Manager, Visual Merchandising

Blue Nile•New York, NY

About The Position

Blue Nile is seeking a Manager of Visual Merchandising to define and execute the in-store visual expression of the Blue Nile brand across its showrooms. The role establishes product placement, adjacencies, and presentation standards so the assortment is easy to understand, inspiring to shop, and consistent with the brand. It partners closely with Store Planning on new and existing locations and develops in-store animations for holidays and key selling periods. The ideal candidate combines strong visual and product instincts with operational discipline, translating merchandising strategy into clear, executable standards for retail teams. The Manager owns visual merchandising standards, product adjacency strategies, case layouts, product density, focal points, storytelling moments, and the balance of core product and newness. The role develops scalable visual guidelines and planograms, works with Category Management to reflect product priorities and assortment architecture, and reviews showroom execution to evolve standards in response to customer behavior, commercial priorities, and assortment changes. The role partners with Store Planning on new stores, remodels, relocations, and fixture updates, advising on fixture placement, case allocation, sightlines, customer flow, category zoning, space needs, and flexible merchandising capacity. It also develops seasonal and promotional visual strategies, toolkits, and calendars in partnership with Creative, Marketing, Category Management, and Retail Operations, and evaluates activation effectiveness. As a cross-functional partner, the Manager coordinates with Merchandising, Category Management, Retail, Store Planning, Creative, Marketing, and Operations. The role turns priorities into actionable guidance and communication materials, works with field teams to address execution challenges, and manages multiple workstreams while balancing elevated brand standards with store operations and selling needs.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Visual Merchandising, Merchandising, Design, Retail, Marketing, or a related field.
5–8+ years of progressive visual merchandising experience, ideally in jewelry, luxury, fashion, specialty retail, or another product-led retail environment.
Strong visual and product sensibility, with demonstrated experience creating compelling product presentations and customer journeys.
Experience developing product placement, adjacency strategies, planograms, and scalable visual standards across multiple stores.
Experience partnering with Store Planning, Retail Design, or Store Development on new and existing store environments.
Demonstrated experience developing seasonal, promotional, or holiday visual merchandising programs.
Strong understanding of how visual merchandising supports customer engagement, Client Advisor selling, and commercial priorities.
Excellent project management, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Ability to translate creative and merchandising concepts into clear, operationally executable direction.
Strong attention to detail and ability to balance brand standards, customer experience, and store practicality.
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with multiple priorities and seasonal deadlines.

Responsibilities

Own product placement and visual merchandising standards across Blue Nile showrooms, translating merchandising strategy into clear in-store presentation.
Develop product adjacency strategies that create intuitive customer journeys and reinforce the role of key jewelry categories, collections, and customer occasions.
Establish standards for case layouts, product density, focal points, storytelling moments, and the balance of core product and newness.
Create scalable visual guidelines and planograms that support consistent execution while accommodating differences in store footprint and assortment.
Partner with Category Management to understand product priorities, hero products, launches, and assortment architecture and translate them into physical presentation.
Review showroom execution regularly and evolve standards based on customer behavior, commercial priorities, and assortment changes.
Partner with Store Planning on merchandising needs for new stores, remodels, relocations, and fixture updates.
Advise on fixture placement, case allocation, sightlines, customer flow, category zoning, and flexible merchandising capacity.
Translate assortment requirements into physical space needs and recommend selling-space allocation across categories and product stories.
Review store plans and layouts to support customer discovery, selling behaviors, and evolving assortment priorities.
Identify opportunities to improve store layouts and fixture utilization based on assortment changes, customer needs, and business priorities.
Collaborate with Retail, Store Planning, Creative, Operations, and Merchandising to ensure store concepts can be executed consistently and maintained effectively.
Develop visual merchandising strategies and in-store animations for holidays, gifting moments, launches, and key selling periods.
Translate seasonal priorities into product stories, focal moments, and presentation direction for showrooms.
Partner with Creative, Marketing, and Category Management to align campaign storytelling, product priorities, and the in-store customer experience.
Create visual toolkits specifying product placement, display direction, signage integration, and execution standards for activations.
Build a calendar of visual merchandising changes aligned with commercial priorities and key retail moments.
Partner with Retail Operations on execution timing, communication, and field implementation.
Evaluate animation effectiveness and incorporate learnings into future visual direction.
Coordinate across Merchandising, Category Management, Retail, Store Planning, Creative, Marketing, and Operations for the physical product experience.
Translate merchandising priorities into simple, actionable direction and develop visual standards, guides, and communication materials for retail teams.
Partner with Retail leadership and field teams to identify execution challenges and improve standards and tools.
Manage multiple visual workstreams and deadlines with attention to detail, consistency, and follow-through.
Champion an elevated customer experience while balancing aesthetic standards with practical store operations and selling needs.