What are the responsibilities and job description for the Retail Design & VM Manager position at Bulgari?
The Regional Manager, Retail Design and Visual Merchandising plays a pivotal role in shaping, elevating, and maintaining the Bulgari fragrance brand image across the Americas. This hybrid role bridges strategic retail design and hands-on visual merchandising execution—managing projects from initial concept and bidding through production, installation, maintenance, and reporting.
Retail Design & Project Management
• Lead the strategic planning, design adaptation, and implementation of all retail environments, including permanent counters, backwalls, pop-ups, and experiential podiums.
• Manage end-to-end project lifecycles: review technical drawings, select the right vendor(s), ensure adherence to company procurement policies, deliver projects on time and within CAPEX budgets
• Identify and optimize a network of local Americas suppliers to enhance construction efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
• Conduct site inspections to guarantee compliance with design specifications, lighting requirements, and local building codes.
Visual Merchandising & Training
• Oversee the adaptation and implementation of visual merchandising guidelines for counters and windows, ensuring consistent execution across retail, wholesale, and travel retail doors for POS openings, renovations, and the yearly product animation plan.
• Manage visuals, display materials, and prop inventories for permanent locations, new openings, and key marketing events.
• Train client advisors and retail business partners on display standards to guarantee the highest quality of product presentation.
Counter Maintenance & Supplier Optimization
• Streamline the regional counter maintenance process: coordinate reported issues with Area Sales Managers (ASMs), obtain quotations from approved contractors, and oversee work execution.
• Run the annual bidding process for maintenance works to secure competitive rates and reliable contractor support.
Stakeholder Collaboration & Reporting
• Act as the primary liaison between Regional HQ, local markets, and external partners to synchronize store openings and visual launches.
• Track project performance and maintenance to provide regular reports to management on installations and visual strategies.
• Maintain a comprehensive, up-to-date image database of all boutiques and counters for strategic planning.
• Degree in Architecture, Interior Design, Visual Merchandising, or a related discipline.
• Experience: 5 years of professional experience in store visual merchandising, retail design, and project management (beauty, fragrance, or luxury wholesale/retail environment strongly preferred).
• Proven track record in budget planning, CAPEX management, and vendor/supplier relations.
Technical Skills
Proficiency in design tools: AutoCAD, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Adobe Creative Suite.
• Strong command of MS Office (Excel, PowerPoint).
• Language fluency: English required; Spanish and/or Italian are strong pluses.
• Ability to travel across the Americas as needed.
Core Competencies
• Creative & Detail-Oriented: A strong eye for luxury aesthetics, execution, and troubleshooting.
• Project Management & Agility: Excellent planning, prioritization, and organizational skills.
• Results-Driven & Autonomous: A business-centric mindset with the ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Interpersonal Savvy: Strong communication, negotiation, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ownership & Autonomy: Highly self-reliant and comfortable managing the entire function independently, from high-level strategy down to day-to-day administrative and operational execution.