Michelle McKay

I've been in retail for 30 years, and I got my start because I've always loved clothes and fashion, and I wanted to be able to get a discount. My first way into the industry was through a department store, which was great because I was exposed to everything - fashion, homeware, and cosmetics. Throughout my career, I've held managerial roles at prestigious luxury brands. I worked for Zegna menswear in Beverly Hills and Chicago, then spent about 5 years running the Loro Piana store at South Coast Plaza, which is a wonderful Italian company. I also worked at Saks Fifth Avenue for maybe a total of 12 years, and that store at South Coast Plaza was really special to me, so it was heartbreaking when they declared bankruptcy and closed. Currently, I'm the assistant store manager at Jenny Kane in Newport Beach, Lido Village, and we're the number 2 store in the company out of 32 stores. It's a beautiful store in a small community where you really get to know the clientele, and it's more than just selling them a sweater - it's building relationships with these people, which is amazing. In parallel, I had a 20-year journey in wellness at Yoga Works. Someone told me I should try yoga after seeing something on 60 Minutes with Margot Hemingway, and I walked in, loved it, and had a good night's sleep. I asked if they were hiring for the front desk, and when they saw my retail background and customer service experience, they suggested I consider a management position. I got involved in their teacher training department, studied yoga, started teaching yoga, and then started teaching people how to teach yoga. I became a certified yoga teacher trainer, which is like having a bachelor's degree in yoga. I helped them think more administratively - marketing it as a yoga university where people could study and build different platforms, securing healthcare and 401K for employees, and creating contracts for teachers doing teacher training. That really helped me secure my position and make a living for 20 years, which is unheard of in the fitness wellness world. Unfortunately, COVID hit and we just didn't survive - everything closed, we got bought out, it went to a digital platform, and eventually it petered out. My former boss at Saks asked me to come back, so that's how I returned to retail.