Visual merchandising often moves between strategy and reality. There is a balancing act between headquarters and local practice, between intention and implementation. At The North Face, this balance is part of everyday business.
Sofia Mincuzzi, Visual Merchandising Coordinator, works at the headquarters in Stabio and is at the heart of this connection. Your responsibilities range from coordinating retail campaigns to developing seasonal VM guidelines to supporting store openings across EMEA. Your role has one central goal: ensuring ideas translate clearly from the office to the sales floor.
In this interview, Mincuzzi talks about how her team works and what challenges they faced before introducing new tools. She also explains how a more visual and connected approach has changed the way stores understand and implement visual merchandising today.
Q: Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Sofia Mincuzzi: Hello! I’m Sofia, Visual Merchandising Coordinator for The North Face, working at the headquarters in Stabio.
Our VM team consists of Dalila, our VM manager, and me in the office. There are also Laura, Kyle and Josef, who work as field VMs in the field.
In my role, I coordinate the introduction of retail campaigns and support the creation of the retail marketing calendar. I develop seasonal VM policies, manage our VM supplier, and oversee new store openings. I make sure that all props and aids are available. Together we cover the EMEA region. This includes owned and operated stores, partner stores and the outlet channel.
The North Face is an outdoor brand founded in 1966. The brand is based on innovation and offers unrivaled, technically advanced outdoor products. These are designed for everyone from the most accomplished climbers, mountaineers, snow sports and endurance athletes to novice explorers looking for adventure.
The North Face® brand has been revolutionizing outdoor gear for nearly 50 years and inspiring a global movement of explorers.
Q: Three words to define the utility of IWD
Sofia Mincuzzi:
- Efficiency: A smarter, more efficient way to work
- Effect: Clearer and more effective product presentations
- Connection: A stronger connection to the field
Q: Can you briefly describe how you worked before IWD?
Sofia Mincuzzi: Before we used IWD, I created VM policies using graphic design programs. I had to manually cut and paste each product image into the display to create some depth. IWD has significantly accelerated this process and significantly improved the end result.
The ability to import an entire collection into the software and create a 3D store very close to reality allows for a very high level of rendering. This gives stores an unparalleled understanding of the collection and policies.
Q: So there seems to have been a lot of issues with quick turnaround and communication. How has IWD specifically helped with these challenges?
Sofia Mincuzzi:
Main use of the tool: I primarily use the tool to create seasonal VM policies. Every month, the stores receive new packages and a review of the VM displays that have already been implemented. I also design ad hoc VM displays for retail campaigns.
Who benefits from it: The entire VM team and the employees in the stores use the guidelines as inspiration for their store concepts.
How your team works better thanks to IWD: The team works significantly better thanks to IWD. The guidelines are clearer, more visually effective and very detailed. They now also include all shop fittings that were previously difficult to design.
Getting started with the software?: I have an excellent relationship with the IWD team, everyone is extremely friendly and helpful. The initial training to learn the software was particularly well done: clear, thorough and easy to understand.
Q: Some statistics on ROI after using IWD
Sofia Mincuzzi: The impact on work speed was significant. This is especially true when considering the relationship between man-hours, the end result and the speed of implementing changes and updates.
Read more about our customers’ experiences in IWD Magazine!
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