Maria Aristizabal
Elmsford,NY
Summary
Lead teams in creating compelling design concepts and merchandising strategies to position brands for leadership, sustainability, and exponential growth in competitive global markets. Provide creative direction and standards for visual merchandising, store design and events, to build memorable and authentic brands that maintain brand integrity in sophisticated marketplaces. Drive strategic design innovation for new and existing product lines, flagship, retail, and boutique stores, as well as corporate offices to attract, engage, and influence target audiences. Foster inclusive, collaborative, and accountable cultures within high-performing cross-functional teams to achieve aggressive brand objectives.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
GLOBAL HEAD OF VISUAL MERCHANDISING & STORE DESIGN
Chantecaille
01.2022 - 06.2024
- Managed global design, build-out, installations
- Design and manage all global merchandising and pop-ups
- Ensure the brand visual standards are represented across store merchandising, product launches, events, special animations, and store openings
- Design all new global store requests, including project management, material sourcing, POSM planning and ordering, managing technical drawings and weekly status with ASIA marketing, UK markets for updates
- Create design concepts for National Sales Meeting
- Manage the budget, production, and installation of sales meeting, including outsourcing vendors, media, AV needs photography, and videography
- Source venues, create design concepts for all events, manage the production, and travel to all destinations to lead the installation and run of show
- Support the field team needs for the activation at each event
- Create design concepts for Visual Weeks and manage the production, create 3D rendering for retailer presentations
- Schedule and perform site surveys, oversee installations and dismantling
- Source venues, create and design concepts for Pop-Ups in store
- Create 3D renderings for retailer presentations
- Schedule and perform site surveys
- Source materials, furniture, and assets for design needs
- Oversee production, installation, and dismantling of all events
- Manager the production of all graphics, including scheduling installers
- Source materials and florals and execute the installations and floral designs
- Worked effectively in fast-paced environments.
- Skilled at working independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
- Proven ability to learn quickly and adapt to new situations.
- Managed time efficiently in order to complete all tasks within deadlines.
- Self-motivated, with a strong sense of personal responsibility.
SR DIRECTOR, VISUAL MERCHANDISING, STORE DESIGN & CREATIVE
Parfums Christian Dior
05.2016 - 02.2021
- Managed design, build-out, installations, and merchandising of 100+ flagship, A, B, and C doors and on budget
- Inspire and lead 10-person visual merchandising and creative team to collaborate on designing strategies that align with brand goals and objectives for execution at 1,000+ points of distribution
- Project manage all aspects of installations including material and fixture sourcing, vendor communications, collateral design for in-store launches and visual weeks
- Schedule, budget, secure venues, lead design and execution for Pop Up events
- Manage $7M merchandising and creative budget; co-manage $15M capex budget
- Member, LVMH D&I Council – EllesVMH
- Negotiated incremental spaces in major markets, elevated event and launch design and production which lead the brand to YoY growth in fragrance
- Increased brand rank to #5 Brand, #2 Fragrance House and Men’s #1 Fragrance rank surpassing market trend by 30 points
- Conceptualized and executed design of new executive offices, café, conference rooms, and reception areas for new location at 510 Madison Avenue, achieving on-time, on-budget completion for relocation
- Engaged diverse stakeholders to execute
- Edited and curated video content in café and reception
- Led launch design and merchandising that positioned Sauvage franchise as #1 Men’s Fragrance in US, gained market share, and broke all visual week sales records at both top retailers – Macy’s and Dillard’s – with double-digit sales growth
- Spearheaded sustainable design initiative that saved $500K annually and recycled estimated 8 tons of plastic in first year
- Value engineered designs to ensure fully sustainable production and 100% recyclability
- Optimized project timelines by effectively delegating tasks and prioritizing workload among team members.
- Cultivated a culture of innovation by promoting creative thinking and encouraging employees to take calculated risks in pursuit of solutions.
- Developed strong relationships with key industry partners, fostering collaboration and mutual growth opportunities.
- Directed design and execution of business transformation initiatives to drive performance, profit optimization and growth opportunities.
SENIOR DIRECTOR, VISUAL MERCHANDISING & RETAIL DESIGN
Clarins
01.2014 - 01.2016
- Streamlined visual merchandising and design process across North American retailers
- Recruited to transition North America business into process-driven operation for greater efficiency and consistent merchandising
- Project managed all new installations from design and architectural review to permitting, approvals, and sourcing to build-out, punch list management, and custom fixture design and build
- Liaised between retailers, contractors, and mills
- Led team of 2 direct reports
- Managed $5M capex and $1.5M merchandising budgets annually
- Built brand equity in US market with 25%+ increase in contact base and doubled placement at Ulta by initiating participation in tradeshows: Ulta GM Expo, Sephora Event, and Health & Wellness Expo with Macy’s Herald Square
- Elevated brand image by launching new visual merchandising system at Ulta and co-creating new design for Dillard’s The Edge
- Created consistent brand message throughout US market by developing and distributing merchandising guidelines for field teams
- Designed all collateral for in-store launch support, visual weeks, and Pop-Up events
DIRECTOR, VISUAL MERCHANDISING & STORE PLANNING
Clinique
01.2013 - 01.2014
- Positioned Clinique as #1 skincare brand in 1,750 different points of sale
- Recruited back to lead creative development of merchandising and store concepts for consistent brand identity as well as marketing and sales alignment
- Directed projects from concept through installation to meet timelines, budgets, and quality standards by working with vendor and global design teams
- Designed in-store launch support collateral and visual weeks at retail partners
- Led team of 6
- Co-managed $10M capex budget; owned $5M merchandising spend
- Propelled Clinique from #1 skincare brand in 450 doors at 2 retailers – Nordstrom and Dillard’s – to 2,200 doors by developing and distributing merchandising guidelines to all POS, ensuring alignment with brand standards
- Redesigned Herald Square Town Center location to acquire incremental space and customize visual week by building and leveraging relationships with store teams to increase GWP promotions to 4 times per year
- Championed new concept execution globally by developing merchandising and installation guidelines and traveling to each location to ensure customer experience excellence and alignment with brand expectations
Education
Interior Design
NEW YORK SCHOOL OF INTERIOR DESIGN
New York, NY Workshops - Portraiture, Landscape, and Lightroom
INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Skills
- Creative Cloud
- IWD Displayer
- Sketch-up Pro
- MS Office: PowerPoint
- Friendly, Positive Attitude
- Teamwork and Collaboration
- Problem-Solving
- Attention to Detail
- Critical Thinking
- Calm Under Pressure
Languages
Spanish
Full Professional
Timeline
GLOBAL HEAD OF VISUAL MERCHANDISING & STORE DESIGN
Chantecaille
01.2022 - 06.2024
SR DIRECTOR, VISUAL MERCHANDISING, STORE DESIGN & CREATIVE
Parfums Christian Dior
05.2016 - 02.2021
SENIOR DIRECTOR, VISUAL MERCHANDISING & RETAIL DESIGN
Clarins
01.2014 - 01.2016
DIRECTOR, VISUAL MERCHANDISING & STORE PLANNING
Clinique
01.2013 - 01.2014
Workshops - Portraiture, Landscape, and Lightroom
INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Interior Design
NEW YORK SCHOOL OF INTERIOR DESIGN
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