Area Visual Merchandiser (London)

We are looking for a Area Visual Merchandiser to join Team OB’s Visual Merchandising team.

As a Area Visual Merchandiser at OB you will be responsible for creating, supporting, and advising the shops in your area on all aspects of Visual Merchandising. This will involve implementing, driving and developing VM standards.

With a cool head and a warm heart, you will identify and highlight commercial and VM opportunities in the shops, coaching the teams on how to deliver excellent OB visual standards and maximise sales.

You’ll have a flair for design and a great understanding of VM in retail, understanding customer shopping habits and how to create a joyful customer experience.

As well as regularly visiting existing stores in your area across London, with some stores being based closely outside of London. You will also support with new store setups alongside the team across the UK and Republic of Ireland.

A bit about us …

At Oliver Bonas (OB), our values of Work Hard, Play Hard & Be Kind are integral to everything we do. Collaboration, imagination, curiosity, and teamwork are key to our success, and everyone has their part to play in making OB a special place to work.

Having fun is key, and a playful and positive approach creates an optimistic environment. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we are serious about what we do.

Our team knows their stuff. They’re confident and creative and unafraid to challenge convention to find solutions, taking accountability for their actions, but always with kindness and humility.

More about the role …

An OB Area Visual Merchandiser will:

• Follow and implement the strategic plans of the VM team, maximising visual impact and identifying creative solutions to issues
• Create eye catching on trend displays that enhance the customer journey and impact sales positively
• Ensure all VM guidelines are adhered to in the shops and direct teams to learning materials that support these
• Ensure all Visual directive packs are implemented to the correct standard and within set timeframe, feeding back to senior management on how this worked in shops
• Ensure all window displays are implemented to the correct visual standard and timeframe
• Coach and guide shop teams through floorplans, fixtures and most commercial adjacencies ensuring the shop floor space is used to its full capacity, is shoppable and visually excellent
• Identify commercial and creative opportunities within the shops and communicate clearly and effectively
• Using your VM skills and knowledge of OB, put forward recommendations and agree actions to positively increase shop profitability
• Observe and understand customer shopping habits across the retail market and in your own shops
• Identify and monitor current retail trends and competitor activity, reporting and reacting as needed
• Support new store openings and refits
• Support and inspire store teams acting as a coach and mentor, delivering constructive feedback to enhance their skills and understanding
• Lead by example on the shop floor ensuring that all customers are acknowledged and assisted according to OB standards
• Communicate regularly with Visual Merchandising team to build on relationships, support and circulate best practice and lessons learnt
• Regular communication with Retail team, providing feedback on shops and teams visually highlighting opportunities and development areas
• Attend relevant Retail and Visual meetings to review progress and identify future objectives for yourself and the team
• Provide weekly constructive feedback to AVMM & SVMM to share with VM team on trade, visits, trends and actions from the week’s visits highlighting success and opportunities as well as any future action plans.
• Ensure shop handovers are sent in a timely manner, and are clear and constructive for the store management team to action

Bonas Benefits:

• Generous employee discount up to 50% off all OB products
• Free access to our 24 hour employee assistance programme with Care First – offering financial, emotional and vocational support
• Flexible holiday – 30 days (including bank holidays) – increasing to 35 days with length of service
• Annual discretionary profit related bonus scheme
• Free membership for our Westfield Health Cash Plan or Private Medical
• Auto-enrolment into our pension plan
• Free access to our onsite gym
• Cycle to work scheme
• Refer a Friend incentive
• Quarterly free lunch
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Voice network and EDI team
• Mental Health First Aider support
• Education and support throughout Looop eLearning platform

What we look for:

• Ability to handle a wide range of product groups
• Self-motivated and practical
• Effective communicator, in line with our values
• Confident in delivering and receiving positive and challenging feedback
• Effective time planning
• Strong commercial skills
• Problem solving abilities
• Creative flair
• Attention to detail
• Aware of current and emerging trends

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at OB

At Oliver Bonas, our promise is to do our bit to make living a joyful experience and give cause for optimism. This promise is central to our work in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). To bring joy to others, we must first ensure everyone at OB feels valued, included and most importantly, can be themselves at work.

It is important to us that our brand reflects wider society and the communities in which we operate. As a result, we welcome all eligible applicants for this role however we are particularly interested in speaking to eligible candidates from the Black, Asian & Mixed Heritage communities.

Oliver Bonas is a Disability Confident Committed employer under the Disability Confident employer scheme.

To read more about our ED&I commitments, head over to the EDI page on our website: https://www.oliverbonas.com/meet-the-team/diversity