Introduction Career in Retail Management
In today’s extremely difficult and competitive business conditions, the management of supermarket or hypermarket is called retail management. This industry has developed a lot in India in the last decade. From making a new marketing policy to spreading the business in different areas, companies have tried all the tricks to woo the customers.
It is an industry that works on the principle of “customer is paramount”. Next time you go to buy an item of your choice from any hyper market or supermarket like Reliance Fresh or Big Bazaar, make sure to analyze the discount you can get on it. Today the market is dynamic and the system present here is fully computerized. Gone are the days when you used to bring goods from nearby grocery stores at high prices. Today almost everything is available with a discount. Actually this is the sale season that too without any reason. Today almost all the brands are providing discounts everywhere from their factory outlets to supermarkets to increase their market penetration.
Hence, retail management is a subject for which it is necessary to have knowledge about all brands, their marketing strategy and retail philosophy of winning customers.
Step by step
To make a career in this field, one has to clear CAT (Common Admission Test) exam for admission in reputed institutes like IIMs and GMAT exam for MBA from foreign universities.
Some good institutes offering retail management courses are MDI, Gurgaon and NMIMS University, Mumbai. For admission in these you have to pass the entrance exam.
Retail Management course as a student will help you to understand the following topics
- Introduction and Concept of Retail Management
- retail trends
- retail market division
- Retail Pricing & Merchandising
- Relationship Marketing in Retailing
- Contribution of Information Technology in Retailing
- All other subjects are either sub-disciplines of these subjects or are related to them in some way or the other.
get your start in Career in Retail Management
Retail Management is a traditional subject just to say. It is an option that you should opt for only if you have interest in retail management and inclination towards advertising. There is no doubt that it is a highly respected career
Is this the right career for me?
As mentioned above, Retail Management is the right or better career for those who are interested in Commodities, Sales Markets, Market Segments, Diversity of Business, Advertising and Campaign and Marketing Research. This profession provides wide opportunities for discovering new companies in the market. You can start as an Assistant Retail Manager or Store Manager. To be successful in this field, you need to be dynamic and a team leader.
What will be the total cost for its studies?
Depending on the choice of college or institute, the annual fee for a course in retail management can range from 1 to 3 lakhs. If you do this course from Tier-1 B-schools like IIMs etc. then the fee will be maximum in the above mentioned limit. If you choose an international university that offers you the opportunity to study abroad, then its fees can be even higher.
Grants / Scholarships
The best option to take education loan is State Bank of India which provides loan up to 7.5 lakhs. Other banks also provide this facility, but before taking a loan, you must know about their interest rate.
Many colleges also give scholarships to good students. Although it is less prevalent in India, foreign institutes offer full scholarships to students who score well in CAT or GMAT. However, here also you will have to make your own arrangements for additional expenses like accommodation. Foreign institutions offer scholarships on the basis of GMAT and CAT scores.
Job prospects Career in Retail Management
There are a lot of employment opportunities in this field for graduate students. You can start your career as a sales executive or directly become a sales manager or marketing manager. Even you can start your own business by taking franchise of any big retail brand.
Salary in Retail Management
Depending on the volume of work, you can get a monthly salary of 15000 to 25000 rupees as a sales executive or floor manager. Here it is your responsibility – to manage the customers on the floor and help them in their purchases. You can also become a Business Development Manager by going to the corporate level.
Demand and supply
Due to the growing business of supermarkets and hypermarkets, the demand for floor person and retail manager is always very high. Sometimes to handle the customers going to the market, startup retail chains hire freshers students from college for part time jobs. Sometimes they even select 12th pass students. The educational qualification for this is minimum 10+2 only. There is a great need for business research, market research and pricing strategists etc. for students completing MBA in Retail Management. Although their supply is fine in India, the demand for retail professionals is always there.
Market watch
Companies like Reliance, Big Bazaar, Vishal Mega Mart and the new Star Bazaar earn lakhs of rupees per day due to the huge amount of products and items they sell. Apart from these companies, clothing sale companies like Westside and Pantaloons, shoemakers like Regal, Metro and Bata use different strategies to market their products and launch their products in the market with innovative creatives to sell their brands. We do.
In this context, cells in summer, winter and spring are very important. The volatility in the shares of these brands completely depends on the monthly and yearly sale.
International focus
The concept of supermarkets and hypermarkets has been developed in India on the basis of foreign brands like Super Mart, a company like Walmart uses advanced supply chain strategy to market its products.
Brands like Ray-Yan, Bose, Gucci and Mango, which sell fashion products to the satisfaction of Indians, have entered the Indian market a long time ago with quality products.
In this environment, job opportunities for retail management students are very encouraging.
Positives / Negatives
positives
• There are many foreign retail chains from countries like Germany, USA and UK who are opening stores in India every year. As a result, they have created many opportunities for the job seekers.
• Retail systems in general are very attractive and exciting. People working in this industry get an opportunity to interact with different types of people.
Negatives
• Some retail shops hire people who are graduates. They do not demand an MBA degree in Retail Management or any specific qualifications. Sometimes this can cause problems in people’s career.
• Some brands which do not perform well in the market, sometimes lay off their employees which is a wrist factor associated with the retail industry.
Different roles, different names
Employees hired by retail companies are commonly known as floor managers, floor officers, lobby managers, etc. At the corporate level, they are called sales managers or marketing managers.
The growth and expansion of the retail industry has experienced high demand for malls, supermarkets, movie theaters and hypermarkets for the general public. However, everyone has their own different products. But they all have almost the same functionality and style to attract the customers.
Top 10 retail companies of India are-
- Shoppers-Top,
- westside,
- Pantaloons,
- life style,
- rpg retail,
- crossword,
- Wills Life Style,
- globus,
- Piramals and
- Ebony Retail Holdings.
Hiring Tips
To get a job in a retail company, keep the following things in mind –
Create a resume that reflects your ability to communicate with customers and excellent communication skills.
Be sure to mention the awards received in school or college in the resume.
Apply to at least 5 to 7 companies so that you can choose the better option.