Manager - Visual Merchandising

Apparel Group; Dubai; On-site; AED 201,000 - 312,000; Full time

Job summary

Apparel Group in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, seeks a Manager - Visual Merchandising to develop and implement in-store strategies that elevate brand presentation and drive retail performance. You will oversee creative direction, store layouts, and seasonal concepts across multiple locations, collaborating with Brand Principals, Buyers, Marketing, and Retail Operations.

The role requires strong visual design skills, strategic thinking, and leadership to guide merchandising teams, ensure

Qualifications

• Proven experience in visual merchandising or a related retail field.
• Strong ability to translate brand concepts into in-store displays.
• Excellent understanding of retail environments and customer experience.
• Ability to develop seasonal merchandising concepts and guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Develop visual merchandising strategies and brand presentation standards.
• Collaborate with Brand Principals, Buyers, Marketing, and Retail Operations.
• Lead the design and testing of store formats and merchandising concepts.
• Create display guidelines and space allocation plans.
• Provide visual direction and training content to store teams.
• Conduct audits to ensure compliance with merchandising standards.

Skills

Creative thinking

Visual design

Store layout planning

Merchandising strategy

Leadership

Job description

Manager - Visual Merchandising Job Snapshot

Role: Manager - Visual Merchandising - Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Industry: Retail - Function: Visual-Display Merchandising - Experience: Previous experience in visual merchandising or a related field preferred - Job Type: Full Time - Work Arrangement: On-site

Overview

Apparel Group is seeking a Manager - Visual Merchandising to develop and implement visual merchandising strategies that enhance store presentation, strengthen brand identity, and support retail sales objectives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The role involves working closely with Brand Principals, Buyers, Marketing, Sales Promotion, Procurement, and Retail Operations teams to create engaging visual concepts, establish merchandising guidelines, and ensure consistent execution across stores. The successful candidate will combine creative design abilities with an understanding of retail environments, customer experience, store layouts, and commercial priorities.

Job Details

• Country: United Arab Emirates
• City: Dubai
• Industry: Retail
• Function: Visual-Display Merchandising
• Salary: Not disclosed
• Gender: No Preference
• Candidate Nationality: Not specified
• Job Type: Full Time
• Work Arrangement: On-site

Objectives

• Develop effective visual merchandising strategies in collaboration with brand, buying, marketing, procurement, and retail operations teams.
• Establish and refine display guidelines, merchandise flow plans, and execution processes to meet presentation quality and productivity requirements.
• Lead the design, testing, and implementation of store format initiatives that support business growth.
• Maintain consistent visual merchandising standards while improving customer experience and product presentation.

Key Responsibilities

Visual Merchandising Strategy and Planning

• Develop visual merchandising strategies and brand presentation standards for assigned business units.
• Translate strategic merchandising initiatives into seasonal visual concepts and store presentation plans.
• Create visual merchandising concepts aligned with the established Visual Merchandising Roadmap and merchant initiatives.
• Coordinate with Brand Principals, Buyers, Sales Promotion, Marketing, Procurement, and Retail Operations to align visual strategies with business priorities.
• Ensure visual merchandising initiatives contribute to customer engagement and retail sales objectives.

Seasonal Concepts and Store Execution

• Partner with Marketing and Store Operations to communicate and implement seasonal visual concepts and merchandising initiatives.
• Develop clear and practical visual merchandising guidelines for store teams based on product assortments and available space.
• Prepare display and merchandise flow guides that support consistent execution across retail locations.
• Work with field Visual Merchandising leadership to maintain high‑quality implementation of approved visual concepts.
• Provide visual direction, execution tools, communication materials, and training content to support store teams.
• Conduct audits to evaluate compliance with visual merchandising standards and identify areas for improvement.

Store Layout and Space Optimization

• Develop store and departmental space allocation plans that improve merchandise presentation and consumer appeal.
• Establish effective product adjacencies and merchandise placement strategies to support sales performance.
• Contribute to the design and positioning of store fixtures, display layouts, graphics, and signage.
• Ensure visual presentation concepts reflect product assortment, available retail space, and customer shopping behavior.
• Support improvements to the overall in‑store branding and customer experience through effective space planning.

Store Innovation and Development

• Lead visual presentation activities for store innovation and reinvention projects.
• Contribute to the design, development, and testing of new store formats and merchandising concepts.
• Collaborate on new store prototypes and visual solutions that address customer needs and identified business opportunities.
• Provide recommendations regarding the scope and pace of store remodeling and renovation programs.
• Support the rollout of approved visual merchandising initiatives and store format improvements.

Visual Merchandising Standards and Quality

• Establish processes that support consistent visual merchandising quality and operational productivity.
• Review the effectiveness of store display guidelines and refine them when required.
• Monitor the execution of visual concepts through communication with field merchandising teams and store audits.
• Maintain alignment between brand standards, merchandising strategies, and store presentation.
• Ensure visual merchandising materials and guidelines are practical for implementation by retail teams.

Team Leadership and Talent Development

• Identify and recruit suitable visual merchandising talent to support organizational requirements.
• Develop team capabilities through guidance, training resources, and knowledge sharing.
• Support professional growth and advancement opportunities for visual merchandising employees.
• Provide clear creative direction and practical tools to help teams execute visual merchandising initiatives effectively.
• Encourage collaboration between visual merchandising leadership and other retail business functions.

Desired Qualifications and Experience

• Previous experience in visual merchandising or a related retail field is preferred.
• Strong artistic and creative abilities to develop visually appealing merchandise displays.
• Good understanding of retail environments, store layouts, and customer shopping experiences.
• Knowledge of visual merchandising principles, merchandise presentation, and space allocation.
• Ability to develop and communicate seasonal merchandising concepts and brand presentation guidelines.
• Understanding of how store layouts, fixtures, graphics, and product displays influence customer engagement and sales.

Key Skills and Competencies

• Creative thinking and strong visual design capabilities.
• Visual merchandising strategy development and execution.
• Store layout planning and merchandise space optimization.
• Understanding of retail brand standards and consumer experience.
• Ability to develop clear visual merchandising guidelines and training materials.
• Strong coordination and communication skills across multiple business functions.
• Leadership and talent development abilities.
• Attention to detail and commitment to presentation quality.
• Ability to evaluate store execution and recommend practical improvements.
• Effective planning and management of multiple merchandising initiatives.

About the Role

The Manager - Visual Merchandising plays an important role in translating Apparel Group 's retail strategies into engaging and consistent in‑store experiences. The position combines creative direction, commercial awareness, store planning, and collaboration with retail teams to ensure merchandise is presented effectively. By developing visual concepts, improving store layouts, supporting new retail formats, and guiding merchandising teams, the role contributes to brand consistency, customer satisfaction, and store sales performance.