According to a recent update to Magic Leap’s massive list of job postings, the company revealed it definitely has plans to enter the retail space, which could include everything from special in-store installations to its own bespoke retail locations.
The company is now entertaining applications for the position of Director of Store Design, a job that they say will “play a key role in delivering on the promise of Magic Leap’s innovative retail experience.”
Here’s the most important bit from the job description:
We are looking for a passionate and fearless Director, Store Design, who will play a key role in delivering on the promise of Magic Leap’s innovative retail experience. This talented design leader is able to zoom out, develop strategy and create against it, and then zoom back in to guide the details and ensure proper execution. This role requires the guardianship and evolution of our store design and fixturing, as well as the development of merchandising layouts and spatial concepts.
As the Director of Store Design, you will be leading the creation of new store concepts from the development of the strategy/spatial experience to the fixtures and product displays as well as being involved in site selection and negotiations, as well as, project and vendor management. You will also be involved in the design of sales event spaces, POP, and shop-in-shop concepts.
Reporting to the VP of Sales, you will manage the work from brief creation, concept design, and development, to shop reviews, prototyping and installation. You will direct the store design team, work in close collaboration with Sales, Marketing, and other cross-functional teams, in addition to design firms and vendor partners. Presentation and interaction with senior leadership and partners will also be required.
Magic Leap unveiled their first product, Magic Leap One, late last December. While shipping for its Creator Edition headset is slated for sometime this year, which will likely be on a fairly small scale, it’s clear the company is preparing itself for a wider-reaching, consumer-focused launch as well.
This makes sense too. No matter how lengthy the descriptor, or how detailed the renderings, people instinctively want to try out wearables before they buy them, and that’s especially true when it comes to an entirely novel class of devices such as augmented reality headsets. As a point of comparison, the more mature VR industry considers special retail spaces and demo stations an important factor to adoption, as most VR headsets can be demoed publicly in stores across worldwide retail locations.
A special thanks goes out to Reddit user Malkmus1979 and Noah Schiffman for drawing our attention to the news.