Careers:Make a fortune out of a career in Retail Management

Indian economy is bourgeoning and the corporate world is raking in profits like never before. In fact they never had it so good. And in the process, one particular segment that has really hit the big league is retail segment. With census graph going skywards, the retail industry in India is all poised for a major growth and both Indian and global conglomerates with interests in retail business are eyeing India as their next prospective destination. Needless to say, the retail sector is considered to be the biggest industry in the world in terms of sales turnover and it is said that every tenth billionaire in the world is a retailer.

Interestingly, India is rated as the fifth most attractive, emerging retail market in the world and is expected to grow at a compounded rate of 30 per cent over the next five years. Apart from the existing players, many foreign players are planning to enter and tap the Indian retail markets. With huge growth potential in its fold, the retail sector in the country has hit the bull’s eye only in the recent past. Big banners in the retail sector are slowly beginning to commence their operations in India. And the picture is not all that rosy. Ever since there has been some concerted activities in the retail sector rather in a more professional and organised manner, the unorganized retailers have surfaced with stiff resistance.

As of now very little inroads have been made by retail giants in India and their presence is literally, marginal. But Indian retail industry will witness magnanimous changes in recent future. And as their modest entry has paved for some of the heated debates of recent times, the future of retail business operations in India is looking very bright and will be a rewarding experience for those who will choose to have a career in it only because, as of now, the retail sector is one of the fastest growing business segments in India.

According to conservative estimates the retail segment in India is all likely to hit an annual business turnover of US $500 billion by 2010. Reliance, Pantaloon, Piramal, Rahejas, Tatas and Birlas has already begun their legwork in recruiting manpower with a view to expand their retail operations. But despite all the heat and dust, the retail sector is being looked upon as an emerging area where too many career openings can be created. In terms of job opportunities, the retail sector might even surpass other lucrative new generation careers like IT, BPO and hospitality. Realising the fact that there is an increasing gap between the demand and supply of professionals in the retail sector, management institutes offering courses in the same have also grown manifold.

The employee base in the organised retail sector has seen a steady increase in the last couple of years. It has been estimated that the organised sector will create over a million jobs and the unorganized sector is expected to add more than two million jobs to the Indian economy by 2010. In India, Reliance alone has plans to recruit around a million people for its retail business in the next four years. A successful career in retail industry can be made with proper planning, accurate identification of needs, ability to interact with people along with problem solving and quick decision making skills. One should also have good analytical skills and never-ending enthusiasm as well as high-energy reserves. Pleasant manners, resourcefulness and good memory are considered an asset in retailing.

The sector has vacancies from the entry level to senior management level. The high attrition rates in the retail sector are a matter of concern for most employers. The current attrition rate in the industry ranges from 39 percent to 52 percent. The Indian retailers are conducting fast paced and aggressive recruitment for various key roles. To retain the workforce big players in the industry are offering good growth opportunities with attractive salary packages inclusive of several add-on benefits. From front-end sales personnel to technology experts, from HR to supply chain, business development, from research to product development and marketing, the sector is facing a deficiency of skilled and experienced professionals, especially at the middle and the senior level management.

There are umpteen career options in the retail industry today. And truly, a career in retail sector offers a more diverse range of occupations than most other industries. Several Indian universities and professional institutes have programmes in retail management. Broadly speaking, there are different academic programmes of various durations ranging from 3 months to 2-year long modules in retail management. Such courses will render more clarity to the concepts and processes involved in retailing and equip the students with the required skills in technical, operational and conceptual areas to make a successful career in the sector.

Finding too many takers, a wide array of courses in retail management and related fields are on offer today to suit every taste and budget some of them being Lifestyle Retailing, Retail Marketing & Merchandising Management, Retail Store Operations, Retail Supply Chain Management, Retail Selling Skills, Customer Care and Visual Merchandising. The standard management programmes also have introduced a specialisation module in retail management. If one looks into it more elaborately, there are numerous other career titles in the retail industry which include product coordinator, merchandise coordinator, business analyst and customer experience manager, among others.

In India, organized retailing is not limited to major cities alone. In the past one decade alone numerous Indian cities have emerged as metros. People living in these cities are exposed to lifestyle products as those in major metros. In order to satiate them and to tap the market potential, all retail chains are opening up outlets and are fast making space acquisitions even in lesser known cities. Upcoming metros like Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Kochi, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Indore are experiencing an invasion of retail outlets of all kind. The lesser overhead expenditure is also one reason that has prompted many to branch out to upcoming metros in the country. When compared to their counterparts in major metros, the purchasing capacity of consumers in upcoming cities is less either.

Finding a lucrative market, many renowned players from other segments are gearing up to participate in the retail boom in India. The rise of nuclear families, enhanced income levels of young Indians, rapid urbanization and introducing several new lifestyle concepts are some of the other factors that have accelerated the retail boom. Moreover, with technological exposure and frequent visits abroad, the upper and middle classes have gained increased awareness of western concepts of entertainment and shopping. With the government recently having announced FDI in retail segment, India is all set to attract more investment, technology and best global trends in the retail sector. And to carve a career in retail management, it’s time to join, if not jump, into the bandwagon called retail sector.

source : http://education.mathrubhumi.com/php/showothersArticles_details.php?catid=2&aid=26