Visual Merchandising Trainee – Emiratisation – Chalhoub Group

This Visual Merchandising Trainee role is part of Chalhoub Group’s Emiratisation programme, giving UAE Nationals a structured entry point into luxury retail visual merchandising based in Abu Dhabi. Chalhoub Group has spent over seven decades as a partner and creator of luxury experience across the Middle East, and this role sits within that legacy at store level.

The role involves learning and supporting visual merchandising across Chalhoub’s luxury retail environment: helping maintain window and in-store displays to brand standards, assisting with seasonal and campaign changeovers, and developing an understanding of how visual presentation connects to how customers experience and respond to luxury product on the floor. As a trainee position, the focus is on building real merchandising skill over time with proper support and mentorship.

It suits a UAE National with a genuine interest in visual presentation, fashion, and luxury retail, who is happy to start as a trainee and build expertise progressively. No extensive prior merchandising experience is expected — a strong eye for detail and real enthusiasm for the sector matter more.

Based in Abu Dhabi, the role reflects Chalhoub Group’s ongoing commitment to developing UAE National talent within its luxury retail operations across fashion, beauty, jewellery, watches, eyewear, and art de vivre categories.

Visual merchandising is a genuinely commercial function in luxury retail, since how a product is presented shapes a customer's perception of its value just as much as the product itself. Training UAE National talent into this discipline gives Chalhoub Group a sustainable pipeline of merchandising capability that's rooted in the local market, supporting consistent, brand-accurate presentation standards across its Abu Dhabi retail footprint. Well-executed merchandising protects the premium positioning that justifies luxury pricing and supports the relationships Chalhoub maintains with the many luxury brands it represents, who expect consistent presentation wherever their product is sold. This role also reflects a broader commercial logic: investing in structured Emiratisation programmes builds genuine long-term capability and loyalty within the UAE National workforce, which strengthens Chalhoub's talent pipeline and its standing as an employer actively contributing to national workforce development goals. Over time, that kind of structured investment is also what gives Chalhoub a more reliable, locally rooted merchandising bench to draw on as its Abu Dhabi retail footprint continues to grow.

For a UAE National starting a retail career, this trainee role offers structured entry into visual merchandising within one of the region's most established luxury retail groups, building an eye for presentation and brand standards that forms a strong foundation for merchandising, visual display, or retail buying roles later on. Being part of an Emiratisation programme specifically means genuine organisational investment in long-term development, rather than treating the trainee period as a formality, giving a realistic path toward a full merchandising role within Chalhoub Group's wider portfolio across fashion, beauty, jewellery, and other luxury categories. The breadth of brands and categories within Chalhoub's business also means exposure to a wide range of presentation standards and product types, which builds versatility faster than training within a single luxury brand would. For a UAE National building a long-term career in luxury retail or visual merchandising, this role combines genuine skill development with the backing and reputation of one of the region's most respected luxury retail groups. It also builds patience with repetition and detail, since luxury presentation rewards consistency far more than occasional brilliance, and that discipline shows up quickly in how soon a trainee is trusted with more responsibility across a wider range of the boutique's categories.

• UAE National, as this role is part of Chalhoub Group’s Emiratisation programme
• Genuine interest in visual merchandising, luxury retail, or fashion presentation
• Strong attention to detail and a natural eye for layout and display
• Willingness to learn brand-specific merchandising standards across luxury categories
• Comfortable with hands-on work including display setup and stock handling
• Reliable, organised, and able to follow merchandising guidelines consistently
• No extensive prior experience required — this is a trainee-level development role