Her Story
About Arlene
I am passionate about the retail world and have dedicated about 14 years to this industry. Currently, I serve as a manager for Luli Fama, a luxury swimwear brand, where I oversee two stores in Miami - our flagship location at Dadeland Mall that caters to high-profile customers, and a warehouse showroom in Doral. My typical day involves visiting both stores, speaking with my teams about our budgets and goals, conducting team evaluations, and working closely with KPIs including average transaction, conversions, and sales. I have staff meetings every Tuesday with my retail director-manager and the CEO to discuss the business situation. This is my first flagship location, which presents a unique challenge as it's very different from outlet work - it's all about exclusivity and luxury. I joined Luli Fama 6 months ago because they offered me a growth opportunity. Before this, I was a store manager at Calzedonia, an Italian swimwear company owned by the same parent company as Intimissimi, where I worked for one year at their Dadeland Mall location. Prior to moving to Miami 4 years ago, I lived in Puerto Rico my whole life, where I spent 9 years as General Manager at Pastry Lovers Academy, working on marketing strategy, sales, KPIs, and managing a business that offered pastry classes for kids and parents. I moved to Miami because my husband is in the Coast Guard. I hold a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and have certifications in marketing and finance. My expertise is in management, sales, leadership, customer experience, and working with teams to achieve results in the luxury retail sector.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Arlene
01What do you attribute your success to?
I am very passionate with my career, in my work. I love my job, I love my industry, of retail, of sales, of customer service. I think it's about passion. That's what drives my success - my genuine passion for what I do every day.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Never give up. This is a very challenging industry - retail is very challenging - but you can do better every day, and you can be the best. It doesn't matter if you need to live in another country, another place, that is not important. Right now, my life changed completely because I moved to Miami, but I continue to grow in my career in Miami. This is new for me, but it's a great opportunity too. So never give up, no matter what challenges you face.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now, my biggest challenge is that we have a new flagship boutique - it's a beautiful boutique and our first flagship location. This is my first time in a flagship location, as my previous job was an outlet, so it's very different. It's about exclusivity, it's about luxury. My challenge is learning about luxury sales and putting my brand, Luli Fama, on the map. It's a very popular brand in Miami, but this is the first flagship location, so it's a challenge for me. As for opportunities in the retail industry overall, the industry is very popular, but we need to merge everything with online sales, because customers love buying online. The opportunity is about why people need to go to the mall, to a store - because people need to have an experience with buying a product or receive an experience. The retail industry is very important, but we need to innovate because we have good competition with online stores. We work in retail, so we need to give experience. I think this is an opportunity.
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