Visual Merchandisers: Behind The Rail

Visual merchandisers are the masterminds behind the stunning window displays that we see every day on the high street. These individuals are influencers who convince us to spend our money, whether it's on a new product we've seen in the window or more subtly by the way products are arranged on the rail.

We went behind the scenes with Ted Baker’s Visual Merchandiser, Lauren, to find out more about the psychology behind this marketing phenomenon and learn how to build a successful rail.

Rachel: What is the importance of Visual Merchandising in stores?

Lauren: Having a VM is extremely important, as it inspires customers by giving them a unique experience. A good window display draws in a crowd and encourages them to visit the store, which will mostly result in sales. VMs also help drive categories that are slumping, by money mapping, which allows us to see which rails are preforming successfully. We will then rearrange rails, as it may be due to some categories not being as visible as others. This will ensure that these are the first thing that a customer will see when they arrive in a store.

Rachel: What impact can Visual Merchandising have on consumers?

Lauren: What consumers don’t know is that we are subconsciously influencing them to buy our clothes by staging rails. For example, we will place certain items together, such as jeans and tops, so that the customer will see how well they go together and take them both - they then think they have built their own outfit. By using the rule of three method, in which you place the same products near each other, it acts as a psychological influence - the more you see a product, the more likely you are to buy it.

Rachel: What skills do you need to be a VM?

Lauren: You definitely need to be creative and have a passion for VM. I would say that a VM should also be confident in their own abilities and trust their judgement. You also need to be independent as a VM is often working on their own. You also really need to know your customers, who have specific needs dependent on their location. Also, they shouldn’t be afraid of experimenting; this can make all the difference!

Rachel: What are the key requirements in portraying a brand?

Lauren: VMs should be commercially-minded when portraying a brand, so that they are aware of current trends and other competitors. Keeping up to date with bloggers is important as they may be promoting something that is becoming increasingly popular which could be incorporated into a window display.

What consumers don’t know is that we are subconsciously influencing them to buy our clothes by staging rails.

Rachel: What aspect do you love most about VM?

Lauren: I love the creativity and freedom, as it enables us to give customers the ultimate experience. I also find the commercial side of VM very interesting.

Rachel: What are the changes you have seen in VM since you started?

Lauren: Probably the biggest change I have seen in VM is the rise of bloggers. With their vast following, they can have quite an impact on promoting individual items that are on offer at a particular brand.

Rachel: So, how do you build a rail?

Lauren: It’s important to make a rail look as exciting and eye-catching as possible. One way to do this is by using minimal colours that are punchy and strong so that they appeal to everyone. You need to make sure that the colours are evenly distributed, so they look symmetrical and having a similar length dispersed is important, as it makes the rail look tidy and well thought-out. I also like the use of props and decorations which grab the customer’s attention and initiate conversation with team members.

With the art of arranging products to boost sales having become its own specialised role, it is clear that businesses are well aware that consumers shop with their eyes and that a little guidance from a Visual Merchandiser can go a long way.

The Changing Face Of Your High Street

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Have you noticed how your local high street keeps changing? Do you wonder why stores come and go all the time – perhaps one of your favourite shops has closed or moved to another part of town, or cafes and restaurants are taking over what used to be nothing but clothes? Have you noticed how South Molton Street in London used to be a shoe shopper’s paradise, but now it’s become petit Paris with every French fashion brand under the sun but not a single shoe shop in sight?

High streets are constantly evolving.

Just look at the city of Bath. I used to be a Jaeger regional manager in the early Noughties and Bath was one of my stores. Back then, Bath had four distinct shopping areas: Milsom Street, where most premium stores were located, Union Street and Stall Street which had mass market stores, Southgate with a tired 1960s shopping centre and Walcot Street with a selection of independent stores and markets.

At that time, Milsom Street was really the only place that buyers would find premium stores. With a Gap Kids at the very top, a House of Fraser, a large Russell & Bromley and a Habitat and Gap at the bottom, it was the primary focus for clothing shoppers. Union Street and Stall Street had key mass market brands such as M&S, HMV, WH Smith and Dixons, so attracted buyers on their way back down from Milsom Street who needed household products and food. Southgate’s aged indoor-outdoor centre hosted an Argos with an H&M and Top Show nearby, and Walcot Street, at the very top of town, hosted a range of independent stores such as musical instrument sellers, antiques stores and even an unlikely small Apple shop (remember, this was long before Apple’s rise to fame).

That was over ten years ago, so what is the position now?

Milson Street has seen some change. Habitat has been replaced by the modern, American, fashion experience brand Anthropologie, House of Fraser has had a long over-due refit, Bravissimo and Space NK are new entrants and there are several new stores selling quirky gifts. In essence, Milsom Street has evolved, but it still caters for the premium brand-seeking shopper, relying on House of Fraser and Gap as its anchor stores.

In 2007, it was announced that the Southgate area would be redeveloped, and in 2009 a brand new outdoor shopping centre opened at the bottom of town. So what would it mean for this city’s shopping? Well, in the new centre, Bath welcomed in some refreshing popular stores: Apple (now a far larger glass-fronted store), The North Face, All Saints, Kurt Geiger, Debenhams, and a more extensive Top Shop and River Island, all ventured into Southgate.

This development has radically changed the status quo of the city. Premium brands are now both ‘at the top of town’ in Milson Street AND ‘at the bottom of town’ in Southgate, so if you are a shopper, you now have a choice: park at the top and just visit Milsom Street? Or park at the bottom and just visit Southgate? There is a long walk between the two, and, with these choices now in place, many visitors are just shopping at one end or the other rather than ambling throughout the whole of Bath. The new underground car park next to Southgate is another hit to Milsom Street’s former dominance: previously, customers divided necessarily between Walcot Street’s parking at the top and Avon Street’s parking at the bottom, but now there is so much more space at the bottom end that customers don’t need to seek parking spaces at the top – which can only be contributing to Southgate’s success.

The most interesting thing is what has happened in the middle. The area around Union Street and Stall Street has been struggling for years, and in my view this has been the real casualty of the new Southgate development.

Burton has closed, as has the iconic independent toy store Erik Snook and the long-time favourite Thorntons. Some of the larger stores like River Island have jumped ship to Southgate and the brands that replaced them frequently change. New brands include Primark and Ecco and these appear to be surviving, but there is still a great deal of work to be done. It will be interesting to see what happens next: will it be fashion-led retailers who save the day, or stores that provide customers with unique experiences? Flying Tiger Copenhagen seems to be tapping into the latter niche rather well, but it is yet to be seen whether it will go the way of so many ‘middle town' brands and die out in a few years’ time.

What is clear is that no high street ever stands still. To stay in business, cities need evolution, and while no one can easily predict how those changes will affect them, everyone wants to know.

Miss Muir, Queen of the Dress

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Jean Muir is considered to be one of the most iconic female fashion designers of the twentieth-century. Her designs are best known for their understated elegance, which heavily influenced the European fashion industry at the time, producing minimalist, yet stylish, pieces of clothing. Muir herself was said to wear navy throughout her life.

Although diminutive in stature at only five feet tall, she was a force to be reckoned with and was always known gallantry as Miss Muir rather than Jean. While adored by many, she was considered intimidating due to her strive for perfectionism and strong work ethic. This is perhaps why she counts royals and acclaimed celebrities amongst some of her clients. Despite her success, she rejected being labelled as a designer and instead preferred the term ‘dressmaker.’ Her modest attitude towards her designs is apparent when she claims that ‘the clothes in themselves do not make a statement. The woman makes a statement and the dress helps’.

Never short of admirers, she was been branded the ‘painter of modern life’ by the poet Baudelaire and was affectionately known in France as the ‘la reine de la robe,’ which loosely translates as ‘queen of the dress.’

"The clothes in themselves do not make a statement. The woman makes a statement and the dress helps." — Jean Muir

Born in 1928, her appetite for fashion was apparent from a young age: she began to sew at the age of six. Her first real taste of fashion began at Liberty & Co in 1950, where she worked briefly as a stockroom assistant. She worked in the lingerie and Young Liberty sections and was later given the opportunity to work within the ready to wear department at Liberty sketching clothes, despite no formal training.

In 1956, she gained a job as a designer at Jaeger and went on to develop the Young Jaeger collection. Six years later, she left Jaeger to establish her own brand, Jane & Jane, funded by David Barnes, a mass-market manufacturer of jersey dresses. While designing for Jane and Jane, Muir was awarded three Dress Of The Year awards, one of which is preserved at The Bath Fashion Museum. It was not until 1966 that she founded her eponymous company, Jean Muir Ltd.

Many of her dress designs and collection have since been donated and can be viewed at the National Museum of Scotland, which holds many of her best known work, such as the Little Black Dress, which used to belong to Joanna Lumley. The Bath Fashion Museum features her 1974 lemon coloured jersey dress as part of ‘A History of Fashion in 100 objects’ collection.

Although she died in 1995, she is still recognised as being one of the most influential designers of the time, a true fashion icon of the twentieth-century.