Visual Merchandising:
Visual merchandising is a commonly used term for the aspect of product management that is concerned with presenting the product within a retail outlet to its best advantage. After all the product management work that has gone into planning the ranges, selecting the products, liaising with suppliers, and getting the physical product through the supply chain, the product now makes its entrance into customer space. Visual merchandising blends with the store design to create an environment that sends out strategic messages to consumers in order to reinforce the retailer’s brand values. The aim of this article is to know how to become a visual merchandiser and career opportunities in visual merchandising. It helps a student to know career prospects of a visual merchandiser in one place.
Visual Merchandiser:
Visual merchandisers generally create a plan to their creative skills for displaying fashion products by the use of visual presentation, marketing and also creating different promotional activities to communicate and merchandise with the target customers.
In the fashion industry, visual or display merchandising experts mainly helps to increase sales for retail shop and to catch the buyer’s attention by the use of different ideas like promotional images, seasonal themes, special occasion to base the upcoming marketing and window display activities around.
How to Become a Visual Merchandiser:
To become a visual and display merchandiser and you will want to apply to job in a fashion retail position, some qualifications and skills are must be needed. These are in below:
- Educational background must be needed
- Certificate or Diploma course in Fashion Retail (Visual Merchandising and promotional design),
- Foundation degrees in display or design, fashion buying and merchandising
Some other degree subjects that are included in this job career:
- Fashion design;
- Fine art;
- Interior design;
- Surface pattern design;
- Textiles;
- 3D design.
- Salary for Visual merchandiser:
- Starter: £12,000 to £16,000,
- Experienced: £20,000 to £25,000,
- Highly Experienced: £25,000 to £55,000 (These figures are as a guide only)
- Working experience through job training or internships
- Make a comprehensive portfolio of relevant design work.
- To be creative and have imagination power
- Have a good eye for detail with knowledge about latest fashion trends, design, technical drawing skills.
- IT skills to use computer-aided design (CAD), Mockshop or Adobe Creative Suite software
- Get knowledge about window dressers.
Career Path and Opportunities in Visual Merchandising:
It is not vital to be a graduate to work in visual merchandising, since many people have progressed into it from being sales advisers, but fashion or textile qualification could be advantageous when combined with retail experience. Visual merchandising is a creative career opportunities in the fashion industry. Now a day’s visual merchandising is the most demand-able job for a fashion designer.
1. The job of a display merchandiser is to design eye-catching and creative window displays that are still functional, trendy and fashionable.
2. Most visual merchandising jobs are in fashion and home ware departments and stores. You can also find some opportunities for display work at museums, tourist attractions, airports and hotels.
3. Visual merchandising consultant work independently, providing advice’s to retailers on visual merchandising strategy and are generally the most highly paid in this field.
4. Visual merchandiser primarily creates a sketch of visual displays with the basis of client’s store management department. If the designs have been approved, then they will be finalizing the design and prepare a complete floor layout plans. To complete this design process, they will be collecting some necessary props, materials and accessories to bring the designs to life.
5. With experience, you could progress to display team leader and then to visual merchandising manager, retail environment can be helpful and retailers often recruit internally from store level and train visual merchandiser in house.
6. Visual merchandiser career can take many paths. It could take you along a creative career routes- implementing windows and in-store displays to designing window schemes and training store staff in display techniques, or a more strategic role in planning and merchandising stores to maximize sales.
7. Another option could be to move into retail merchandising, retail design (designing the layout of stores), or into exhibition or interior design. You could also work as a freelance display designer, creating one-off displays for clients or move into online merchandising.
8. Large retailers usually have national and regional visual merchandising manager who can earn competitive salaries, responsible for developing store display and layouts and managing in-store visual merchandiser.
9. To finish the all processes, you will regularly be liaising with other retail professionals, like buyers, retail merchandisers and marketing executives; to make sure every retail store has the perfect visual impression.
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Editor of Fashion2Apparel. She is a fashion designer and ex-lecturer in Fashion Designing. She wants to spread fashion knowledge throughout the world.
