Her Story
About Bre
I've been in the retail industry for 7 years, though I took two years in between for business school. Right out of undergrad, I did a short two-year stint in the insurance industry as an underwriter, which was really fun. Then I transitioned to the consumer packaged goods industry and spent some time doing sales and e-commerce work for some retailers, and that kind of helped me land at Walmart, which I guess is true retail. I've been at Walmart coming up on 2 years now, in a rotational program, and I've been in my current rotation about 9 months. My main area of expertise is on the retail experience side, ensuring that our product offerings are profitable to the business and good for the customer. I initially used to sell it, right, but now I'm investigating whether or not we should buy it. A typical day for me involves being hands-on with the business, seeing how we're tracking to our budget or plan for the year, looking for outliers, negotiating costs and promotions with our suppliers, and trying to influence leadership as well as my merchant on some of the decisions. I also spend time networking with my colleagues and learning on the fly to see what else is happening, but ultimately I'm ensuring that we're driving the business in the right direction. One of my most notable achievements was in my first year at Walmart when I had the pleasure of launching Pre-Loved Luxury on Walmart.com through a partnership with Rebag. That was really, really fun and high visibility for consumers in the retail industry. Like, you can buy a Louis Vuitton or a Rolex at Walmart, which I think is just so fun.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Bre
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would love to say that I got here on my own, but in every aspect of my life, I've had people who challenged me to think differently and to grow, and supported me along the way. Honestly, I could spend hours listing over 100 people, but I've always felt like I've had some support from mentors, peers, family members. They always thought I could do it, and that gave me the confidence and inspiration and motivation to continue. I never had the doubt in my mind that I could do things because people around me believed in me.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is to be true to who you are and what you enjoy. You don't have to do the sexy thing, you just have to do the thing that you want to do, not what the world tells you to do. If something sounds interesting to you, go for it, and don't be ashamed to do it.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I feel like our industry is so fun, so I would say have fun, do the work, don't be afraid of the challenge, and I would just advise them, it always works out in the end.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the retail industry in general, we always have to be ready to move at the pace of our customers and our consumers, and so you can't rest on your laurels. You have to be ready to pivot, change, try new things to meet the customer where they are, and so I think that's something that universally is understood and accepted, and the way you go about it, you have to be very strategic about. For me personally, it's staying upskilled and staying in the know to be able to move with that speed and flexibility in general. It's like, how can I make sure that I'm always going to be able to bring value to a company, given that the industry is constantly changing. You definitely have to be on the top of your game and making sure you understand what's happening, not just at your company, but at your competitors and things of that nature, and staying attuned to the customer.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Authenticity is my number one. I will die on the heel that I need to be able to show up fully in all forms of life, and I feel very grateful to have a company that supports that. Personal freedom is another big piece for me, and I think that's why the financial piece is so important - how can I build financial freedom now so that later I can really live the life that I want to live without being restricted to certain levels of work transparently. I do think honesty and integrity is just the heart of who I am. I tried to lead with that, and leave a good impression on my fellow citizens and coworkers and everything.
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