In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle (WIRLC) Co-Founder Melissa Campanelli is joined by Liz Allison, CEO of Tricoci Salon & Spa, a leader in hair color and styling, results-driven skin care, and professionally-inspired haircare products. Allison is also a WIRLC member and former advisory board member. To kick off 2025, this special episode delves into Allison’s experience as a long-time member of WIRLC and why she values her membership.

Listen in as Allison shares what initially attracted her to become a member of Women in Retail Leadership Circle and her first impression of the community (1:45), how the organization taught her the power of community (4:10), and why she loves attending the annual Women in Retail Leadership Summit (5:55). She discusses how WIRLC’s regional On the Road events help connect her to other women executives locally (8:10) and the multitude of resources available to WIRLC members to build meaningful connections with other industry leaders, such as our members-only forum and peer groups (10:25).

Lastly, Allison touches on the value of WIRLC’s wide-ranging online content, shared weekly in the Inner Circle newsletter (13:25), how being part of a women-only network provides support in facing current retail challenges (14:30), and the unique value of the Women in Retail Leadership Circle community and membership (16:40).

Interested in joining Women in Retail Leadership Circle? Director-level and above executives at retailers and brands can apply for membership here. If you’re interested in learning more about corporate partner memberships, consultant memberships and sponsor partner opportunities, please reach out to Jennifer DiPasquale at jdipasquale@napco.com.

Elizabeth (Liz) Allison is the chief executive officer of Tricoci, a premier luxury salon and spa brand with 13 full-service locations across the Chicagoland area. Under her leadership, Tricoci offers elevated hair, skin, body and nail services, supported by a team of over 1,000 expert beauty and wellness professionals serving nearly 200,000 active clients. Allison is dedicated to evolving the core business and driving growth through strategic transformation, while also overseeing the expansion of the brand’s innovative beauty consumer products portfolio.

Prior to joining Tricoci, Allison was the president of Milan Laser Hair Removal as well as the chief transformation officer at Neiman Marcus Group. Additionally, she held numerous senior executive positions at JCPenney, including senior vice president of Sephora, and led the company’s billion-dollar e-commerce business. Allison graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and currently serves on the Tippie College of Business Administration’s Marketing Institute Advisory Board. She is a former advisory board member for Women in Retail Leadership Circle and was honored with the Top Women in Retail award in 2020.

Date: January 7, 2025

Credits: Liz Allison

Duration: 21:07