Retail Marketing and Visual Design Manager- Hotel Chocolat
Mars, Incorporated, Chicago, IL, United States
Job Description:
Retail Marketing and Visual Design Manager
Chicago, IL
Hybrid (on-site 3 days a week)
Hotel Chocolat has built a strong position as the UK’s favorite premium chocolate brand
Reporting directly to the US Marketing Lead, as Retail Marketing & Visual Design Manager for the US, you will be accountable for visual merchandising of our product portfolio across all US retail stores and cafes – including both existing locations and all new locations in 2026 and beyond as our store network expands. This role will aid in defining store layouts and product range for each store format, and will be directly responsible for store-specific planograms including seasonal product layouts, as well as in-store execution of seasonal campaigns. This will include the end-to-end planning & execution of retail expansion, including all Visual Merchandise planning and execution of VM guidelines and ownership of external partnership timelines and deliverables to deliver a seamless, on‑brand customer journey through the store.
What are we looking for?
Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent work experience
4+ years of experience in Retail Visual Merchandising and range planning and execution in a multi‑site retailer
Experience of the retail environment and customer experience within physical retail
Previous experience working with a planogram software tool and Microsoft Office suite
Experience in leading the creation and execution of retail Marketing assets
Experience in writing strong creative briefs and leading creative development through agencies / in‑house teams
Demonstrable experience of working with in‑house or agency creative teams
Comfortable at operating at pace in a busy trading environment
Strong communicator – comfortable in engaging in the right way with all levels
Incredibly organized with meticulous attention to detail
Nice to have
Experience working with luxury or premium brands across both retail and food & beverage sectors
Experience working with luxury or premium brands across both retail and food & beverage sectors
Experience working with luxury or premium brands across both retail and food & beverage sectors
What would be your key responsibilities? Core Range & Retail Expansion
Drive creation of Visual Merchandizing guidelines/principles for all US stores in collaboration with trading, operational and property teams. Lead execution of VM guidelines for all US stores.
Define and execute planograms across all retail locations: recommend optimum range count for each store to maximize trading density; create product layouts and store‑specific planograms to ensure optimized sales and consistent execution across all stores.
Working closely with US Marketing & Retail teams and UK‑based in‑house studio, lead briefing, development, and execution of all in‑store marketing materials (POS, digital screen content, menu boards, etc.)
Support and consult the US team on retail marketing technology requirements such as digital screen CMS and applications
Lead visual merchandizing for all new store openings:
Lead the briefing, development and execution of marketing materials for new store openings, balance seasonal campaigns with new store introduction
Collaborate with US Retail team, store teams, operations, and demand planning to ensure alignment on stock packaged and VM minimums for store launches.
Collaborate with UK creative team, US teams, and US store fit‑design partners on fixtures and fittings to ensure the store is set up for success
Seasonal
Recommend optimum seasonal range count for each store each season to maximize trading density
Create seasonal product layouts and store‑specific planograms, ensuring the product & POS placement is in line with campaign objectives, sales, bestsellers and hero products
Plan and execute the retail launch for all seasonal campaigns in store, including briefing, development, and execution of all seasonal in‑store marketing material
Drive the creation of seasonal guidelines for store implementation
Analyze campaign and VM performance to make recommendations for future campaigns and launches to maximise revenue and profitability
General
Define the critical path for each project ensuring stakeholders are aligned and kept informed of progress
Ensure learnings are captured after each project and use these learnings to optimize future projects and recommend new opportunities
Potential to collaborate with US Marketing & Digital teams, along with in‑house studio, to optimize digital merchandizing experience on owned ecom site.
What can you expect from Hotel Chocolat?
We offer a range extending from luxury giftable chocolates to alcohol and our pioneering drinking chocolate system; the Velvetiser™. Our mission is to make people and nature happy through chocolate. Customers, colleagues, cacao farmers and suppliers can all benefit from the success we make together.
A competitive salary and Incentives based on performance
50% unlimited staff discount to treat yourself and your friends and family
70% discount off a stay in our Hotel in St Lucia
We recognize that our employees may wish to balance their work and family/home life and therefore we are open to discussions around flexible working
A chance to work in an exciting, innovative and expanding company
The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is between the range listed below, however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including but not limited to job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position will include variable pay, medical and dental benefits, participation in 401k plan, and paid time off benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an applicant receives an offer of employment.
USD $108,160-$148,720
Mars does not sponsor visas for this role. This position is not eligible for relocation benefits.
#LI-hybrid #LI-MS1
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Reporting directly to the US Marketing Lead, as Retail Marketing & Visual Design Manager for the US, you will be accountable for visual merchandising of our product portfolio across all US retail stores and cafes – including both existing locations and all new locations in 2026 and beyond as our store network expands. This role will aid in defining store layouts and product range for each store format, and will be directly responsible for store-specific planograms including seasonal product layouts, as well as in-store execution of seasonal campaigns. This will include the end-to-end planning & execution of retail expansion, including all Visual Merchandise planning and execution of VM guidelines and ownership of external partnership timelines and deliverables to deliver a seamless, on‑brand customer journey through the store.
What are we looking for?
Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent work experience
4+ years of experience in Retail Visual Merchandising and range planning and execution in a multi‑site retailer
Experience of the retail environment and customer experience within physical retail
Previous experience working with a planogram software tool and Microsoft Office suite
Experience in leading the creation and execution of retail Marketing assets
Experience in writing strong creative briefs and leading creative development through agencies / in‑house teams
Demonstrable experience of working with in‑house or agency creative teams
Comfortable at operating at pace in a busy trading environment
Strong communicator – comfortable in engaging in the right way with all levels
Incredibly organized with meticulous attention to detail
Nice to have
Experience working with luxury or premium brands across both retail and food & beverage sectors
Experience working with luxury or premium brands across both retail and food & beverage sectors
Experience working with luxury or premium brands across both retail and food & beverage sectors
What would be your key responsibilities? Core Range & Retail Expansion
Drive creation of Visual Merchandizing guidelines/principles for all US stores in collaboration with trading, operational and property teams. Lead execution of VM guidelines for all US stores.
Define and execute planograms across all retail locations: recommend optimum range count for each store to maximize trading density; create product layouts and store‑specific planograms to ensure optimized sales and consistent execution across all stores.
Working closely with US Marketing & Retail teams and UK‑based in‑house studio, lead briefing, development, and execution of all in‑store marketing materials (POS, digital screen content, menu boards, etc.)
Support and consult the US team on retail marketing technology requirements such as digital screen CMS and applications
Lead visual merchandizing for all new store openings:
Lead the briefing, development and execution of marketing materials for new store openings, balance seasonal campaigns with new store introduction
Collaborate with US Retail team, store teams, operations, and demand planning to ensure alignment on stock packaged and VM minimums for store launches.
Collaborate with UK creative team, US teams, and US store fit‑design partners on fixtures and fittings to ensure the store is set up for success
Seasonal
Recommend optimum seasonal range count for each store each season to maximize trading density
Create seasonal product layouts and store‑specific planograms, ensuring the product & POS placement is in line with campaign objectives, sales, bestsellers and hero products
Plan and execute the retail launch for all seasonal campaigns in store, including briefing, development, and execution of all seasonal in‑store marketing material
Drive the creation of seasonal guidelines for store implementation
Analyze campaign and VM performance to make recommendations for future campaigns and launches to maximise revenue and profitability
General
Define the critical path for each project ensuring stakeholders are aligned and kept informed of progress
Ensure learnings are captured after each project and use these learnings to optimize future projects and recommend new opportunities
Potential to collaborate with US Marketing & Digital teams, along with in‑house studio, to optimize digital merchandizing experience on owned ecom site.
What can you expect from Hotel Chocolat?
We offer a range extending from luxury giftable chocolates to alcohol and our pioneering drinking chocolate system; the Velvetiser™. Our mission is to make people and nature happy through chocolate. Customers, colleagues, cacao farmers and suppliers can all benefit from the success we make together.
A competitive salary and Incentives based on performance
50% unlimited staff discount to treat yourself and your friends and family
70% discount off a stay in our Hotel in St Lucia
We recognize that our employees may wish to balance their work and family/home life and therefore we are open to discussions around flexible working
A chance to work in an exciting, innovative and expanding company
The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is between the range listed below, however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including but not limited to job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position will include variable pay, medical and dental benefits, participation in 401k plan, and paid time off benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an applicant receives an offer of employment.
USD $108,160-$148,720
Mars does not sponsor visas for this role. This position is not eligible for relocation benefits.
#LI-hybrid #LI-MS1
#J-18808-Ljbffr