VM Designer – Fashion and Beauty

About the role

The Visual Merchandising Designer's role is to support the VM Lead in the creation and maintenance of merchandising standards and guidelines. Working collaboratively to ensure the delivery of the visual strategy to create commercially driven and visually inspiring store environments through the optimisation of design, buying, planning, space utilisation and cost efficiency. You will need the ability to define the Brand through innovative merchandising and be a key Brand ambassador, managing communication at all levels, providing honest, detailed and well-considered feedback following projects.

Part of the role is to create, design and develop product-based design solutions for all types of store experiences, departments, formats and product displays. Ensuring that designs meet and deliver to the brief, commercial objectives and create a great customer experience from the concept design through to store execution. Design recommendations are needed to optimise a particularly high number of elements and to balance the views of a wide range of stakeholders and have a fundamental impact on the Brand store environment. Provides advice and guidance to Store Design in accordance with their industry/design specialism.

Key responsibilities:

• Create and evolve merchandising guidelines and visual refreshes throughout the season using the latest buying direction and customer profiles for all own brand and third-party brands.
• Own the development of designs for permanent and semi-permanent merchandising equipment, including POS.
• Help define the John Lewis look and feel, delivering a consistent approach to the Brand look and feel of shops, through merchandising, fixturing, presentation kit and layout guidelines.
• Be responsible for managing the delivery of and communicating Brand merchandising guidelines with the knowledge of the market to inspire and engage with our Customers.
• Assist in the planning and delivery of seasonal change, projects, collaborations and store-specific requests.
• Provide clear merchandising guidelines for new concepts.
• Design with cost in mind, working with our supply chain to develop the most affordable, effective materials and construction methods.
• Ensure all Health & Safety and DDA requirements are met and the approval level of due diligence has been completed.
• Maintenance of continual BAU design solutions and projects to keep brand standards effective and up to date; meeting commercial needs for specialist product presentation.
• Support the wider VM department with the planning and implementation of own brand seasonal set-up.
• Demonstrate a balanced view, focusing on both own brand and external brands to maintain their individual strategies and Brand integrity.
• Strategically plan movements to effectively support the goals of the VM department and business needs, remaining agile to trade.
• Involvement and support of projects to drive the Brand forward and achieve VM department strategy through augmented resources.
• Develop and invest time in trials for new merchandising, fixture and layout ideas in advance of seasonal setups.
• Ensuring stores are delivering on all aspects of layout, merchandising and latest Brand thinking.

Skills:

• Excellent layout and visual merchandising skills.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, ability to liaise at all levels and reach compromise when needed.
• Strong training and coaching skills.
• Ability to organise and manage your own time effectively.
• Ability to work on own initiative and self-motivation.
• Ability to build strong relationships with key business areas.
• Designing to a budget.
• Ability to create ideation sketches, visuals and mood boards.
• Stakeholder management across all levels within the business.

Essential skills/experience you will need:

• Strong retail customer knowledge.
• An innovative approach to support business growth.
• Creative problem solving and global mindset of the Brand.
• Strong stakeholder management experience with excellent communication style.
• Demonstrate and application of commercial acumen and market awareness with all visual solutions to maximise sales and potential of stores.
• Strong merchandising skills and experience across Fashion and Home.
• Demonstrate the ability to work well under pressure.
• Strong communication skills.

Desirable skills/experience you may have:

• Experience in a similar role.
• Knowledge of sustainability practices in merchandising.