Universal Studios Florida
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA
Experiential Retail | Store Design | Customer Journey | Visual Merchandising Strategy | Operational Leadership
The Business Challenge
In 1998, Universal Studios Florida offered guests an entertainment destination where retail played an important role in extending the excitement of the park beyond its attractions. Each store needed to merchandise products effectively while supporting the immersive, entertainment-driven experience associated with the Universal brand.
The challenge was to improve the layouts and visual merchandising of existing retail locations, creating more organized, engaging, and commercially effective shopping environments without losing the unique character of each store.
The Strategy
As the leader of a contracted, very creative visual merchandising team, I guided efforts to refresh store layouts and merchandise presentations across Universal Studios Florida retail locations. The focus was on optimizing product placement, improving merchandise visibility, establishing stronger visual flow, and creating more cohesive presentations that supported the guest shopping experience.
By aligning merchandise organization with the distinctive themes and retail objectives of each location, the team worked to make products easier to discover while reinforcing the connection between Universal’s entertainment properties and its retail offerings.
Execution & Impact
The work centered on translating visual merchandising strategy into practical, store-level execution. Through team leadership, layout adjustments, and improved merchandise presentation, the initiative focused on creating more purposeful retail environments that balanced brand storytelling, guest engagement, and commercial priorities.
This experience strengthened my expertise in leading visual merchandising teams, optimizing retail layouts, and translating entertainment-driven brands into compelling physical shopping experiences.