How Top Retailers Use Operational Precision to Execute Seamless Sales Events

To most shoppers, major sales events like Sleep Number’s Black Friday Sale are a chance to explore new products and enjoy big savings. But behind the scenes, it’s a test of timing, teamwork, and precision. Every detail, from the earliest planning sessions to the final store walkthrough, reflects months of coordination between leaders who turn preparation into performance. In retail today, that kind of execution at scale is what truly distinguishes leading brands.

That’s the world of Victoria Dias-Boyd, Regional Vice President for West Coast Sales and Real Estate at Sleep Number. A seasoned retail executive, Dias-Boyd built her expertise over decades at Best Buy, where she drove $500 million in revenue growth during the pandemic and led the launch of 313 Best Buy Mobile store-in-store locations. For her, the success of any large-scale retail event begins with one principle: strong, aligned leadership.

Dias-Boyd explains that success starts months in advance, built on a culture where leaders from across the business co-create the plan from the beginning. That early collaboration gets every team aligned on a unified vision long before the first customer walks through the door. Her teams then operationalize that philosophy through a framework that prizes both centralized structure and local flexibility.

"We rely on a cross-functional planning framework that brings together facilities, real estate, and retail leaders early in the process. Weekly syncs, shared dashboards, and centralized communication channels help us stay coordinated. Everyone knows their role, but we also build flexibility to respond to local needs. That balance is key to keeping the operation smooth and responsive," says Dias-Boyd.

• Operational choreography: With the strategy set, the framework gets translated into a set of highly detailed instructions. "Our corporate marketing and sales enablement team builds detailed playbooks that include infrastructure and IT systems, everything from staffing plans to product setups. We also hold alignment calls with field leaders to ensure every store understands its expectations and has the tools to deliver a seamless experience. It’s about engaging leaders and teams to rally around the customer experience and create a repeatable rhythm that scales across geographies," Dias-Boyd explains.

• The calm before the sale: "Preventative maintenance is non-negotiable. Ahead of major events, we conduct proactive checks on HVAC, lighting, and tech systems to avoid last-minute disruptions. We also empower store teams with quick escalation paths so any issue can be addressed immediately. Our goal is to make sure every store is not just open but optimized for performance," she continues.

This rigor extends to the store environment itself, which is treated as an active performance driver. As retail leaders focus on using technology to personalize the customer journey, Dias-Boyd says that elements like lighting, layout, and temperature all contribute to how customers experience and engage with products, adding that even small details can influence their decision-making process.

• The learning loop: As the sale concludes, the operational cycle immediately pivots to its next phase, where real-world operational feedback becomes the engine that drives the next round of planning and refinement. "After each day and weekly event, we conduct structured debriefs across districts. We look at traffic patterns, conversion data, customer sentiment and operational feedback to identify what worked and where we can improve. These insights feed directly into our planning for the next cycle," says Dias-Boyd. "It’s a continuous loop of learning and refining."

But the data-driven discipline is balanced by a commitment to empowerment, creating a culture where centralized structure and local agility can coexist. The framework provides clear guardrails, giving store leaders the autonomy to adapt to their unique circumstances.

"We give store leaders the autonomy to adapt within a clear framework. That means they can tailor scheduling or adjust layouts based on local traffic, but the core brand experience remains consistent. We support this with strong training, real-time communication, and a shared commitment to excellence. It’s about empowering teams while keeping everyone aligned," concludes Dias-Boyd.