Senior Manager, Visual Merchandising & Retail Experience

Job Description

Job Description

Company Description

Amer Sports is a sporting goods company with internationally recognized brands including Salomon, Arc’teryx, Peak Performance, Atomic and Wilson.

“The Mountain Sport Company”, Salomon was born in 1947 in the heart of the French Alps and the birthplace of modern alpinism. Salomon’s commitment to innovative design and passion for mountain sports created a vast range of revolutionary new concepts in bindings, boots, skis and apparel for both Alpine and Nordic skiing and brought innovative solutions to footwear, apparel and equipment for snowboarding, adventure racing, mountaineering, hiking, trail running, and many other sports.

Through performance driven design, Salomon delivers innovation and progression to mountain sports; converting new ideas into action and expanding the limits of possibility. Salomon’s heritage, culture, and commitment are tied together by one simple concept: the world’s leading mountain people creating the world’s leading mountain products. Salomon is responsibly committed towards the outdoor through its sustainability program. Diversity is one of Salomon’s five values, therefore we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all.

Salomon is headquartered in Annecy, France.

Job Description

Senior Manager, Visual Merchandising & Retail Experience 

Reports To: VP of Marketing, North America

Business Area: Marketing 

Location: New York City

Travel: up to 50% Travel

OVERVIEW 

Salomon North America is expanding our retail marketing team. We are looking for a Senior Manager, Visual Merchandising & Retail Experience to lead the execution of our global retail experience playbook across owned retail channels in North America. This role is responsible for aligning brand and product storytelling with our consumer calendar. The Senior Manager will lead local retail marketing and visual merchandising (VM) teams, partner closely with product merchandising, and own the end-to-end consumer journey across Salomon's owned retail footprint. They will be the expert when it comes to retail concept and fixture packages and experience, plus lead planning and execution of all store development from a VM perspective that elevates the Salomon retail experience consistently across the region 

SCOPE OF WORK: Outdoor, Road, Trail, Sportstyle, Apparel & Gear and Brand

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES 

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty and responsibility with best-in-class performance: 

Playbook evolution and execution 

• Localize and execute Salomon's global retail experience playbook across all owned retail doors in North America. 

• Partner with global VM and retail experience teams to provide regional feedback that informs future playbook development. 

• Partner directly with new store opening team and local retail marketing to drive the look & feel and experience at each Salomon store opening. 

• Anticipate visual and store design/floorplan opportunities and drive related VM evolution. 

• Track and report on marketing KPIs for each store.

VM

• Develop and implement retail VM guidelines, seasonal launches, product stories, windows and fixtures (train the trainer). 

• Partner with Merch and Planning to ensure VM support inventory opportunities.

• Analyze store performance and adjust merch strategies. 

• Partner with Area managers, Store manager to ensure team training and compliance on VM standards. 

Guest experience 

• Identify opportunities to make the guest experience more engaging and elevated. 

• Develop retail standards across all touchpoints, and by store type.

• Capture ideas and best practices from top doors and share with the teams.

• Monthly calls with Guest Experience DORs to discuss launches, VM updates, standards and opportunities. 

• Support end-to-end consumer journey across Salomon-owned retail in North America, from entry experience through product discovery, fitting/trial, and checkout. 

Brand & Product Storytelling 

• Ensure all in-store brand and product storytelling is aligned with the global brand calendar, seasonal launches, and campaign moments. Prioritize and elevate stories based on the consumer assortment and objective with each store. 

• Connect events, product launches, community engagement and loyalty program incentives to ensure a seamless guest experience. 

• Collaborate with brand marketing to ensure consistency of messaging and creative execution from campaign concept through in-store delivery. 

Team Leadership 

• Manage and develop the local retail marketing and visual merchandising teams. 

• Propose team evolution and capabilities required as we scale.

• Set priorities, allocate resources, and manage workload across store install cycles and seasonal resets in alignment with the product merchandising and store teams. 

Cross-Functional Partnership 

• Support product merchandising teams by aligning VM strategy with assortment planning, product launches, and category priorities. 

• Partner closely with store operations and retail leadership to allocate and manage budgets. 

• Attend major floor sets for our key doors to support retail teams. 

• Identify opportunities to enhance the in-store experience, drive engagement, and support conversion and brand loyalty. 

• Use consumer insights, store performance data, and feedback loops to continuously refine the retail experience. 

Qualifications

Experience 

• 10+ years of experience in visual merchandising, retail experience, retail marketing, or related field, with at least 3 years in a people management role. 

• Experience working with a global brand and executing global playbooks/guidelines at a regional or local level. 

• Expert in retail tech solutions and/or 3D software that develop renderings, planograms and support floor set development.

Skills & Competencies 

• Strong understanding of visual merchandising principles, retail design, and brand storytelling. 

• Proven ability to lead and develop teams across multiple locations. 

• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent seasonal initiatives. 

• Data-informed decision-making with the ability to translate consumer and performance insights into action, including competitor benchmarking. 

• Passion for the outdoors, sport, and the Salomon brand. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORKING ENVIRONMENT 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to sit, stand and walk. The employee must occasionally kneel, stoop, crouch, twist and lift to 50 pounds, with or without accommodations.

Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus. This Job also requires driving and possession of a state issued Drivers License.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.