Director of Visual Merchandising, Americas will define and lead the visual merchandising strategy across Diptyque Americas, ensuring a cohesive and elevated expression of the Maison across all retail, wholesale, travel retail independent environments, corporate office and ephemeral spaces and events. This role will translate global vision into a clear regional roadmap, driving consistency, innovation, and commercial impact across all client touchpoints. The role is based in our corporate offices in NYC and oversees two direct reports.
Leading with a strategic, cross-channel lens, this role will strengthen planning, consistency of brand expression, and executional impact. The Director will collaborate closely with Sales, Retail, Marketing, and Global teams to prioritize high-impact initiatives, support new store openings, and continuously elevate and optimize visual merchandising execution.
This leader will balance strategic direction with in-field excellence, elevating visual standards while building strong cross-functional integration across the organization, while managing VM budget tightly.
Key AccountabilitiesVisual Merchandising Strategy & Planning- Define and own the regional visual merchandising strategy across retail and wholesale, ensuring alignment with global vision and local business priorities
- Develop a long-term VM roadmap, proactively sequencing initiatives across launches, animations, and key commercial moments
- Translate HQ visual merchandising strategy with agility, adapting concepts to store specificities while maintaining the integrity of the Maison's visual identity
- Continuously evolve visual storytelling to re-engage clients, driving visibility and rediscovery of the full catalogue
- Develop a VM strategy that balances both animation plans and permanent displays to ensure consistency and longevity of brand expression
- Ensure a cohesive expression of the brand across all channels and touchpoints, including the NYC corporate office
- Maintain relationships with VM vendors known for their excellence in execution and creativity and negotiate with VM vendors
Field Leadership & Regional Ownership- Oversee execution of visual merchandising across retail and wholesale environments, ensuring consistency with global guidelines
- In partnership with CMO and SVP sales, establish clear prioritization of field visits and initiatives based on business performance and strategic importance
- Maintain a strong in-field presence to uphold visual excellence, support key launches, and ensure flawless execution
- Lead and elevate visual standards across all doors, including new counter installations, outposts, and seasonal updates
Cross-Functional Integration- Partner closely with the SVP of Sales on execution planning, prioritization, and tracking of VM initiatives
- Collaborate with Retail, Wholesale, and Marketing teams to ensure VM strategy supports broader commercial and brand objectives
- Partner with Global VM to align on concepts, launches, and guidelines, while advocating for regional needs
- Align space and visual storytelling to drive both brand expression and sales performance
- Partner closely with Sales on assortment strategy to ensure the right product is placed in the right location, within the right space allocation and planogram, to maximize productivity and client experience
- Serve as a key partner to Sales leadership, constructing VM tests and providing insights on how visual merchandising can optimize performance by door
Performance & Business Impact- Define and track KPIs to measure the effectiveness of VM initiatives, linking visual execution to commercial outcomes
- Analyze performance of key displays, launches, and installations to inform future strategy and optimization
- Clearly articulate the business impact of VM decisions, ensuring visibility at leadership level
- Identify opportunities to innovate and elevate the client experience through visual storytelling
- Push the Local Best Sellers strategy to increase productivity and Fragrance category penetration
Team Leadership & Capability Building- Lead, coach, and develop the visual merchandising team, fostering both creative excellence and strategic thinking
- Build strong relationships with global partners in Paris HQ, and Americas field teams and retail partners to inspire ownership of visual standards
- Deliver training and tools that enable consistent execution and understanding of VM principles across the network
- Create a culture of accountability, creativity, and continuous elevation
Project Management & Installations- Oversee all new VM installations and visual rollouts, ensuring seamless coordination with Global and local stakeholders
- Develop, align with leadership, manage and optimize budget (CAPEX/OPEX) and timelines
- Ensure high standards of execution from concept through installation
Key Requirements- 12-15+ years of experience in Visual Merchandising, with significant leadership responsibility in luxury retail
- Proven ability to define and execute visual merchandising strategies across multi-channel environments
- Strong strategic thinking, with the ability to translate creative vision into structured, actionable plans
- Experience managing complex projects, including installations and large-scale rollouts
- Strong cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management skills, including global collaboration
- Ability to connect visual merchandising initiatives to commercial performance and client experience outcomes
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels
- Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
- Strong operational and budget discipline (CAPEX and OPEX)
- Adherence to T&E budgets, company policies, and travel guidelines, including timely expense reporting
- Strong design sensibility, with an appreciation for French culture and a natural affinity for art, nature, and culture
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign) and Microsoft Office
- Ability to actively manage the hands-on physical execution of VM installations and window/vinyl installation up to 35 pounds, including fixture movement, prop placement, merchandising setup, packing/unpacking, and onsite troubleshooting to ensure flawless implementation and adherence to Maison standards
- Willingness to travel extensively (up to ~60-70%)
