We’re looking forward to introducing you to Yevgeniya A. Yushkova YAY. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Yevgeniya A., thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: Would YOU hire you? Why or why not?
Yes, I would absolutely hire me — and the reason has nothing to do with talent and everything to do with how I think. I don’t look at a brand from just one angle. I’ve sat on both sides of the industry — manufacturing and retail — and that dual perspective changes how I solve problems. When I look at a business, I see the entire chain at once: the product, the assortment structure, margins, demand signals, supply chain timing, inventory risks, and where profit is quietly slipping through the cracks.
Most people treat problems in this industry at the surface level — fix the assortment, adjust the supply chain, improve forecasting, restructure the team. But I naturally think in systems. I look at the root cause, not the symptom, and I rebuild the process end-to-end so growth is sustainable, not accidental or short-lived.
If I were a founder or CEO, I’d want someone in my corner who thinks that way — someone who can jump between creative, operational, and financial decisions and connect them with clarity. Someone who will tell the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable, and help me spot the profit leaks I can’t see from inside the business.
So yes, I would hire me — because I know I would push my own business to become more intentional, more profitable, and more resilient.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Yevgeniya a Yushkova, or symply YAY — and I run Yushkova Design Inc dba YAY Designs, a boutique consulting firm that helps fashion and retail brands build strong private label programs, optimize their assortments, and fix the operational profit leaks that most companies don’t even realize are slowing them down.
What makes my work unique is the blend of experience I bring. I’ve led on both sides of the industry — building brands inside manufacturing organizations and leading merchandising teams and building private label programs from idea to consumer for multi-billion-dollar retailers. That dual perspective allows me to see the full picture of a business, not just one piece of it. When a brand comes to me with challenges around sales, margins, inventory, supply chain timing, or product development, I’m able to trace it back to the real root cause and redesign the process end-to-end so the results actually last.
Today, I work with founders and CEOs who want to grow but feel stuck — brands that know they could be more profitable, more agile, and better aligned with customer demand but aren’t sure what to fix first. My focus is on helping them build strong private label foundations, tighten their operations, and develop assortments that truly perform.
Right now, a lot of my work centers on transforming traditional push supply chains into faster, more responsive, more profitable systems, and helping brands scale their private label programs with clarity and confidence. At the end of the day, my goal is simple: to help companies stop leaking profit, strengthen their product strategy, and build brands that can grow sustainably in a very challenging market.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world added labels and expectations, I was a kid with a very clear vision. By the time I was four, I had already decided I would become a fashion designer, and I repeated that dream throughout my entire childhood. I chased it relentlessly — and when I finally reached that goal at eighteen, I realized something important: creating beautiful clothing is only one small part of what truly makes this industry work.
Around that time, my uncle gave me advice that shaped everything. He told me it’s better to be exceptional at one thing than to know a little bit about many things only on the surface. That stayed with me. I chose fashion as my “one thing,” but I also chose to understand it deeply — every layer of it.
So I lived it, breathed it, and dedicated my career to learning everything I possibly could: how products are made, how assortments are built, how brands scale, how supply chains function, and how decisions in one area ripple across the entire business.
I was also the person who questioned everything, rebuilt things just to see if they could be better, and paid attention to patterns most people overlooked. That instinct — to improve, refine, and understand the deeper structure — has stayed with me throughout my entire career.
Looking back now, I can see that this way of thinking is the foundation of the work I do today. I help brands understand the “why” behind their challenges, not just the “what.” I look at their systems, their operations, their assortment choices, and their supply chain through the same lens I had as a child: curious, analytical, and always searching for a better way forward. I was simply someone who wanted to understand how things work and how to make them better — and that same curiosity, discipline, and purpose still guide how I support every brand today.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes. The moment that tested me the most was the early stage of building my first brand, YAY Convertible Clothing. I was a solo founder, fully self-funded, and even though I entered that chapter with a decade of experience working with large companies, I quickly learned something humbling — everything that works when you have corporate budgets and large teams does not work the same way when you’re bootstrapping on your own.
About a year into the business, I hit the point where the challenges felt heavier than the progress. I was trying to build a brand the same way I had helped big retailers build theirs, and it simply wasn’t translating. I didn’t have the resources, the infrastructure, or the safety net. And for a moment, I was ready to walk away.
But instead of giving up, I forced myself to step back and rethink everything from a completely different angle. I looked at my brand through a lean, methodical, step-by-step lens — stripping away everything unnecessary, tightening processes, redesigning the supply chain, and focusing only on what moved the business forward.
That shift changed everything.
YAY Designs became profitable, grew across multiple markets, and four years later I sold the rights to the designs with a positive ROI.
That experience also transformed me. It showed me how powerful lean, agile thinking can be, not just for big organizations but for founders at every stage. And it ultimately shaped the next chapter of my career. I took everything I learned — the wins and the hard lessons — and built Yushkova Design into a consulting practice that helps other entrepreneurs and established brands avoid the same pain points and grow with clarity, discipline, and operational strength.
So yes, there was a moment I almost gave up — but it ended up becoming the turning point that defined my entire path.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
One of the biggest lies in the fashion and retail industry is the belief that problems can be fixed in isolation. There’s this idea that if sales are soft, you just fix the assortment. If margins are shrinking, you renegotiate with suppliers. If inventory is bloated, you improve forecasting. If lead times are slow, you “fix the supply chain.”
But none of those issues exist on their own — they are symptoms of deeper operational gaps that sit underneath the business. Treating just the surface is one of the most expensive mistakes brands make, and it quietly drains profitability over time.
Another lie the industry tells itself is that growth comes from more: more styles, more channels, more categories, more inventory, more launches. In reality, the most successful brands today grow by doing fewer things exceptionally well. They’re lean, intentional, and aligned with real customer demand — and that discipline protects their margins.
There’s also a belief that what worked ten years ago will still work today. The truth is, the industry has shifted dramatically. Supply chains have changed. Consumer behavior has changed. Speed, agility, and tight execution matter more than ever, but many companies are still operating with outdated processes that weren’t designed for today’s pace.
What I see most often, though, is the assumption that private label and product development are only about design and sourcing. In reality, private label success is built on systems: smart assortment planning, precise margin strategy, fast and flexible supply chains, tight development processes, and teams that know how to read and respond to data.
These lies hold companies back. They keep brands stuck treating symptoms instead of designing stronger, more profitable foundations. My work centers on helping founders and executives step out of those old patterns and see their business as a connected system — because that’s where transformation actually happens.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say that I helped others build something meaningful — not just brands, but confidence, clarity, and stronger paths forward. I hope they say I made their journey easier, that I helped them see possibilities they couldn’t see on their own, and that I showed up with honesty and intention every step of the way.
In my consulting work, I’m focused on helping founders and executives grow their companies with smarter systems, tighter processes, and better decisions. But I also hope people remember that I cared deeply about the human side of this industry — the people behind the brands, the teams learning to lead, and the entrepreneurs trying to build something that lasts.
A big part of my legacy is tied to Fashionpreneur HUB education none-profit and 99 Yards Academy, first and only mobile app that combines Fashion education with execution. These projects allow me to pour everything I’ve learned back into the next generation. Through them, I’m able to help high school and college students gain real-world experience, understand the business behind fashion, and build skills that will shape their careers long before they enter the industry. Being able to mentor young people, give them access to opportunities, and show them what’s possible — that’s one of the most meaningful parts of my work.
So if there’s one story I hope people tell, it’s that I left the industry stronger than I found it. That I helped companies stop leaking profit and build smarter foundations — and at the same time, helped shape the future generation who will take this industry forward.
At the end of the day, I hope my legacy is simple:
She made things better — for the people, for the brands, and for the industry she loved, both today and for the next generation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yushkovadesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yaydesigns/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaydesigns/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Yaydesigns/streams
- Other: https://99yardsacademy.com for the 99 yards academy reference.
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