MBA Retail by Future Group - Assured Placements

Future Group, led by its founder and Group CEO, Kishore Biyani, is one of India’s top business houses with multiple businesses spread across the area of consumption. Retail forms its major business activity. Its group subsidiaries are also present in consumer finance, capital, insurance, leisure and entertainment, brand development, retail real estate development, retail media and logistics.

Future Group has entered the education business through Future Human Development Ltd (FHDL), its comprehensive training, education and support services subsidiary. Future Innoversity is the academic initiative of FHDL.

Future Innoversity’s primarily role is to impart relevant and quality education for all sectors, starting with retail, through a specialized mix of management, undergraduate and certificate programs. It has entered into a strategic alliance with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to offer these programs. The focus of 2010 will be MBA Retail and MBA Entrepreneurship.

In order to answer the queries of its readers on MBA Retail and MBA Entrepreneurship at FHDL, MBAUniverse.com brings to you the exclusive interview with FHDL.

Excerpts from the Interview:

Q. What is the reason for India’s leading Retail Company Future Group to enter the education and training domain?

A: Future Group entered into the education business by setting up Future Human Development Ltd.(FHDL) in 2008 with the primary focus of creating talent in the consumption industry, whether it is retail, hospitality, telecom or any similar industry.

Q: What is the relevance of pursuing two-year Post-Graduate Programs in Retail & Entrepreneurship? What are the prospects in general?

A: Revival of economic growth and increasing purchasing power of consumers outline the massive potential for growth of the consumption sector and the related segments like services and modern retail in India. The growth of the services sector and consumer-led industries like modern retail has created a huge demand for trained manpower to sustain and build upon this growth. Every company in the services and retail sector feels the dearth of skilled professionals which can be somewhat attributed to the lack of relevant and quality education in retail domain.

The retail sector is set for exponential growth with Future Group alone set to double its footprint over the next few years. It is becoming increasingly challenging to find people to manage its various stores and related retail functions. Future Group is on the look-out for effective managerial talent who possess sound understanding of the principles and practices of managing its retail chains.

Being the training solution provider of Future Group, FHDL is taking this great initiative of offering a Post Graduate Program which is not only relevant for the retail but for the Service Industries with a distinguishing combination of academic excellence and industry relevance in association with renowned university IGNOU, thus developing talent to cater to the growing retail industry in India.

Q: What are the highlights and the key strengths of FHDL-IGNOU combined endeavor? 

A: IGNOU and Future Innoversity have taken the great initiative of offering graduation and post graduation programs with a distinguishing combination of academic excellence and industry relevance. They will offer both Undergraduate programs and Post Graduate programs under credit and few other short term programs under Non Credit.

Their objectives are to encourage and impart knowledge in the field of retail management, retail operations and General Management. IGNOU and FHDL also aim to develop and evolve as a Centre of Excellence in this part of the world for various career oriented learning streams. Promotion of professional and industry oriented education through the industry-institution collaboration model is their major focus.

Q: What makes the courses offered by you so unique? Could you provide the admission details? What will be the selection process?

A: A judicious mix of classroom teaching reinforced with on the job training allow students to critically analyze the retailing process, the environment within which it operates and the functions that are performed. Future Innoversity’s holistic education is not only based on the science of management but also on its cultural adaptation that has been applied and tested in the day-to-day running of business. These programmes have the latest management concepts and tools to transform students into tomorrow’s indispensable leaders

The applicant must be a graduate (10+2+3) or above with a minimum 50 per cent from a UGC recognized University. Those who have appeared for the final year examination of graduation can also apply. The students are required to submit the duly filled in application form at the FHDL centre in Mumbai with the proof of qualification (Provisional certificate copy in case the degree certificate is not available) and also their high school mark-sheet.

Candidates meeting the eligibility criteria will have to appear for an entrance exam. Candidates who have already appeared for entrance exam CAT / CET / MAT / ATMA / XAT need not go through the entrance exam by FHDL. They have to attach the copy of the score sheet along with the application form. There is no specific cut off score required in CAT / CET / MAT / ATMA/ XAT to apply.  But they need to appear for GD/ PI.

Candidates short listed from the written test will be called for a Group Discussion and Personal Interview.

Candidates qualifying the Group Discussion and Personal Interview will be sent an ‘Admission Letter’ from the office of FHDL, Mumbai. The selected candidates at the time of admission will need to submit attested photocopies of their Graduation Certificate and Mark Sheet. The Demand Draft must be drawn in favor of Future Human Development Ltd payable at Mumbai. The originals will be returned by the institute after verification. Two passport size photographs will be required for the purpose of ID card.  Candidates have to be physically present for admission at the FHDL Campus. The address of the Campuses is given in the Prospectus. MBA Retail program is offered in FHDL Campuses located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Delhi and Kolkata.

For more information, kindly refer to the link below:

http://www.fhdl.in/mba-2-years.php

Q: What are the placement opportunities for graduates from your institute?

A: The students will be placed in any of the Future group formats after successful completion of their course. The company will provide salary at par with the industry standards and company policies.

Q: Are the programs - AICTE approved or, is Industry recognition enough?

A: The degree conferred by IGNOU is AICTE approved. Future Group will also give a certificate of field training. 

Q: Compared with other MBA programs offered in Retail sector, how are your programs different or unique?

A: Our management programs are the result of a collaborative effort of India’s leading retailer Future Group and world renowned university IGNOU. The MBA degree is awarded by IGNOU while the Certificate of Field Training comes from Future Group. These programs are a blend of academic concepts with proven contemporary practices with Future Group. Content is written by experts drawn from premier institutes and senior professionals from the industry. Innovative teaching methodology with ‘story telling mode’ and tools like ‘learning by asking’ will be put into practice. There will be full time on campus programs at the State of Art campuses at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Delhi and Kolkata. Practical learning will be imparted through internship guided by experienced mentors in the company. The successful pass-out graduates will get assured placements in formats like Big Bazaar, Pantaloons and Central at several locations across the country.

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 - 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..................