Riva Smith
Riva Smith is an accomplished retail and merchandising professional with over 25 years of experience in fashion and customer-focused operations. She has held leadership roles across prominent retail brands, including Belk, H&M, and David's Bridal, where she honed her skills in sales management, team development, inventory control, and visual merchandising. Currently, she serves as the Campus Store Leader at Fayetteville State University, overseeing operations and fostering school spirit through merchandise and engagement.
Throughout her career, Riva has demonstrated a talent for coaching, mentoring, and developing high-performing teams, consistently driving sales and customer satisfaction. She combines technical skills in business modeling, data analysis, and Microsoft Office with a deep understanding of human resources, corporate responsibility, and managerial ethics. Her experience extends to small business principles, recruitment, and leadership, making her a versatile and strategic retail professional.
In addition to her leadership roles, Riva is a creative force in visual merchandising, working part-time at Clothes Mentor and sharing her expertise through her social media platforms, including TikTok and YouTube under The Real Fashion Etiquette. She is passionate about product presentation, fostering a positive team culture, and celebrating the people she works with. Riva continues to explore opportunities in general merchandising, aiming to connect the right products with the right audiences while elevating customer experience.
• Miller-Motte College-Wilmington- Associate's
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to just being myself and maintaining a positive mindset. I've always been someone who celebrates other people and their wins, no matter how small. People always ask me why I celebrate everything and everyone, and I tell them, because that's just me - why not? The world is crazy, so why not celebrate the things that bring a little bit of joy in your life? I've always had this mindset that nothing is free in this world, you have to work hard for it, and I've carried that with me since I got my first real job at KFC when I was 16. Anyone I've ever trained, developed, coached, or worked with will tell you that I always give 100% of myself to everybody. I won't sugarcoat things, but I will help you. People always recognize me for being consistently positive, for having this mindset that it is what it is, and all you can do is keep pushing through. I truly believe that it might not be in your favor now, it might not be tomorrow, but someone is going to recognize your work and your talents and your hard work, and it will happen.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My biggest advice is to always put the best version of yourself forward. What you put into yourself, what you have on, how you look, how you feel, how you present yourself - that's how the world's gonna view you. If you don't care, the world's not gonna care, and you can't get mad at that. I take that message very seriously every day when I get up and look in the mirror. First impressions are everything, and you're not making a good impression if you don't present yourself well. I've seen young ladies who want to get into fashion, and then you look at what they're wearing and it's just not right. I've had associates tell me horror stories about customers who looked them up and down and walked off, then came and found me instead. You never know who's going to arrive, you never know who you're gonna meet. I'm not saying you have to be dressed up to the whatever, but be the best version of yourself. The people you meet in fashion are often low-key - you wouldn't know who they are until you realize they're the CEO of such-and-such. So you present yourself to the world like you want the world to see you.