The retail sector in India is large, employing 40 million people. It is expected to create 13 million new jobs by 2012. Retail offers a variety of career opportunities across many functions including store operations, buying, marketing, and logistics. Retail careers provide flexibility, the potential for career progression into management roles with high salaries, and opportunities to engage in work related to one's personal interests. Employers value people skills, sales skills, and the ability to work well in a team.

2. An Introduction to the Retail Sector
 Size of Indian retail market ---------
-----------------------US$ 450 billion
 Employees- --------------40 million
 13 million new jobs will be created
by 2012
*Retail has created more jobs than
any other sector over the last five
years

3. The Myths: What Retail isn’t…..
 Poor salary prospects
 Graduate salary starts as high ..
 Long, unsociable hours
 Varied hours, giving flexibility to suit
your lifestyle
 Not creative or stimulating
 Brand specialists and visual
merchandisers to name just two
important roles
 Dead end job
 Training programs encourage your
development and progress
 Anyone can do retail
 Retail apprenticeships are a
recognized route in; 29% of all the
graduate join the retail

4. Careers in Retail: Key Themes
 Variety
 Profit
 Progress
 Flexibility
 Lifestyle
With a huge choice of roles
and opportunities to move
around, there’s something
for virtually everyone.

5. Variety: breaking it down
 Store operations
 HR and training
 Finance and administration
 Buying
 Customer contact centers
 Marketing
 Logistics
 IT
 Visual Merchandising

6. Variety: roles for everyone
Some specialized occupations
 Sales assistant
 Brand manager
 Visual merchandiser
 Senior buyer
Some broader occupations
 Director of finance
 HR manager
 Web assistant
 Customer service representative
 Warehouse operator

7. Progress: Salary and Development
 Earn while you learn
with an apprenticeship
 Graduate training
programs starting
salaries of
 Progression towards
manager level salaries of
 Great perks and extras in
all posts
 Continuous professional
development

8. Profit from qualifications and
experience
 Retail apprenticeship routes
 Retail diploma
 Popular graduate career path- from virtually all
degrees disciplines
 Moving from other sectors
 Benefit of work experience
 Summer placement
 Saturday job
 Dealing with customers
 Work experience guides

9. Flexibility: A break from the norm
Getting away from 9 to 5
Fit your life around your work
Part-time working
Opportunity to move around the
business

10. Lifestyle: in your best interest
 People often buy things they’re
interested in….
 So who better to sell them?
 Sport, music, technology, games……
 Working with goods and services of
personal interest.

11. Trends in Retail: the current market
 Retailers need to respond quickly to new fashions and
new products
 Mobile retailing
 Internet -e-tailing
 Impact on customer interface
 Websites and contact centers
 Home delivery for groceries and many other items

12. Skills required: what employers
want
Employability skills
 People skills
 Sales skills
 Personal presentation
 The right attitude
 Enthusiasm and reliability
 Numeracy and literacy
 Team working
 Managerial potential

13. Careers in Retailing
Sales executive or market executive
Responsibilities
 Explaining to all walk-in customers about the products and providing any additional
information that would help customers to make the right product choice.
 Taking part in the entire selling process from prospecting to closing the sale.
 Achieving the personal sales targets set by the store manager.
 Managing in-store inventory and cash counter.
 Conducting product demonstrations when necessary.

14. Store Manager
Responsibilities
 Achieving predetermined monthly and annual targets.
 Leading and motivating a team of in-store sales executives.
 Preparing pre-sales reports like- potential client lists and sales progress charts.
 Preparing post-sales reports like- daily and weekly reports.
 Coordinating with logistics to ensure timely deliveries to customers and to maintain optimum
inventory levels in the branch.
 Developing human resources at the branch level.
 Preparing business plans for the financial quarter.
 Supervising the overall merchandising of the store and designing the look of the store.
 Designing and carrying out promotional schemes within the store.

15. Desired skill-set required for Sales
Executive/Store Manager
 Good communication skills (ability to persuade
customer).
 Patience to deal with all kinds of customers.
 Good product knowledge (in terms of features).
 Knowledge of competitor’s products.
 Good knowledge of store dynamics in terms of hot
selling products, hot traffic spots (in the store), and
merchandising requirements.

16. Ownership Opportunities
 Set up a new business
 Buying an existing business
 A Franchise

17. Emerging career in Retailing
Sales and Merchandising Representative (SMR)
Responsibilities
 Earning mind share and shelf-space of the retailer.
 Educating sales teams in stores about the nature and working of the
product.
 Motivating retailer’s salespersons to promote the manufacturer’s
products.
 Collecting information on new products and buying patterns of retail
customers.