Kerrie McGowan

Joining the eight-store Boux Avenue business from footwear retailer Office, Kerrie McGowan is getting the lingerie retailer’s visual merchandising up and running from scratch. “This is a brand new challenge for me. It’s a new business, so everything is possible.”

Following a degree in textiles and fashion at the University of the West of England, McGowan was not sure what she wanted to do. Stints as a fashion assistant on the Mail on Sunday and in the buying office at Asos did not inspire her. But it was at Asos that her eyes were opened to visual merchandising. Her first job in this field was as allocator at Principles, where she spent nine months before joining Office as visual merchandising co-ordinator.

A year later she was the visual merchandising manager.

She says: “I’m always pushing to get my creativity out there and I’m directing where we can go with Boux Avenue. I want to make sure the VM appeals to the customers with displays that capture the price points. It’s very exciting.”

Charlotte Yates, consultant at Michael Page Design, says of McGowan: “Kerrie’s recent promotion to head of VM shows how capable she is. She has a brilliant balance between being commercially driven and being creative.”

Describing herself as someone who “cannot sit still”, McGowan also runs her own business, renting out vintage crockery and props. She also makes bridal hairpieces and has built her own website.

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