Steven Hyman

Steven Hyman is a retail and merchandising specialist

Specialist retail and merchandising consultants. A New Zealander now living in Australia

Steven Hyman S.V.M.A. – started his retail career in Australia, in the 1970’s, in the traditional training ground of department stores. Whilst doing his “apprenticeship” at Grace Bros. flagship store On Broadway in Sydney, Steven gained several qualifications in Display, Retail Management and Interior Design. With the worldwide change in emphasis from display to visual merchandising, Steven went on to hold several senior positions with the visual merchandising teams of retailers such as Waltons, Myer N.S.W. and Grace Bros. Moving to Melbourne, as part of the newly formed National Head Office for the Coles/Myer Group, he was actively involved in the development and co-ordination of the visual merchandising standards for the Homewares, Big Ticket (whiteware, electrical and furniture), Specialty Foods, Christmas Themes and General Merchandise categories across Australia.

As Sales and Marketing Manager for Australia wide display company Oswald Sealy, Steven travelled extensively developing a worldwide network of contacts in display, merchandising, shop fitting and fixturing.

Coming to New Zealand in 1988 to join the leading department store group Farmers Trading Company Limited, Steven was part of the new management team that saw the company set new retail standards. With responsibility for all facets of merchandise presentation, ticketing and graphics production, fixture development and internal communications, the merchandising team is credited for a major contribution to the increased sales during the ensuing eight years.
Steven’s passion for retail and in particular ‘customer driven’ visual merchandising, has seen him invited to speak at many retail related forums and to lecture in merchandising at Manukau Institute of Technology.

For the past four years Steven has been invited to be part of the judging panel for the Retail Merchants Association’s Top Shop Auckland Awards.

In 1991, Steven was invited by his peers to join the Society of Visual Merchandisers Australia, in recognition of his commitment to the development of the visual merchandising and its contribution to successful retailing. In 1996, Steve formed Steven Hyman and Associates, an Auckland, New Zealand based team of specialist retail merchandising consultants. As retailers, with a unique blend of traditional creative skills, retail science and management practice and the experience of over sixty, “hard won – hands on” project successes, they understand the retail process from “both sides of the desk”. He then went to work with Mitre 10 before moving across the Tasman.