Karolina Bravo
I am a straight-to-the-point, passionate, hands-on leader who gets energised by people and driving goals forward. With over 14 years in luxury and premium fashion retail, more than 13 of them in leadership roles, I have managed businesses, including flagship stores, with turnovers from £1.5m to £25m and teams of 10 to 250 people, and delivered 7 store openings across the UK, Germany and the Czech Republic. I have built and retained high-performing teams, led complex multi-site operations and delivered commercial results in dynamic environments where excellence is expected. I live for a to-do list and structure when it comes to business, while remaining flexible and open-minded when it comes to teams.
Oversaw 9 stores of brands Pinko, Elisabetta Franchi, Ermanno Scervino, Patrizia Pepe, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.Managed stores located within city centre, including three in the most prominent luxury retail location; conducted weekly analysis with Store Managers to assess visual and commercial potential, monitor competitors and the wider fashion landscape, and maintain consistent market awareness.Led store managers end to end performance, recruitment, onboarding, HR and visual presentation building consistency spanning a multi-brand portfolio.Shaped sales strategy based on KPI and P&L analysis, in close collaboration across departments marketing, buying and supply chain.Ran structured visits and audits, monitoring cash office routines, H&S and security processes, and overseeing inventories and shrinkage action plans.
Led crisis management and retail operations transformation, restoring brand standards, compliance and operational excellence across the store.Enhanced customer experience and commercial performance through setting new clienteling WOW and strategic visual merchandising.Drove salesmanship and profitability via short and long-term planning; created action plans based on KPI performance, lifted team efficiency, restored operational best practices and stock management, and ran store inventory and its follow-up.
Kept the store trading safely and stably through the COVID-19 pandemic, adapting operations as guidance changed.Beat sales and efficiency targets consistently while keeping payroll tightly optimised year over year.Built a 90%+ satisfied team through coaching and structured development, translating into strong retention and internal promotion.Upheld brand standards across both retail and café operations, and led cross-market projects spanning training rollout, HR casework and new store openings.Secured consistency in company processes across health & safety, security, audits, inventories and shrinkage action plans, and built strong staff literacy across these areas.
Handled complex HR matters underperformance, disciplinaries, grievances with a calm, professional approach.Drove a team and performance turnaround through structured performance management, coaching and delegation.Ran combined retail and café operations, keeping both efficient and aligned to wider business goals.
Led the opening of ARKET's third UK store and café recruitment, planning, stakeholder coordination and launch delivering a strong start and sustained results.
Part of the launch team for ARKET's first store and flagship globally - covering recruitment, HR set-up and management structure.Managed the store through its first Black Friday, keeping the team and customers safe under high footfall and pressure.