Scope of Retail Management

Organised retailing took Asia by storm decades back and India being a late entrant with a large and growing economy is yet to experience enormous development and growth in retail sector. In today's market the largest share of revenue in most businesses comes from the retail sales. Retail is just not limited to supermarkets and shopping malls but has much broader meaning and reach as whatever we get to see selling around us involves retail operations. 

Why should one opt for an MBA in Retail Management?

Although most MBA aspirants in India study Marketing, Finance, HR, Insurance, International business, etc. and MBA is also offered in numerous other fields, but 80% of these MBA graduates land up in sales jobs. MBA in Retail will offer broader range of job opportunities in India and abroad, provided the candidate has the right attitude and skills for service industry.

While retail was born in the USA almost 120 years back, India in its retail infancy is yet to witness enormous change, diversification, growth and competition. With growing consumerism in India, the companies with greater retail strategies, culture, customer satisfaction and experience will bite the larger share of the market. Those trained in Retail management courses will surely have an edge over others as the preferred employees of the organised retailers and ideally they are the people who can expect better salary packages, greater career growth and will find broader career options in the future.

It is a matter of personal preference of sector and also driven by the market demands. Today, tier II and tier III Indian cities are also witnessing the explosion of shopping malls, fast food chains, supermarkets, etc. and retailing career is just not limited to these but also automobile showrooms, banking, insurance, healthcare, luxury stores, electronics & household stores, Spa & wellness centres, restaurants and variety of branded lifestyle stores.

The statistics show that 90 million new jobs are expected to be created in next 5-7 years in India and 50% of these jobs (45 million) will be created in the service sectors. Retailing in various types and forms will be a major employing sector.    

Eligibility to pursue retail management

Anybody taking up retail management must have the right attitude for it which is an easy going character with commitment to service and customer care. The guys who are willing to go the extra miles to satisfy their customers will add real value to the business and will be successful in a retail career. Good communication skills, extrovert personality, people skills and patience are the prerequisites of any retail professional. People who are short tempered, impatient and do not get along with people must stay away from retail career.

Individuals who think that after completing MBA in Retail management, they will get an air-conditioned chamber as a manager must stay away from studying retail program because every successful retail professional (including Sam Walton who founded Wal-Mart) must work on the retail floors for few years to understand customers and business, and also to develop their competencies in the profession. Those who will do well from there will automatically get air-conditioned chambers and may reach the level of VPs and CEOs of retail organisations including the top ones. 

Retail management courses are available in UG level (after +2) and also in PG level and so students from any background and stream of studies can join retailing management.  

Where to study retail management?

Internationally, Retail management schools offer variety of courses in Retail Management to develop competency in different areas of retailing while in India the retail courses are mostly generic. The different areas of Retail management are Category Management and Retail Buying, Retail Marketing, Visual Merchandising & Store Design, Retail Supply Chain Management, etc. which you cannot find in India.

India is yet to have any international class retail institute and students must know this fact.  In most cases, the course contents are inadequate (primarily as they are designed by the faculty who have little or no exposure to organised retail sector or global retail standards).

Some of the top institutions like IIMs, ISB - Hyderabad, SP Jain, NMIMS, K J Somaiya, Welingker, etc. are not easy to enter for students with average ‘merit’ (unfortunately, which is judged by marks) and are more suitable for people with some work experience seeking mid level career in retail sector.

Retail management programs are being offered by institutions like Indian Retail School, International School of Business & Media, Russell Square International College, Indian Business Academy, Indian Institute of Retail Management, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), etc.

What all does retail management cover?

A good Retail management course should ideally cover the following areas:

• The evolution of world retailing
• Retailing in the world and India
• Retailing Concepts
• Retail Marketing
• Retail Store Operations
• Information Technology & Internet in Retailing 
• Fundamental accounts & Finance in retailing
• Pricing, Promotions & Markdowns in Retailing
• Supply Chain Management in Retailing
• Retail category management & Sourcing
• Understanding Customer Behavior Retailing
• Retail Selling Skills
• Understanding Services Marketing
• CRM & Customer Loyalty Management
• Visual Merchandising & Space Planning
• Luxury and lifestyle Retailing
• Business Communication & Social Etiquette in Retailing
• Placement Preparatory Training

A good retail program should also offer:

Cosmopolitan mix of faculty for cross-cultural understanding and learning, Extensive usage of global retailing videos and presentation for broader interest & exposure, 3 to 6 months industry internship, Practical projects covering retail store operations, training in leadership, Team management, Soft Skills, retail essentials, personal selling, variety of lab classes, etc.

Specialisations under retail management

There are not many specialisations available in Retail management programs in India. The courses available are UG and PG level diploma in Retail management, Visual Merchandising & Store Design and certified Store Manager.

Prospects/scope of Retail management

With the introduction of open economy followed by boom in consumerism in India and growth of organised retailing, the market had big expectations from the retail sector both in terms of growth in business and in creating job opportunities. Several institutions came up with retail management programs with a hope to attract a large number of students who are keen to explore their career in retail. 15 years later, today, retail sector does not look as great to many as expected.

However, with the opening of FDI in retail the high hopes on retailing management took a rebirth. If large global retailers open their stores across India then with the likes of  IKEA, TESCO, Wal-Mart stepping on the Indian soil, the global standard of retailing is expected to reach India soon with all its benefits including better industry practices and training, better salary packages and promising career opportunities in retail management. We may need to wait for a year more to see how the FDI is transforming the Indian retail scene and what are the real prospects and scope of Retail management.

Salary expectations

An average salary of a Department Manager in a Retail Store is about Rs 3 lakhs per annum and for Retail Store Manager is about Rs 4 lakhs per annum.

If the international retailers are able to establish their stores in India then retail sector will surely witness a significant rise in salaries and also in HR practices. Based on the salaries paid by them in other Asian nations where they have strong and successful presence, these companies will pay 20% to 40% higher salaries to their employees.

About the author:

Prof. (Dr.) Sudhiranjan Dey is a shiksha expert. He is an ex founding Director of International School of Business & Media (ISB&M) who launched PGDM in in Retail Management in the year 2003. He is currently the CEO of Global Management Xperts Pvt. Ltd. in India and is involved as a Consultant in setting up the largest Retail College in Saudi Arabia.