Her Story
About Kiona
Kiona Bailey is an accomplished retail and operations leader with over 18 years of experience in store management, regional leadership, and team development across the apparel, accessories, and wellness industries. She currently serves as Store Manager at Skechers, where she leads store operations, team performance, delegation, recruiting, training, employee development, scheduling, logistics, and allocation for a $2.2 million volume store. Prior to this role, she served as General Manager at Massage Envy, Regional Manager at Lovisa Pty Ltd, and Store Manager at Torrid for nearly five years, as well as Store Manager at Vera Bradley, Pandora, Bath and Body Works, and Francesca's. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Chicago State University. Bailey is also the owner of the professional basketball team Chicago Legends, which she has led since before COVID, winning Coach of the Year and five championships. She attributes her success to watching her mother grind it out, transitioning from nurse to medical malpractice lawyer while raising a family. Outside of retail, she is a radio personality on Soul 106.3 in Chicago discussing sports and fashion, a stylist, and creator of the YouTube show She Owns the Court.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kiona
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success comes from watching my mom grind it out. She used to be a nurse delivering babies for 13 years, then with a husband and 3 kids she signed up for law school and went back while the family supported her through sleepless nights. I had to help as caretaker for my brother and sister, cooking dinner and helping with homework, and seeing her and my dad support each other showed me how to achieve anything.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Do not take no for an answer. Always ask those questions, because if they say no, okay, move on, let's go to the next. Never stop trying to achieve what you need to get.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge right now is getting everybody on the team on the same page since I don't see all of my team all the time, making sure we're all aligned so we don't do double work.
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