By the end of the lesson you will be able to…
• Explain the roles and responsibilities of Visual Merchandising
• Give examples of how certain brands use Visual Merchandising
• Create a model how visual merchandising techniques can be used to
effectively display merchandise in a retail setting
Visual merchandising is the activity and profession of developing the floor plans and three
-dimensional displays in order to maximise sales.
The role of Visual Merchandiser is to have a managerial mind set as well as to be creative
and fast-paced. You will train, motivate and coach your colleagues to constantly think
commercially.
• The role is to report to the Store Manager, that you will ensure that the brand
identity and presentation standards in both windows and store are achieved consistently
and creatively.
• You will train others on an ongoing basis on visual presentation.
http://career.hm.com/content/hmcareer/en_il/what-can-you-do-here/sales/visual-merchandiser.html
• It is very important for the VM to have the awareness of ‘KYC’ - KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER!!
What is a Target Market?
• A particular group of consumers at which a product or service is aimed.
Fashion brands all have a target market and these are the customers that buy the products
and service provided by the retailer.
An extraordinary retail phenomenon, Topshop appeals to students, professionals, fashion taste makers
and high profile A-List stars alike. United by their desire for the latest forward thinking trends, these
shoppers enjoy both the store's exclusive cult status and accessibility simultaneously. With over one
million customers visiting stores every week in pursuit of an up-to-the minute fashion fix, the average
customer is a loyal follower of the brand. She cannot be defined by her age - which can range from
early teens to fifty something's - but instead her attitude. Style conscious and independent, she is
addicted to fashion but is not dictated to. Instead she throws away the rulebook and aims for a unique
look.
http://www.topman.com/careers/about_brands/ts_customer.html
Aiming towards a trendy, style aware niche with a target demographic of 18- 35, All Saints have
adopted a unique approach to their marketing,. “To create a brand that blends music and fashion into a
potent formula of desirable clothing that expresses individuality and attitude” penetrates through their
design decisions, social media strategy, store design and e-commerce.
Retail design is the most recognized on the British High Street. Evoking a mood of decadent decay and
distressed glamour with religious iconography and vintage details added to layer upon layer of carefully
aged materials, their stores provide a mélange of inspiration, displayed with that ‘thrown together’ look
emanating the idea that these are pieces one might find in an old junk shop.
http://www.stylelogue.co.uk/fashion/all-saints-brand-profile/
http://www.urbn.com/profile/
UBRN offering an eclectic mix of merchandise. We stock our stores with what we love, calling on our - and
our customer's - interest in contemporary art, music and fashion. From men's & women's apparel and
accessories to items for the apartment, we offer a lifestyle-specific shopping experience for the educated,
urban-minded individual in the 18 to 30 year-old range.
In the retail brands we design innovative stores that resonate with the target audience; offer an eclectic mix
of merchandise in which hard and soft goods are cross merchandised; and construct unique product
displays that incorporate found objects into creative selling vignettes. The emphasis is on creativity. Our goal
is to offer a product assortment and an environment so compelling and distinctive that the customer feels
an empathetic connection to the brand and is persuaded to buy.
• The Fashion Forecaster will distribute the trends to the Head Office and then to the design
team.
• The garments are produced and then distributed to the stores.
• A trend pack is produced at the Head Office by the VM team and then launched in the
main signature store. The trend pack is then distributed to the area Visual Managers and
the in store VM.
• As a VM it is your responsibility to ‘floor walk’ with the Store Manger and Sales Manger. By
doing this, you will be discussing the visual presentation and the methods to maximise
sales.
This image is in the trend pack and shows the lay of
How the store should look
Shoes including
hanging shoes
i.e flat shoes
Jersey including t-shirts, vests
and leggings
Denim jeans and
jackets
Promotion
Petite section
Clearance
Main Trends
Areas to consider in the overview…
Focal point is a place that people's eyes will
Focal point - immediately focus on when they first look at the
display
Equipment
Mannequins
Graphics
Floor Fixtures
Prongs
Arm Bars
T-Bars
Box Stands
This video explains what Visual Merchandising is and how Topshop is always in season and
visually focuses on the customer by advertising the trends.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYuiYMtvvmA
As a collaborative designer, design a Capsule collection that you would advertise
/style as a Visual Merchandiser from the trend provided
Capsule Collection - A concept where a limited supply of desired products is released in the
market to generate sales as well as promoting designers.
• Quick sketches of the designs
• One complete outfit of 2 or more garments
• Quick developments of the designs
i.e. trousers from long to cropped
• Analyse your designs – quick notes
http://apparelresources.wordpress.com/retail/capsule-collections/
• Layering
• S/S season 15
• Style/Styling
• Colour Pallet
Once your capsule collection is
complete, the next step is to
design a shop window to
advertise your capsule collection.
Areas to Consider
• Equipment i.e. mannequins,
posters, visual stands, focal point,
etc…
• Annotate/analyse why you
have created your display in the
way that you have i.e. is it affective?
why does it meet the season?
Who is your customer?
• Add your colour pallet and
think about styling accessories
Including add-ons.
• Evaluate your ideas and design
http://www.sfd.co.uk/Visual-Merchandising-and-Window-Displays
• Implement window/internal displays and promotional stances with maximum
impact and minimum disruption to the store
• Constantly ensures that the integrity of the BRAND is maintained using appropriate
graphics, equipment and merchandising techniques
• Liaise with Head Office visual teams on VM layout, implementation of
merchandising guidelines and high fashion trends
• Communicates with management/store team on a daily basis on all aspects of the
role, merchandising, display concepts and trends
• Deliver great customer services both personally and through the use of VM
Add-On Sales - Add-on sales are the promotion of additional products or services to a
customer at the time of purchase.
Brand Awareness - A gauge of marketing effectiveness measured by the ability of a
customer to recognize and/or recall a name, image or other mark
associated with a particular brand.
Cross-Sell - A sales technique in which the salesperson recognizes what a customer is
purchasing and will make suggestions or recommendations of other related
merchandise the shopper may also be interested in purchasing.
Facings - The number of identical products (or same) facing out toward the customer.
Facings are used in planograms and when zoning a retail store.
Merchandise
Merchandise is the breadth and depth of the products carried by
(or re-merchandising) - retailers. Also known as product assortment.
POS - Point of Sale. POS can be used to describe physical promotional materials used
within the store (e.g. displays, posters etc.). This is also called point of purchase
materials or POP. .
VM - Visual merchandising is the art of implementing effective design ideas to increase
store traffic and sales volume.
http://www.retailtoolbox.com.au/tools-and-calculators/retail-dictionary