Visual Merchandising Director

Swatch Group is the world's number one manufacturer of finished watches. With its 16 watch brands, the Group is present in all price segments, and is also active in the manufacture and sale of jewelry, watch movements and components.

Swatch Group unites, among other companies, the following watch brands under its roof: Breguet, Harry Winston, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Jaquet Droz, Omega, Longines, Rado, Union Glashütte, Tissot, Balmain, Certina, Mido, Hamilton, Swatch and Flik Flak. The Group has a strong distribution and multi-brand retail net with two sophisticated boutiques under the name of Tourbillon and Hour Passion. Swatch Group is also an important player in advanced nanomechanical, nanoelectronic and Bluetooth technologies essential to watchmaking and other industries.

Job Description

The primary role of the Visual Merchandising Director is to define, lead, and execute the visual merchandising and training strategy for the U.S. market while ensuring brand consistency, operational excellence, and commercial effectiveness across all points of sale. This position serves as the key liaison between U.S. operations and global headquarters, translating brand vision into market-specific strategies that enhance customer experience, elevate brand presence, and drive business results.

The Director will lead a team of Visual Merchandising & Training professionals, providing strategic direction, coaching, and development while fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and collaboration. This role is responsible for overseeing all visual merchandising standards, retail environments, training initiatives, budgets, and special projects across the market.

Duties and Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategy

• Develop and execute the U.S. Visual Merchandising & Training strategy in alignment with global brand objectives and business priorities.
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of 8-11 Visual Merchandising & Training professionals, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Establish departmental goals, performance metrics, and succession planning initiatives to support organizational growth.
• Serve as the primary liaison between U.S. operations and Global Headquarters for all visual merchandising and training initiatives.
• Partner with cross-functional teams including Sales, Marketing, Retail Development, Operations, and Finance to drive business objectives and enhance the customer experience.

Visual Merchandising

• Ensure consistent execution of visual merchandising standards across all boutiques, shop-in-shops, roadshows, and wholesale partners.
• Adapt global visual merchandising directives to the U.S. market while maintaining brand integrity and consistency.
• Oversee the creation, implementation, and ongoing evolution of visual merchandising guidelines, standards, and best practices.
• Direct and monitor all visual merchandising initiatives, promotional activations, window displays, product launches, and seasonal campaigns.
• Review and approve visual concepts, creative assets, and merchandising presentations to ensure brand alignment.
• Oversee store databases, merchandising inventories, fixture allocations, and visual support materials.
• Partner with Retail Development on new store openings, remodels, SIS installations, roadshow activations, and special projects.
• Identify emerging trends, technologies, and innovative merchandising solutions to enhance brand visibility and customer engagement.
• Ensure accurate inventory management and distribution of all visual merchandising materials and POSM assets.

Training & Development

• Develop and oversee comprehensive training programs that support product knowledge, selling skills, customer experience, and brand standards.
• Adapt and localize corporate training materials and learning initiatives for the U.S. market.
• Establish training objectives, KPIs, and reporting processes to measure program effectiveness and participation.
• Oversee all training platforms, certification programs, contests, learning initiatives, and field engagement activities.
• Support product launches and strategic initiatives through targeted educational programs and training resources.
• Provide ongoing coaching and development opportunities for field teams, boutique personnel, and support staff.

Financial & Operational Management

• Develop and manage annual departmental budgets for Visual Merchandising and Training.
• Monitor expenditures, approve invoices, and ensure fiscal responsibility across all programs and initiatives.
• Manage vendor relationships, contract negotiations, and service agreements related to visual merchandising and training activities.
• Analyze performance metrics, identify opportunities for improvement, and provide executive-level reporting and recommendations.
• Ensure timely delivery and execution of all merchandising and training initiatives while maintaining compliance with company standards and policies.

Education and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Marketing, Business, Retail Management, Design, Fashion Merchandising, Communications, or a related field required.
• Master's Degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in Visual Merchandising, Retail Design, Store Planning, Training, or related disciplines.
• Minimum of 5 years of leadership experience managing and developing multi-level teams.
• Experience leading field-based or geographically dispersed teams preferred.
• Proven experience managing large-scale visual merchandising programs across multiple retail channels.
• Demonstrated success in developing and implementing training initiatives that drive business performance.
• Experience managing departmental budgets, vendor relationships, and complex project portfolios.
• Experience within luxury, premium retail, consumer goods, watches, jewelry, fashion, or lifestyle brands strongly preferred.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to travel domestically and internationally up to 50% of the time.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods during store visits, market events, trade shows, training sessions, and retail activations.
• Ability to lift, move, and carry visual merchandising materials, displays, and equipment up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to climb ladders and use step stools safely when supporting visual installation activities.
• Ability to bend, reach, kneel, crouch, and perform other physical activities required for merchandising execution and store assessments.
• Ability to work in retail, warehouse, office, and event environments.
• Ability to operate a computer and other office equipment for extended periods.
• Visual acuity sufficient to review visual merchandising standards, creative designs, floorplans, and presentation materials.

Additional Skill Requirements

• Strong strategic leadership and team development skills with the ability to inspire, motivate, and influence others.
• Exceptional verbal, written, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Proven ability to influence stakeholders at all organizational levels, including senior leadership and global partners.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets, forecasting expenses, and evaluating ROI.
• Excellent project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Advanced knowledge of visual merchandising principles, retail environments, customer experience, and brand presentation standards.
• High level of creativity with strong aesthetic judgment and attention to detail.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with a data-driven decision-making approach.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Teams.
• Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
• Experience with design and planning software such as AutoCAD, SketchUp, Revit, or similar platforms preferred.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment while meeting tight deadlines and changing business priorities.
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering an inclusive and collaborative work environment.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to execute both strategic and operational initiatives effectively.

This description outlines the basic responsibilities and requirements for the role. This is not a comprehensive listing of all job duties of the Visual Merchandising Director duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Salary and Bonus are part of the compensation package for this role.

The Swatch Group is an equal opportunity employer that promotes diversity and is committed to environmental sustainability.

• Excellent health, dental and vision insurance (employee and dependents are eligible 1st of the month following 30 days; generous employer contribution)
• Immediate participation in the 401(k) and 100% vested employer match after one year (maximum 4% employer match with 5% employee contribution)
• Company paid life insurance and Long Term Disability
• 18 days of PTO per year, 1 Month PTO after 5 years
• Special bucket of sick time per year extended paid time for medical, parental and military leave
• Holiday pay
• Voluntary FSA, STD, Accident/Hospital Indemnity insurance