited first?

The people who will carry the story: press, creators, and the neighbors the brand wants in the room. The discovery call is where that list is named.

Related: [How to plan a product launch event](https://www.touchwoodstudio.co/blog/product-launch-events-in-india.md), [How to plan a press preview](https://www.touchwoodstudio.co/blog/press-preview-in-india.md), and [How to plan a brand pop-up](https://www.touchwoodstudio.co/blog/plan-a-brand-pop-up-in-india.md).