After gaining her first business experience at Loewe and Hackett, where she worked as a merchandiser handling sales, inventory, and planning, Paloma joined Tendam in 2023, where she is now part of the Strategy & CEO Office. In this role, she helps shape the strategic direction of a multi-brand group with vastly different operations, target audiences, and paces, working directly with the company’s executive team.

• Your first professional experiences were internships at CBRE and Escada in Germany—a mix of corporate real estate and fashion. How would you say that diverse period influenced your career today?

The truth is that my internships at CBRE and Escada were the first well-considered decisions I made in my professional life. I knew that, before starting a permanent position anywhere, I wanted to gain international experience and exposure to the fashion industry, and I pursued that goal until it came to fruition. At CBRE, I learned how important the choice of retail locations is in business (during my internship, I closely analyzed the key performance indicators of shopping centers and various stores), and at Escada, I immersed myself in the world of marketing and communications—a completely different field, yet one that is essential in an industry as aspirational as fashion.

• Did you already know what you wanted to do for a living?

Let's just say that, from a very early age, I knew exactly which career paths I wanted to rule out and which sectors or industries I wanted to prioritize—and fashion had always been my top choice. As I progressed through my studies and learned more about the professional world, it became clear to me that strategic consulting—even if it didn’t lead me directly to work in my preferred industry or industries—would offer me an exceptional learning curve that, in the long run, would benefit me in many aspects of my professional development. With that in mind, I decided to pursue consulting as the first step in my professional career, choosing KPMG because it had a Retail Fashion division.

• What skills you acquired in consulting do you consider essential today for working in strategy at a fashion company?

In hindsight, I think I would make the same decision again. I believe that a career in consulting builds a very solid analytical and business foundation, exposes you from the start to working with management at various companies, and develops your ability to work hard, exercise sound judgment, and manage complex situations, all while gaining a broad perspective across multiple industries. I believe that the combination of all these factors makes you a valuable asset in almost any company. The fact is, to work and succeed in fashion, companies aren’t looking for people who “like clothes” or “enjoy shopping.” The fashion sector is inherently associated with that flashy image, but doing it well requires understanding the business (just like in any other sector), the numbers, the industry, the competitors, and so on.

A consulting background typically fits well with a strategy role at a fashion company because it usually brings analytical rigor, a broad perspective, and strong execution skills—all of which are highly valued.

THE LEAP INTO FASHION

• In 2022, you decided to pursue the FBA program at ISEM. Why did it seem like the right path for you at that time, compared to other options?

The truth is that, in my case, the decision was also heavily influenced by the personal and family circumstances I was going through at the time. After five years in consulting, I felt I could close that chapter and make the leap to the industry—which is what I wanted—and, specifically, to fashion, which is what I had always pursued. Added to that desire was the fact that I had just had my first daughter, and going back to the pace of consulting didn’t seem like the best option. So I decided to take the plunge and change course: I quit my job and enrolled in the FBA. I knew it was going to be a difficult path, but I also knew I didn’t want to stop trying and that it would be worth it.

• Looking back, what was the hardest part of switching industries: the pace, the jargon, the decision-making process, or the culture?

Starting “from scratch” at 29 with a 6-month-old baby isn’t easy, especially since it means leaving behind everything I’ve built over the past five years to take an internship while I’m still in school. It’s a self-imposed lesson in humility that can be tough, but it helps you remember how important it is to keep learning—and that hard work and dedication always pay off in the end.

At that point, with a baby at home, a master’s degree in progress, and after so many years of intense and demanding work, I was actually somewhat grateful for the slower pace. I took advantage of that time to truly immerse myself in everything I was learning about the sector—about what it means to work in industry and business from the “client’s” perspective rather than that of a consultant, both professionally and personally.

FASHION FROM A NUMERICAL PERSPECTIVE

• Before joining Tendam, you worked at Loewe as a sales merchandiser and at Hackett, where you dealt closely with inventory, sales figures, and business strategy. Why was it important for you to start there?

When I started the FBA program, the only experience I had in the fashion industry came from my college internship. Given that, and without really knowing what position I might eventually land on the path ahead of me, I thought it would be important for me to understand the industry from the inside before potentially working on its corporate-level strategy. The truth is that, without knowing where I would end up, starting in a role as a Merchandiser allowed me to get down to the nitty-gritty of the business: how the product is purchased, in what quantities, how inventory moves, how commercial decisions are made, and what real impact they have. Being part of teams very close to the product was a way to get in and understand “the core” of the business. Consulting had given me a broad and structured perspective, but these experiences provided me with practical learning “from the operational side,” something essential for later building a more realistic, actionable strategy that is connected to execution.

• What surprised you the most about working “in the field” at a fashion brand after working in consulting?

What struck me the most—and was one of the most interesting things—was seeing just how much the day-to-day operations of the business are shaped by highly tactical and operational decisions. In consulting, the focus is usually on the long term and strategic frameworks, but as a merchandiser, I came to understand that in the fashion industry, many decisions are made with imperfect information, under intense time pressure, and with a very direct dependence on the product and inventory. Seeing how small commercial or planning decisions have an immediate impact on sales, margins, or turnover helped me make the strategic vision much more realistic and understand the importance of knowing how to shift from the strategic to the tactical and vice versa.

STRATEGY AT TENDAM

• You work in the Strategy & CEO Office, very close to the company's leadership. What is day-to-day life like in such a cross-functional role?

This is a highly cross-functional role that is closely tied to the company’s decision-making process. Day-to-day work combines analytical and conceptual tasks with frequent direct interaction with the CEO and the Executive Committee. On the one hand, we participate in analyzing the company’s performance and monitoring the business plan, helping to identify priorities, risks, and value drivers. On the other hand, we work on specific strategic and business projects, such as the launch of new brands or entry into new markets, from the analysis and conceptualization phase through to supporting their execution. The role acts as a link between strategy and the various business areas, ensuring alignment, clarity in decision-making, and a focus on what is truly relevant to the company.

In addition, in our role as the "CEO's office," we typically lead more corporate-level projects, such as a potential initial public offering or M&A opportunities, and provide support for board meetings, corporate sessions with external parties, and so on.

In short: Always interesting, sometimes intense, but also a lot of fun.

• What are the major strategic challenges facing a group like Tendam in today’s rapidly changing market?

Looking ahead, one of Tendam’s major strategic challenges is to continue growing profitably in an increasingly competitive and volatile environment, while maintaining the unique characteristics of its business model compared to global and digital players.

It will be essential to scale up our multi-brand, omnichannel ecosystem: consolidating and continuing to develop our own brands, integrating new brands or businesses when it makes strategic sense, and accelerating selective international expansion without losing sight of profitability.

Another major challenge is to make advanced use of data, technology, and artificial intelligence to improve decision-making agility, enhance customer personalization, and optimize planning, pricing, and inventory management.

• In terms of internal culture, what is the difference between developing strategy from a corporate office versus doing so from a specific brand?

The main cultural difference lies in the approach and scope. Working from a corporate office entails a more global and long-term perspective, focusing on the group as a whole, on consistency across brands, and on optimizing the ecosystem. It is a culture strongly focused on coordination, prioritization, and aligning multiple departments and brands under a single strategic direction.

In contrast, operating under a specific brand involves a culture that is much more closely aligned with day-to-day business operations, with a clear focus on the product, the customer, and immediate execution. Decisions are made more quickly, are more tactical, and are closely tied to short-term results.

From the corporate office, the cultural challenge lies in bridging these two worlds: respecting each brand’s autonomy and identity (what works for one brand isn’t necessarily the best approach for another), while ensuring alignment, strategic discipline, and scalability at the group level.

LOOKING AHEAD

• How do you think the role of strategy within fashion companies will evolve in the coming years?

I believe that within fashion groups, strategy will evolve into a much more integrated and execution-oriented role. It already is and this shift is already underway, but I think that in an increasingly volatile environment, strategy will increasingly move away from being a “one-off” exercise in medium- to long-term planning and become a continuous decision-making process that is closely tied to the business.

We will have strategy teams that are increasingly closely aligned with technology and operations, helping to prioritize initiatives, respond quickly to changes in consumer behavior, and translate the long-term vision into concrete tactical decisions.

We’re already doing these things today, but the pace will accelerate even further, and strategy will play an even more critical role as the link between leadership and the organization, ensuring alignment across departments in companies that are becoming increasingly complex and multi-brand, and supporting transformation processes related to omnichannel operations, digitalization, sustainability, and M&A.

• What kind of profiles do you think will be key to the future of companies like Tendam?

It’s really hard to say, given how quickly things have been changing lately, but I think it will mainly be those candidates who demonstrate a high degree of adaptability and a mindset clearly focused on transformation. The landscape is changing very rapidly—technology, consumers, channels—and it’s no longer enough to be an expert in a specific role; what seems to set people apart is the ability to learn, “unlearn,” and continuously evolve.

In this regard, artificial intelligence is accelerating the pace of change exponentially and will have a far-reaching impact across the organization. Not only because AI “replaces” jobs, but also because it is redefining how work is done in many of them. For example, in areas such as planning, pricing, CRM, supply chain, and customer service, AI is already transforming the way we analyze, forecast, and make decisions, significantly raising the bar in terms of interpretation, judgment, and decision-making.

Even in traditionally more creative fields, such as design, AI does not replace creative vision or brand DNA, but it does serve as a powerful tool for accelerating processes, exploring options, or supporting the early stages of creative work. As a result, the most valuable professionals are those who can combine creative sensibility with an understanding of business and technology.

Ultimately, the key will be hybrid professionals who are curious, critical thinkers, comfortable working with technology and data, and capable of driving change from within. People who understand that transformation is not a one-off project, but rather an ongoing way of working within complex organizations.

• What advice would you give to a student with a background in business administration or consulting who dreams of working in the fashion industry in a strategic role?

Based on my own experience, I’d tell you that you’re doing well, and that for a strategy role—even in fashion—consulting and business skills are far more important than “pure fashion” skills. I’d tell you to build on the analytical and business foundation you already have, and not to let the fact that you don’t come from a creative background hold you back. In fashion, it’s not essential to be a “fashionista” or to have studied design: it’s often easier to gain product knowledge once you understand how the business works, rather than the other way around. What matters is having curiosity and a desire to learn.