Career Wise - Careers by Choice - List of institutes offering Education s in Retail Management- India -

There are multiple educational institutions offering education in the field of retail management. These institutions offer Diploma, Degree and Post Graduate Degree. The mode of learning is part time, full time, online and correspondence. Many of the courses offer on the job training and placement assistance too.


Apart from this there are thousands of vocational training institutes offering short term courses in the field of retail management.These short term courses offer an entry into the retail industry at a starter level and over a period of time with experience and by enrolling into courses on a part time or online learning basis one could aspire to grow up the growth ladder.


Click on the link below to find hundreds of courses, institutes and whole lot of information.


 http://www.shiksha.com/search/index?keyword=degree+retail+management&location=india&searchType=course&cat_id=&countOffsetSearch=&startOffSetSearch=0&subLocation=-1&cityId=-1&cType=-1&courseLevel=-1&subType=0&showCluster=-1&channelId=

Career Wise - Careers by Choice - A career in the Retail Industry - India

What is the career path in Retail Management Industry?

All these years experience was given a greater importance than formal degrees in the field of Retail Management. With multinationals growing in number by the day the number of people required to work in a formal environment is increasing. A clear and visible career path too has become a reality.

There are three factors which decide a career path in the Retail Industry for those who join in a junior position and wish to traverse the growth path:

1.   Experience

2.   Qualification

3.   Soft skills, attitude, aptitude and approach

People with cross functional expertise do enjoy a quick growth prospect in the industry. It is an industry hungry for people to work at various levels, youngsters who have just completed  school final and have basic skills, to the well qualified supply chain and retail management professionals all are welcome with open hands.

 
Being a sunrise industry growing and highly dynamic the remuneration earned is highly variable based on various parameters such as

1.   Geographical location

2.   Organizational policy

3.   Candidate’s profile

4.   Skills required to perform the job

5.   Nature of work

6.   Experience

7.   Job profile etc…..

Salaries could be as low as Rs.4, 000 to 5,000 to Rs.12, 000 to 15,000 for beginners in a junior level. Being a sales oriented profile the packages generally include performance linked bonuses etc. Qualified youngsters with a graduation degree joining at a executive level could expect anything between Rs.20, 000 to 30,000 or even more in exceptional cases. As the retail industry competes with the other industries for the best talent, the compensation depends on the type of institute and the profile offered and is up there among the best pay packages offered to marketing profiles among B school graduates.

The growth opportunities are tremendous, pace of growth is fast, job in offer are vast, I believe and have witnessed many a times that people working in large retail organizations have enjoyed promotions every year…. Provided they have an aptitude and attitude to perform well in their jobs. The career graph is totally dependent on one’s abilities and qualification….now a days the definition of experience is slowly transforming from number of years to 3cs….comprehension (understanding of job profile), customer relationship management and calibre. One could start his career as a management trainee, and very soon could climb up the ladder to reach the managerial position.

People with retail management degrees can also find jobs in advertising agencies, airlines, insurance companies, banks etc as all these organizations are laying emphasis on customer service, relationship management and all those attributes and aspects as needed in retail organizations.

Job Profiles in Retail Industry
Below are given different profiles on offer in a retail management career:

•    Sales:  

This is usually the entry level post in retail business. Even a management graduate entering the retail business has to go through a compulsory stint in sales to understand the pulse of the industry and then later he/she can choose to remain in sales or move into other verticals depending on the company.  To be a good sales person first and foremost one must be good with people – both in terms of understanding the customers and also managing his/her co-workers. Along with this, a good understanding of the retail outlet and products it offers is essential….of course this is something that can be picked up on the job.

The nomenclature of the posts will vary from company to company but Sales associate, Sales Manager, Department Manager etc are some of the posts one could progress to under this vertical.

•    Store Manager:

Also called General Manager or Store Director, are the people who are responsible for managing the store's day to day operations. He/she is in charge of the employees and is responsible for the P&L of the store to the regional heads. He himself may report to a District or Area manager or the store's owner

•    Retail Manager: 

Plans and coordinates the operations of the outlet along/under the store management. His/her work can include layout of merchandise, monitoring the retail orders and stock, analyzing the supply etc. Candidates with MBA can start off as retail manager. Graduates from NID and NIFT etc are also preferred for this job.

•    Retail Buyers and Merchandisers: 

These profiles are involved in buying /sourcing for the shop. Though this part is largely moving into IT enabled areas, there is still a need for the human element. The profile involved understanding and anticipating the needs of the customer, should be aware of the trends in the market and make suitable purchasing recommendations.

•    Visual Merchandisers: 

These people give the brand a face, so they hold one of the very important positions in the industry. Being a part of concept and design one could also be a technical designer, product developer and store planner.

•    Supply Chain Distributors:

 
They are involved at the head of supply chain management of the products for the stores. Optimization at this level help the shops compete with other shops on price and are very important in India.

•    Logistics and Warehouse Managers 

There is a great need to have the right product, at the right time, at the right place and in the right quantity. This is a particular logistics demand of the retail industry.

The requirement for freshness, hygiene, sell-by date, temperature control etc become the chief concerns of a Logistics and warehouse manager. A perfect distribution management system asks for continuous flow of materials, maximum availability while increasing quality standards and reducing logistics costs are important.

A warehouse manager is responsible of planning, organizing and controlling of a warehouse’s over-all operations; he organizes activities & assigns jobs accordingly to the staff. He also has to manage stock control, the receipt, storage, retrieval and ensure the timely delivery of goods. In most cases, the manager also has to supervise shipment loading & transferring and keep records of documents by entering data into the system.

•    Marketing Executives

There are lots of retail jobs in the present market, and a person can start with an exciting career in this field with basic knowledge of retail marketing. Retail marketing executives are responsible for initiating sales promotion schemes, marketing communications, and PR activities. Retail marketing professionals strategize based on marketing requirements and implement their plans according to consumer demands.

Building good customer relationships and developing advertising and media plans for enhancing brand identity are all part of the job for a retail marketing professional. A retail marketing professional must also manage resources and negotiate with clients and media for better deals. Retail marketing professionals also work in conjunction with sales teams and marketing teams to design annual marketing programs, investment plans, and advertising strategies. 
Other roles include customer care executives, merchandise officers, public relations executive and so on.

·         Customer Relationship Executives & Customer Relationship Managers

It costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to retain one. The Retail Industry understands that effective loyalty management systems cement business relationships and help to retain existing customers. To enable the same the retailers, employ customer relationship executives and managers in order to:

• Develop or enhance the value proposition offered to customers
• Acquiring new customers
• Transforming the customer experience
• Enhancing customer loyalty and retention to increase profits
• Using Data mining tools to best understand patterns in customer behavior along multiple dimensions
• Focused customer delivery & support based on customer's Segment
• Budgeting and Forecasting revenues/volume of sales for segmented customers
• Designing strategic solutions for enhancing effectiveness of promotions & loyalty programs

The retail industry is using technology tools which provide a built-in flexibility to integrate best-of-breed functionality and technology to effectively address a retailer's CRM needs in part or full, as appropriate.

Thus we can summarize that Indian Retail Industry is no more a store and sell network but has much much more to offer… which means it has more number of jobs, more complex, better pay structure, better prospects and better career graph.

Career Wise - Careers by Choice - All about Retail Management in India

A career in Retail Management...............

All that you need to know about the Retail Industry to make an informed choice...........


Indian economy, with one of the handsome economic growth rate in the world, is also witnessing boom in India’s retail industry. Although the recent recession slowed down the growth for some time, it still has great prospects. To show the extent of its scope consider this – penetration of organized retail in US is more than 85% where as in India it is just about more than 8%.
The retail industry is focused on the sale of goods or merchandise from a specific location for direct consumption by the purchaser.
The Indian retail industry is divided into unorganized sector and the organized sector.


Unorganized sector typically consists of small grocery stores, more popularly known as kirana stores, hand cart vendors, street vendors, door-to-door direct sales vendors, bargain shops etc.


Organized sector consists of the retail shops which are registered, licensed (where applicable) and pay sales and income taxes. It also consists of big malls which provide a jubilant shopping experience with all the glitz and glamour.
Though in urban parts of the country, there are many retail shops and malls, a big chunk of contribution towards GDP from the entire retail industry still predominantly comes from the unorganized sector. Almost 93% of retail is manned by unorganized sector. Efforts are to bring the contribution to 9-10% by organized sector. The retail industry also happens to be the largest source of employment after agriculture.


The penetration of organized retail will happen much faster in the coming decade, even in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, because of the changing demographics of our population and a healthy rate of economic growth. With good underlying economic growth, increase in disposable income, increased awareness due to penetration of broadband and mobile devices with internet accessibility, the demand for consumer goods will rise. With better systems and processes in place, all this is bound to assist in increasing the penetration of the organized retail sector in India. According to report by McKinsey & Co., the organized retail market in India is expected to grow to 14-18% by 2015 of the total retail market in India from 8% in 2008. Its value is estimated to be around US$450 billion by 2015.


The BMI India Retail Report for the first quarter of 2011 forecasts that the total retail sales will grow to US$ 674.37 billion by 2014, from US$ 392.63 billion in 2011. The growing wealth with the middle-class in India, the population size and the big percentage of population being in 30s, makes immense possibilities for entrepreneurial growth in the retail sector. Some of the fastest growing segments of this industry are food & beverages, electronics and apparels. The consumer electronics segment is expected to grow at about 55% between 2011-2014, with most of the growth driven by demand for TVs, mobile devices and laptops and desktops. With changing lifestyles and habits, food segment is also expected to double to US$ 150 billion by 2025.

North America is the home of most of the world’s largest retailers, since the U.S. dominates the global retailing industry. Not only is the retail industry responsible for two-thirds of the U.S.’s GDP, U.S. retail companies have also established a presence on every continent. The largest retail giants globally are Wal-Mart (USA), Metro AG (Germany), Carrefour (France) and Tesco (UK).

The Retail industry employs a staggering number of people, and given its rapid proliferation, this number is always on the rise. The backbone of the sector are the operations and supply chain management jobs but there are various other options as well, from sales executives and store managers to merchandise planners and buyers.

Performance

In today’s dynamic and shaky business world, the retail industry is constantly upgrading itself. With an endless array of customer choices, fierce competitors, pervasive use of the internet, and a complex global economy, retailers need to focus on finding ways to sustain and grow their businesses. Traditional growth models that focused on rolling out more stores and adding more product lines, no longer enjoy the return on investment they once did. Successful retailers are those who are able to adapt and change to the environment and develop new ways of serving customers, respecting the dynamics of current trends and adapting accordingly.

The retail industry in India is hailed as a sunrise sector, and is estimated to double in value from US$ 330 billion in 2007 to $640 billion by 2015. In fact, India has topped AT Kearney's annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) for the third year in a row as the most attractive market for retail investment.

The bad news is, despite the fact that India has one of the largest number of retail outlets in the World, organized retail accounts for only 4% of the total market. This makes it especially difficult to apply sophisticated merchandising and sales tools, enhance consumer interaction and also, make very accurate analysis. That said, analysts believe the sector is likely to show significant growth of over 9 % p.a over the next 10 years and also see rapid development in organized retail formats, with the proportion likely to reach a more respectable 25% by 2018.

Growth Potential

The key growth areas include the urban, luxury segment on one end of the spectrum and serving the rural sector on the other. In addition, government policy encouraging FDI in the segment has resulted in a plethora of international retailers keen on entering the market; American retail giant Wal-Mart has tied-up with Bharti Enterprises and global coffee giant Starbucks' has tied up with PVR Limited. In addition, Carrefour, Boots and others are also expected to come in.

With so much action, it is natural that there is a huge scope for employment opportunities, and experts estimate that the sector will generate employment for ~ 2.5 million people in 2010. The top retail companies in India include the Raheja Group, Reliance Retail, Tata Trent, Future Group, RPG Retail, and Ebony Retail Holdings.

Future Prospects

There are many opportunities for those seeking to enter this sector, and entry level positions such as sales executives don’t even require a degree. Naturally, the higher order jobs for graduates with relevant degrees and work experience, involve more responsibility, challenges and remuneration. MBAs are increasingly being recruited, which marks a change of HR policy, from the traditional preference to hire those from the FMCG and hospitality sectors. In fact, senior executives in retail such as operations heads are extremely well looked after, and HR consultants believe they are paid in excess of Rs. 60 lakhs.

The good news for graduates is that since the sector is so young and vibrant, career growth happens very rapidly, and these positions are very achievable in a compressed time period. Successful candidates across all levels are those who are dynamic, able to multi-task and are equipped with great communication skills.

To be continued..................