at L. L. Bean, Inc. in Freeport, Maine, United States
Job Description
We invite you to be part of our team of trailblazers dedicated to helping people discover and enjoy the outside. Come join us. Because on the inside we’re all outsiders. And if it’s outside, we’re all in.
Position Purpose: Drive results by bringing the end to end customer experience to life in stores through compelling product presentations, brand service strategies and rep knowledge programs that promote a positive customer experience and maximize company sales growth and profitability. Create and communicate the visual directive that conveys a holistic representation of the L.L.Bean brand through consistent product presentations across all store locations. Lead, educate and empower the Home Office & cross functional teams to plan, communicate and direct strong visual merchandising plans, marketing, signage & service strategies to Stores while encouraging professional development. Lead Home Office team to set the stage for an exceptional end to end customer experience in our stores. Due to the collaborative and visible nature of this role, this position must be based in and work out of our Corporate HQ located in Freeport, Maine. Responsibilities: Visual Merchandising:+ Develop the visual strategy, in coordination with Vice Presidents, Directors and Chief Retail Officer along with other cross-functional partners to drive sales through interior and exterior product presentation, signage, marketing, visual displays and all other aspects of buyer’s attention and provide an excellent in-store experience
+ Serve on the Commercial Planning Operations Team (CPOPS) to translate Company product and merchandising priorities in stores. Work in a collaborative and cross-functional manner to advocate and advance store priorities that drive results
+ Primary contact and core team member for Commercial Planning, Mind to Market, Brand Experience, Brand Engagement, Creative, Store Design, In-Store Activations/Events and a key contributor to overall channel strategy
+ Conceive and implement creative and innovative “big ideas” that amplify visual presentation initiatives in stores. Develop disruptive and industry leading visual merchandising strategies that capture the attention of industry experts and garner press coverage
+ Oversee implementation and creation of all visual merchandising directives to Stores, allowing for consistent execution of the company vision across all store formats for both Retail and Outlet Stores. Regularly reassess and refine directive tool to maximize efficiencies and ease of use
+ Develop a Field Visual Merchandising support plan that best provides coaching and development to top volume locations by sharing best practices, industry trends and direct training
+ Define and manage the messaging and content plan for Stores that best supports presentation plans, promotional messages and Branded content
+ Develop and manage all presentation standards for Stores, including training modules that encourage the development of brand standards
+ Develop and manage processes in support of New Stores and remodels from initial Design and Creative collaboration through detailed direction for Store Teams
+ Provide input to overall in-store branding and design strategies, including the design and placement of fixtures, layouts and graphics/signage to drive sales and customer satisfaction.
+ Define, maintain and support the understanding of space utilization in stores ensuring by providing input regarding appropriate densities to that result in an optimized customer experience. Ensure space allocation best contributes to sales objectives
+ Promote Retail Visual Merchandising as a profit center contributor. Advocate and educate partners in other channels of the importance of the Visual Merchandising function.
+ Lead, manage and maintain home office visual lab across creative and operational tracts of work to support floor sets, product priorities and testing of new visual concepts
+ Create, maintain, and manage the annual budget for Visual Merchandising
Customer Experience:+ Develop and implement strategies that facilitate a customer first culture across visual, merchandising and service processes and programs
+ Partner with Home Office, Field Leaders and Learning & Communications to develop compelling product knowledge programs and initiatives that align with Corporate Goals that ensure best in class knowledge and service in customer interactions
+ Use VOC and customer experience analytics to advise strategy and decisions for stores
+ Analyze the end to end customer journey to identify opportunities and friction points that can be streamlined and improved to improve the customer experience
General:+ Conduct store visits to ensure stores are in compliance with standards and gather insights
+ Keep abreast of trends, understand industry evolution
+ Build and foster relationships in and out of the organization with peers, external resources, vendors and industry experts
+ Facilitate continuous improvement efforts to increase productivity, maximize process efficiencies and improve the work environment
+ Identify, recruit and develop talent for growth and advancement within the organization.
+ Develop a highly qualified and talented team
+ Identify talent, assesses abilities, communicate expectations, provide growth opportunities and ensure timely feedback that encourages development. Emphasize the importance of a team environment
+ Remain knowledgeable of the business through Pre-planning, In-season and Post-season analysis
+ Build influential relationships with leadership across other departments including, marketing, ecomm, IT, Merchandising, Allocations, Learning / Training, Human Resources
+ Acts as brand ambassador reflective of the company values
+ Remain aware of loss prevention, security, safety, and human resources policies and procedures
+ Assume other responsibilities as assigned
? Health and Safety Requirement: Every employee is responsible for contributing to a safe and healthy workplace. Employees are expected to be active participants in health and safety by following all safety policies and procedures, reporting unsafe conditions or at-risk behaviors to leadership, and conducting work in a safe manner. Those in a leadership role are also expected to model safe behaviors, evaluate risk, and ensure that risks are reduced to acceptable levels. Education Level: 4-Year Bachelors Degree, MBA or other graduate work is a plus Years of Experience: 5+ years Skills and Qualifications:+ Full-time work experience in retail visual leadership, store operations, multi store management role with corporate-wide scope/perspective, ideally Visual, Merchandising, Marketing, Customer Experience or Strategy function
+ Demonstrated advanced Retail store merchandising and operations experience
+ Strong balance of creative presentation skills and results orientation
+ Self-motivated with a high degree of independent decision-making abilities
+ Proven effective leadership and people management skills that contributes to a positive team environment
+ Collaborative, team player with ability to challenge constructively
+ Ability to schedule complex interrelated efforts and manage to critical deadlines and deliverables
+ Excellent written and oral communication skills
+ Organized and detail oriented
+ Excellent problem solving, negotiating and influencing abilities
+ Recruits, hires, and retains top talent to build bench strength for the team and the brand
+ Strong understanding of trend and style that is reflective of the brand and core customer
+ 25% travel required
L.L.Bean is for everyone. We are committed to fostering a culture of diversity and creating safe, inclusive spaces where everyone feels welcome – here and in the outdoors. If you care about the outdoors, joining L.L.Bean is a