Visual Merchandising

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours per week: 40

Who are Bird & Blend Tea co? 

Bird & Blend Tea Co. is an eco-conscious, people-focused, award-winning & B Corp-certified Tea Mixology company on a mission to spread happiness & reimagine tea

Bird & Blend was set up & is run by Krisi & Mike, who met whilst studying Politics (of all things) at university. Building Bird & Blend from scratch while staying true to its ethos & values has been Krisi & Mike's passion for over 10 years.

From the early days of packing tea in their bedroom & attending markets, to now, with an awesome team, multiple retail stores & a thriving international online store, Bird & Blend is leading the way in tea innovation in the UK.

Bird & Blend has grown out of a core belief in doing business in a better way. This is ultimately our why - it's why we are in business & what we believe in. Of course, we want to welcome as many people as possible into our Magical World of Tea but fundamentally it's what we care about other than great tea that makes us magical.

You can read heaps more information about us and our mission here: 

As our Visual Merchandising Manager, you will provide essential brand, creative & commercial input for the visual merchandising across our entire retail estate for new & existing stores. This is a brand new role offering a unique opportunity to make your mark at a business with 30+ stores & big ambitions to grow and diversify this in the coming years. 

Our retail stores are a place for our passionate Tea Mixologists to create unique, memorable & personalised experiences for our customers, and visual merchandising is an essential part of this. 

Reporting directly to the Brand Director, you will work closely with our creative & retail teams to own the overall look of our stores by bringing our unique customer experience & industry-leading products to life and telling our brand story. This includes our existing estate as well as playing a key role in the planning & build for new stores. An excellent communicator, you will be a vital link between the brand & retail teams, helping to ensure that our brand is fully represented across channels & retail voice is fed back to our brand team.

This is a hybrid role based between our offices near Worthing & on the road visiting stores to support with planning new store builds, overseeing visual merchandising installations, seeing the products in action, building relationships with store teams & getting to know our local communities.

Responsibilities include:

New Store Openings & Growth Areas

• Mapping new store layouts & adapting visual merchandising strategies for maximum impact, working with unique store footprints across our estate.
• Coordinating elevating store design across new & existing stores, including potentially contributing towards the development of a unique flagship store proposition.
• Collaborating with retail teams to develop creative, compelling, commercial & on-brand zonings for each product category, reviewing product mix & best-seller analysis to ensure displays are in line with customer demand alongside brand standards. 
• Developing impactful visual merchandising for new growth avenues for the business, including flagship stores, pop-ups, kiosks, concessions & opportunities with B2B partners.
• Working with operational teams to plan exact materials needed for store fit-outs to achieve desired layouts & in-store experience. 
• Sourcing materials including props, fabrics, hardware, & lighting for stores, being mindful to minimise wastage & invest in sustainable materials, working to a set budget. 
• Contributing to the plan, layout & zoning for new store openings, offering a creative & commercial eye alongside robust knowledge of the brand customer journey & story.

Creative Execution

• Collaborating with the brand marketing team to develop clear briefs for artwork, printed materials & visual assets for our in-house Creative Studio to produce, as well as working with external suppliers.
• Contributing to the development of ambitious, attention-grabbing window displays to support brand messages & campaign launches, working with creative & retail teams. 
• Overseeing & providing support to each store with window product change for every campaign or rotation, physically assisting with the installation when required.
• Supporting the installation & execution of campaign focus areas & zones for each rotation, in line with the campaign vision. 
• Maintaining all essential information in an accurate VM Matrix, including key measurements and planograms for new & existing store layouts. 

Training 

• Carrying out training & in-person visits with our teams to ensure products are consistently displayed & merchandised in line with brand & campaign guidelines. 
• Providing on-the-ground coaching & knowledge to build our store teams' capabilities. 
• Sharing feedback & recommendations with the brand team, store teams & Retail Area Managers to ensure the visual merchandising is as strong as possible.
• Working with the Retail Ops Manager to ensure stores are maintained to a high standard, with all lighting, windows, props, merchandising units & furniture kept in good condition.

Skills & Experience 

• Experience in a similar role for a challenger, experience-focused, creative brand
• Passionate about sustainability & minimising waste
• Interest in design & lifestyle trends 
• High standards & an eye for detail, able to stick to and champion brand guidelines 
• Excellent communication & negotiation skills 

Are there any perks?

Of course there are, for all the hard work you will get:

• We are proud to be a Sunday Times Best Places To Work 2024 employer.
• Friendly and supportive team culture: Enjoy working alongside a team of like-minded individuals who value collaboration, camaraderie, and fun in the workplace.
• Membership of company pension scheme (if applicable): Secure your financial future with enrollment in a company-sponsored pension scheme, ensuring peace of mind and financial stability in retirement.
• Holiday accrual that grows with loyalty: Enjoy 25 days holiday (plus