VMM News
The VMM – European Association for Visual Marketing and Merchandising has elected a new leadership team and restructured its advisory board. With Carina Buhlert as President and Gülcan Wickermann as Vice President, a strong, forward-looking team is taking over the leadership of the association.
Carina Buhlert, Leader Creative Direction Europe at LIXIL Global Design & Brand Identity, has been one of the defining personalities in the field of retail and brand design for many years. In her role at LIXIL, she is responsible for the development of global brand environments and experience concepts for several international brands, including GROHE. Her expertise spans interior, retail, and exhibition design, from strategic brand staging to the development of innovative spatial and experiential formats. In addition, she is a lecturer at Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences in the field of retail design, where she contributes her extensive practical experience to academic education. As a sought-after speaker at industry events such as the VMM conference and EuroShop, she regularly provides insights on topics such as digital transformation in retail, retail experience, and design disruption. She embodies the future-oriented mindset and innovative strength that the association aims to further reinforce. xing.com, storefitting.com, linkedin.com
„When technology is designed better and better, it becomes our task to design more humanly. AI will accelerate processes and expand possibilities. But empathy, intuition, cultural understanding, and community remain the decisive factors when designed retail spaces are meant to become meaningful places.“ (Carina Buhlert)
With Gülcan Wickermann, a representative from an internationally operating retail company joins the association’s leadership. As Head of Store Design & Store Layout at Fressnapf, she is responsible for the strategic development of store design, space planning, and shopfitting concepts across the company’s markets, contributing her many years of experience from design and planning offices. She works on both scalable store concepts for international rollouts and new store formats, including for urban locations, where a differentiated customer experience plays a central role. linkedin.com
„Retail today operates between maximum efficiency and genuine experiential relevance, making design a decisive factor. As a strategic lever, store experience gains strength where practice meets emerging talent.” (Gülcan Wickermann)
Alongside the election of the new executive board, the VMM advisory board has also been restructured. It brings together expertise from retail, design, academia, and industry, and supports the executive board in strategic and content-related matters.
All current information about the presidents, advisory board members, and association structures can be found at www.vmm.eu.