Boston: Vice president of merchandising, proprietary brands, and stores at Wayfair Liza Lefkowski has had a busy few years guiding the e-commerce giant into the physical retail space as it launches stores under the names Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane, and Wayfair.
Lefkowski, who holds an MBA from Harvard, stated that she has always wanted to work in the consumer industry and has concentrated her career on retail. She worked as a principal in the retail and private equity groups of Bain & Co., advising investors and retailers on how to increase the value of their companies.
In 2015, she relocated to Wayfair from there. “I found a lot of things appealing about the company,” the woman remarked. Before taking on her present position in January 2023, she led the Boston-based company’s promotion and curation team among other senior positions.
Lefkowski remarked, “I’ve always dreamed of a role like this, but I doubt I would have believed it if you had told me years ago that I’d be here today.” I adore shopping at retail. I adore brands and retail establishments. I’ve always loved seeing art and science come together, and I adore directing teams.
“Today, my role entails all of these things,” she stated. “My teams consider how to create outstanding online and offline customer experiences.”
Lefkowski described working on Wayfair’s recent brick-and-mortar launches as both “exciting and humbling.” “We have a fantastic opportunity to bring our brands to life in a genuinely immersive and tangible way through physical retail.”
An important milestone for the business was reached in May when Wayfair launched its 150,000-square-foot flagship store in Wilmette, Illinois, which is located just outside of Chicago. She clarified, “Not just for Wayfair, but in the retail space generally, we’re in a dynamic and exciting time.” “We can communicate with our customers more directly and get much closer to them when we have physical retail stores.”
Lefkowski described her as a leader who leads “with empathy, while thinking critically and pragmatically about how to create value for our customers” during this period of transition.
“Typical” days are few during this time of growth, but according to Lefkowski, every day is marked by “a high level of interaction with my teams, close collaboration with other Wayfair leaders, a strong bias toward getting things done, and a lot of smiles and laughter.” The motivation and enthusiasm are constant despite the frequent changes in the setting.
For Lefkowski, the prospect of improving the way people shop for their homes is both thrilling and difficult. “I’m thrilled to work with a top-notch team to turn this opportunity into a reality,” she remarked. To guarantee that we’re consistently pleasing our clients, we must uphold a high standard of execution each and every day. Although it’s a challenge, I think we can meet and even beyond it.
