Operations doesn’t support the business. It drives it.
Most retail teams are aligned on goals but disconnected in execution. Sales teams focus on revenue. Operations teams focus on tasks. And in between, productivity, profit, and customer experience are lost.
In this episode of FRONTLINE FRIDAYS, host Ron Thurston sits down with Monika Espinoza, Founder & Principal Operator of Better Way Operations and former retail leader at Louis Vuitton Americas.
With more than 25 years in retail, Monika has built her career in operations — working side by side with store teams to understand how the business actually runs. Her perspective is clear: operations teams are not task-executors. They are profit drivers. And most organizations are underutilizing a significant portion of their store talent because of how they communicate, train, and position these roles.
Monika explains why high-performing stores are built on alignment, not silos, and why the biggest opportunity in retail today sits within operations. She introduces her STEP framework — Strategy, Team, Efficiency, and Performance — and shares how leaders can use it to close gaps, improve execution, and drive measurable results without increasing headcount.
Ron and Monika discuss how retail has evolved into a more complex, multi-channel environment, why operations has become more critical than ever, and how small operational decisions — from product placement to process design — can directly impact revenue and client experience.
If you’re leading stores, districts, or retail organizations and looking to improve performance, productivity, and team alignment, this episode offers a practical and actionable perspective from someone who has built it from the inside out.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
(03:20) Why retail teams operate in silos — and how it impacts performance
(05:04) How operations drives both revenue and profitability
(06:10) The untapped 20–30% of store teams and how to unlock it
(08:21) Why the role of operations needs to shift from task to client impact
(13:51) How retail builds entrepreneurial thinking at every level
(15:15) The disconnect between front-of-house and back-of-house teams
(16:29) How small operational changes can improve productivity and sales
(18:57) The STEP framework: Strategy, Team, Efficiency, Performance
(27:22) Why strategy often breaks before it reaches stores
(30:41) Why frontline teams should be involved in decision-making
(35:39) Where leaders should start to improve store performance
GUEST BIO
Monika Espinoza serves as Principal Operator at Better Way Operations, driven by a core belief: behind every successful retail brand is an operational heartbeat that deserves to be elevated. That heartbeat is the in-store operations teams who serve associates and clients to drive business forward, and Monika’s passion is unlocking their extraordinary potential.
With +25 years in retail leadership and most recently at Louis Vuitton Americas, Monika has built her career on recognizing that front-line teams possess insights and capabilities that can catapult an organization’s performance. She doesn’t lead from a desk; she’s on the floor, side-by-side with store teams, listening, learning, and translating their real-world experiences into operational excellence.
Her approach transforms how organizations view operations headcount. Monika elevates operations talent by showing teams they’re not just task-executors but profit drivers whose daily decisions directly impact profitability.
She weaves pragmatic strategies that honor the intelligence and expertise of front-line professionals, creating training and development that empowers rather than cycles. For Monika, operational excellence starts with recognizing that the people closest to clients hold the keys to pragmatic growth and seamless client experiences.
ABOUT FRONTLINE FRIDAYS
Your store teams feel it: more pressure, more change, less time to get it right. FRONTLINE FRIDAYS helps you turn that pressure into impact.
Built for senior retail + hospitality field leaders, each episode features candid conversations with execs from iconic brands, sharing tactics you can use today.
HOSTED BY RON THURSTON. Ron is a global retail leadership expert and two-time bestselling author of RETAIL PRIDE (2020) and HUMAN PRIDE (2025).