Visual merchandiser jobs

Visual merchandisers are responsible for developing, delivering, and communicating visual ideas and strategies to promote retail brands. They do this by using their creativity and understanding of current trends.

You will be responsible for promoting retail brands, goods, and services either in-store, in catalogues, or online if you work as a visual merchandiser. You can also find employment at galleries and museums, or you might develop visual ideas for events. Your job will need you to stay current on emerging trends and make educated guesses about what those trends will be in the future.

If you operate in a location that is considered a head office, you will probably work along with employees from other departments to develop yearly visual plans and promotional events in order to entice and amuse the target audience. You might also work on a freelance or consulting basis, developing graphic designs for customers or providing training to retail employees. Both of these options are viable career paths.

Different kinds of merchandising

The visual impact and creative expression are the primary concerns of visual merchandising.

Retail merchandising, often known as shop-floor merchandising, is distinct from visual merchandising in that the primary emphasis of retail merchandising is on the stock on the shop floor, including its amount, allocation, position, and functional arrangement.

However, there are points of interaction between the positions, and the teams may coordinate their efforts in order to achieve the highest possible sales and profits.

Responsibilities

To succeed in the role of visual merchandiser, you will need to:

engage with teams about procurement, design, and marketing to generate design themes and plans, typically months in advance. These plans may include window and in-store displays, signage, and pricing concept ideas.

Carry out research on both present and upcoming design and lifestyle trends, as well as the characteristics of connected target markets

attend a meeting to talk about sales strategy with the company managers, sales managers, and store managers.

locate and acquire the necessary lights, textiles, hardware, and props.

Keep track of your spending and bargain with the companies who provide graphic materials.

Utilize the structural elements of retail locations to your advantage in order to make the most of the space you have.

Create graphics and plans by using creative abilities or computer-aided design (CAD) software such as AutoCAD, Mockshop, or Adobe Creative Suite.

Those who are located at a head office should prepare visual merchandising packets in order to convey visual rules. These guidelines should include information on layout principles, visual dressings, and signage.

Pay a visit to the various locations and teach the sales people on the various approaches and principles of in-store visual merchandising.

visual displays in the store's windows and interior must be put together and taken down.

Carry out "comp shopping" to ensure that you are aware of the visual merchandising strategies used by competing merchants.

direct and inspire teams to meet stringent deadlines while completing displays.

Request feedback on the aesthetic effect of the displays as well as the adjustments that have been implemented from your coworkers and consumers.

Salary

The starting salary for an assistant visual merchandiser will normally range anywhere from £12,000 to £18,000, depending on the amount of experience the candidate has working in-store or in the field.

Beginning salary may range anywhere from £20,000 to £27,000 for experienced or managerial positions, while senior level positions begin at about £30,000. Annual salaries might range anywhere from $45,000 to $60,000 for those working in director or worldwide level positions.

A business vehicle, a fuel allowance, and a mobile phone are just examples of the perks that may come with certain field or regional responsibilities.

The monetary amounts listed are just meant to serve as a reference point.

Time spent working

In a normal workweek, there are between 35 and 40 hours dedicated to actual work. As a rule, work must to be completed before stores or other commercial establishments are available to the public. This necessitates early morning or late night start times. It is possible that working extra or overnight will be necessary if the business is completely redesigned.

While the majority of positions are full-time, there may also be opportunities for part-time work.

What may be anticipated

The majority of major retailers will have in-store or field visual merchandising teams, in addition to visual merchandising teams based at their head office working on visual concepts for retail shops and/or catalogues and websites. In-store visual merchandising teams are typically called "visual merchandisers." There is a possibility that visual merchandising designers from the head office will travel to stores in the field in order to communicate their design ideas to the visual merchandising teams working in the stores and to make certain that the concepts are compatible with the physical environment of the store.

Work as a consultant or independent contractor is popular in the visual merchandising industry. Freelance visual merchandisers often work with a customer base consisting of independent or smaller businesses to develop displays or teach personnel. There is also a possibility of employment prospects inside firms that specialize in the installation of visual merchandising and the creation of props. Large organizations often outsource projects to these types of companies.

The position may be multifaceted, with responsibilities including shop layout, design, or purchasing, and sometimes, on a lower level, sales. Depending on the company, the role may also include selling.

Because the work often requires a lot of lifting and lugging, as well as climbing ladders and using power equipment, having high levels of stamina and physical dexterity might be helpful.

In order to maintain the quality of the brand consistently, there may be prospects for foreign travel with multinational chains.

Qualifications

A degree is not required for this position; nonetheless, certain educational establishments of higher learning offer courses that include the following:

purchasing and merchandising in the fashion industry at the London College of Fashion

In the University of the Arts London, students may study fashion, visual merchandising, and branding.

Istituto Marangoni London is renowned for its expertise in both fashion styling and visual marketing.

Other degrees that are helpful include those in:

The art of fashion design

fine art

interior design

surface pattern design

textiles

3D design.

There are institutions that provide courses that are pertinent, such as Hugh Baird College, which offers a course in visual merchandising and promotional design. Other colleges also offer these kind of courses.

There are a few prominent shops that do offer graduate programs for visual merchandising, but these kind of programs are not particularly widespread. Experience is gained by many higher-level visual merchandisers by beginning their careers on the sales floor and working their way up.

Although postgraduate degrees are not required, there are a variety of professional development programs that may be taken advantage of.

It is feasible to enter the field with an HND or A-levels, and courses that focus on art, fashion, or design are advantageous. It is usual practice to begin one's career in this field by working as an assistant on the shop floor.

It's feasible to get an apprenticeship in visual merchandising if you look hard enough. Courses like those provided by the Fashion Retail Academy are an example.

Skills

You will need the following items:

a creative ability in regard to design, color, and style

imaginative capacity and creative aplomb

a keen interest in both the present and the next trends in design

physical dexterity with a sense of visual and spatial awareness

talents in both communication and bargaining to a high level.

the capacity to collaborate well with a variety of diverse teams

the skill of being able to deal with critical feedback in a productive manner

a valid driver's license; in certain cases, you'll need this in order to drive to various shops.

Practice in the workplace

Acquiring job experience in the retail industry may be beneficial, particularly if the position entails constructing displays and organizing things in an organized manner.

If you do not have any prior experience with visual merchandising, you could find it simpler to transition into this profession by beginning your career in retail as a sales assistant and gaining expertise with visual merchandising while working on the sales floor.

Employers

The vast majority of people who work in visual merchandising are employed by various types of retail establishments.

The retail sector is responsible for the employment of around three million individuals, which is equivalent to 11 percent of the entire workforce in the UK. It is the most important private employer in the United Kingdom.

The following categories of businesses are those most likely to want to hire visual merchandisers:

retail merchants of fashion

department stores

many locations of chain retailers on the high street

bigger independent high-street stores

firms that deal in postal orders

online shopping providers.

However, certain entry-level visual merchandising workers may be employed by museums, galleries, and amusement parks even though these establishments often outsource the majority of their visual merchandising needs.

Higher-level visual merchandisers often operate in head offices, the majority of which may be found in London and the South East as well as in other major cities across the world. Senior-level visual merchandisers may also be field-based, meaning that they work in stores within a certain area, or they may be store-based, meaning that they operate from inside the shops themselves.

Candidates that have an impressive portfolio of relevant work that demonstrates their capabilities and potential are highly valued by employers.

Try looking for employment opportunities at:

Jobs for Drapers

Choice of Retailing

Retail Week

JobsRetail

Websites that belong to professional associations, such as the Association for Cultural Enterprises (ACE)

You might also look for available positions on the websites of retail companies.

Recruitment companies that specialize in the fashion and retail industries sometimes handle jobs in related fields, such as visual merchandising.

Personnel for the Fashion and Retail Industries

RHR (Retail Human Resources)

Appointments of Succeeding

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