What the pros say

The job of visual merchandiser, or the art of seducing customers

Deirdre Dallasalam discovered retail sales almost by chance.

"When I was younger, I worked part time in a store to pay for my education. Thanks to this work in the food industry, I was in direct contact with the job of window dresser and fell in love with the world of merchandising in general."

Very quickly, sales and retail business became a true passion. She then started a fashion marketing degree at LaSalle College.  "During my studies, I learned to develop my sense of aesthetics, my creativity, and especially how to communicate my love for fashion to others."

Today, Deirdre Dallasalam works in Montreal for a retail chain specializing in men's underwear, "Caleçon vos goûts." The banner's 13 stores have the same basic visual, complemented by the personal touch of store managers as the people in charge of product presentation. "The main task of visual merchandisers is to sell all the products in their store. If a product is not as successful as expected, it's up to us, as visual merchandisers, to present it in such a way as to make it attractive. What I like about my job is that it always pushes me to do better and to be more creative. Although our products are certainly good, our job is to convince buyers to fork out more than $50 for something you don't see. That's the challenge my salespeople and I face every day."