Retail Management Courses, Admission, Career & Jobs, Salary

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Reported by Pankaj Bhatt

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Retail Management: Ever wondered, how the discount policy at Big Bazaar is implemented? What is the need of introducing such heavy discounts? Why do they offer so many deals? What is the deal with those student cards? The one and only reason to do so is to attract more and more customers and optimize profitability. Such timely offers and deals lure more customers to the store. All these strategies are formulated with the help of retail professionals. They are responsible for operating a store and overseeing each department from sales to stock to yield profits.

Retail can be defined as the sale of various goods and services to consumers. Retail Management is one of those branches of business administration that manages and monitors the retail department of the organization. Read the article provided below to get all the information about retail management and why to pursue a career in the field. We have also included the list of courses available, their eligibility, job prospects, and others.

Retail Management
Retail Management Courses, Admission, Career & Jobs, Salary 10

Career in Retail Management

What is Retail Management?

Retail Management is defined as a process of sales and merchandising that brings the customers to the store, identifies their needs, helps them find the right product, and leaving the store satisfied. It is a service-oriented profession that focuses on brand naming and sales management.

Retailing in India is one of the fastest-growing industries. It contributes around 10% to the Indian GDP. With the enhancement in people’s demands for better and quality products and services, the retailing market has profited manifold over the past few years.

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In a field like retailing, “Customer is King”. Thus, the main motive of retailing professionals is to please the customers anyhow. They focus on building proficient relations with customers along with sales and brand naming. They wish to transform the shopping experience of the customers into an enjoyable one.

Scope in Retail Management

With the advancement in globalization, the retail industry is booming. People are becoming more advance and modern. There are around 3800+ malls, 8500+ supermarkets, and over 14 million outlets in India. Every day there are hundreds more coming up. Clearly, the retail industry is not going anywhere. Companies will come up with new goods and services every day and there will always be a requirement for retail professionals to manage things.

Retail professionals are and will always be in high demand. Pursuing a career in retail management is a lucrative career path as it offers an ample number of job opportunities in different departments in hundreds of companies at their thousands of outlets. Also, one can always start his own store and be an entrepreneur.

However, it is highly recommended to pursue a career in retailing if and only if you have an interest in retailing and possess effective qualities and skills to be a retailer. A field like management in retailing demands fast-paced work and often the employee is struck with crazy work shifts and immense workload.

Retail Management Courses

If you wish to enter the field of retail management, you need to possess enough qualifications to have a safe and secure future in the field. One can start by opting for any course from the list provided below. The list contains the number of courses available in the field of retailing ranging from Certificate courses to PhD levels.

Course LevelCourse Name
Certificate Certificate Course in Retail Management
Diploma Diploma in Retail Management
PG Diploma in Retail Management
PG Diploma in Fashion Merchandising and Retail Management
UndergraduateB.Sc. in Retail Management
BBA in Retail Management
B.Sc. in Fashion Merchandising and Retail Management
PostgraduateMBA in Retail Management
M.Sc. in Retail Management
M.Sc. in Fashion Merchandising and Retail Management
PhD. PhD in Retail Management

Specializations

Specialization in the subject helps to master a specific division in the whole course curriculum. The specializations in the field of retailing that one can opt for are-

  • Store Management
  • Advertising
  • Sales
  • Operations
  • Supply Chain
  • Logistics
  • Customer Relations
  • Fashion Buying
  • HR Management
  • Quality Control
  • Merchandising
  • Pricing
  • Accounting
  • Personnel
  • Inventory

Retail Management Admission & Eligibility

The admission procedure is subject to vary from institute to institute. However, we have provided here the key eligibility required to be satisfied to get admission in any of the retailing courses.

Course LevelDurationKey Eligibility
Certificate 6 – 12 months– Intermediate pass out
Diploma 1 – 2 years– Intermediate pass out
– For PG Diploma: must be graduated in a related discipline
Undergraduate3 years– Intermediate pass out
– secured at least 50% of marks in previous qualifying exam
– qualify entrance exam, if applicable.
Postgraduate2 years– Bachelor in related discipline
– secured at least 50% of marks in the graduation
– qualify entrance exam, if applicable.
PhD. 2-4 years– PG degree in a related discipline

Entrance Examinations

Some institutes require the qualification in national or state-level entrance exams to get admission in the retail management course. Some of the popular entrances exams for this purpose are-

  • CAT
  • MAT
  • GMAT
  • XAT
  • CMAT
  • MICAT
  • SNAP
  • IPU CET

Top Institutes for Retail Management Courses

India’s topmost institutes to pursue management in retailing courses are as follows-

Symbiosis Skills and Open University (SSOU), Pune 
Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences (SUAS), Indore
Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar
Amity University, Noida 
Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi
Chitkara University, Patiala
School of Communication and Management Studies, Cochin
Prin. LN Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai
Tezpur University, Assam
K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai
Birla Institute of Management Technology, Noida

Skillset Required

In order to make a career in the field of retailing, aspirants must endure a service-minded approach. The following list consists of some of the core skills that a retailing aspirant must possess.

communication-skills
Good Communication skills
teamwork
Teamwork
customer-service
Customer service approach
problem-solving
Problem-solving attitude
organizational-skills
Organizational skills
value-for-time
Time Management

Furthermore, the candidates in retailing must also possess other soft skills such as:

  • Analytical Skills: It is very important for retail professionals to have strong mathematical and analytical skills.
  • Active Listening: People engaged in retailing must possess good listening skills so as to understand what the customer needs and fulfill his demands accordingly.
  • Strong negotiation skills
  • Leadership qualities
  • Have patience
  • Be cheerful in nature

Career & Jobs in Retail Management

Pursuing a career in retailing is very rewarding as well as challenging. There are a great number of job prospects in this field. The aspirants in this field must keep in mind that it’s not just a nine-to-five job. They might need to work with a hectic schedule at crazy work shifts. Also, in retailing customer happiness is paramount and therefore they must possess interpersonal skills to achieve greater heights in the field.

Some of the top profiles in the field of retailing are-

Job ProfilesJob Description
Retail ManagerThe retail manager supervises every department and aspect of the store. He oversees the functioning of sales, stock, and staff and manages budgets and costs to enhance profit rates.
Digital ManagerThe digital manager develops various digital campaigns to optimize the productivity and profitability of the store.
MerchandiserThe merchandiser monitors the ongoing sales trends and collaborates with sales and stock departments and prepares a strategy to attract more customers.
Retail Sales AssistantThe retail sales assistant is directly related to the customers. He engages customers to identify their needs and assist them accordingly. Also, introduce them to the discounts and deals offered by the store.
Visual MerchandiserThe visual merchandisers are responsible for the layout and design of the store. They plan and implement a visually pleasing window to attract more customers to the store.

Top Recruiters for Retail Management

Some of the top recruiting companies that hire retail professionals are –

Big BazaarAditya Birla GroupWestside
Reliance GroupLifestyleBata
PantaloonsITC RetailShopper’s Stop

Employment Sectors

Different employment sectors where retailers are employed in high numbers are-

Retail-management-employment-areas
Employment Sectors
Shopping MallsMultiplexesAirlines
LogisticsFashion IndustryAdvertising Agencies
Super MarketsRestaurantsHealthcare

Salary in Retail Management

In India, the salary packages in the field of Retail management range from INR 1.5 lacs – INR 10 lacs per annum. Remuneration tends to increase with the gain in work experience. The salary packages being offered by the recruiting company highly depend on the factors such as:

  1. Job Location
  2. Job Profile
  3. Recruiting Company
  4. Qualifying Institute
  5. Educational qualifications
  6. Specialization

Also, several incentives are granted to the retailers for their excellent performance and for augmenting the store’s profitability.

Books and Study Material

Name of the BookAuthor
Why We Buy: The Science of ShoppingPaco Underhill
Retail ManagementPrabhu TL
The Retail Revival: Reimagining Business for the New Age of ConsumerismDoug Stephen
Retail Management: A Realistic ApproachNeelesh Jain
Retail Beyond DetailGibson G. Vedamani
Retailing Management: Text and CasesSwapna Pradhan

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Retail Management?

Retail Management can be defined as a process of sales and merchandising that brings customers to the store, identify their needs, help them find the right product and returns them home satisfied. It is a service-oriented profession that focuses on brand and sales management

Is there any scope in retail management?

Yes. The demand for retailing professionals is increasing day by day with the increase in the number of malls, supermarkets and various retail outlets.

What courses are available to pursue a career in retail?

There are numerous courses available for retail management ranging from Certificate courses to PhD levels.

What is the eligibility to get admission at the UG level?

The candidate must be intermediate passed with at least 50% marks. Also, he must have qualified for the national or state-level entrance exam as applicable by the rules prescribed by the respective institute.

What is the eligibility to get admission at the PG level?

The candidate must hold a bachelor’s degree under his name in any relevant trade with at least 50% of the marks.

What do you mean by specialization?

Specialization in the subject helps to master a specific division in the whole course curriculum.

What is the duration of Diploma courses in Retail Management?

The duration of Diploma courses in Retail Management is 1-2 years

What entrance examinations do I need to qualify to get admission in the Retail management course?

CAT, GMAT, XAT, SNAP, MAT, etc.

What are the top institutes to pursue retail management courses?

Symbiosis Skills and Open University (SSOU), Pune 
Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences (SUAS), Indore
Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar
Amity University, Noida 
Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi

What soft skills are required for retailing?

Good communication skills
Customer service approach
Leadership qualities
Organizational skills
Time management skills
Analytical skills, etc.

What are the top job profiles in Retail management?

Some of the top job profiles in retailing are –
Retail Manager
Retail Sales Assistant
Digital Manager
Merchandiser
Visual Merchandiser

What are the top employment sectors in the field of retailing?

Shopping malls, logistics, healthcare, multiplexes, airline services, restaurants, advertising agencies, etc.

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