Chandigarh B-schools offer training in managing retail outlets

Taking a cue from a boom in organised retailing, management institutes have sprung up to cater to the demand for skilled professionals to manage mega outlets.

By Sunil Sharma

Chandigarh, Sept 20 : Taking a cue from a boom in organised retailing, management institutes have sprung up to cater to the demand for skilled professionals to manage mega outlets.

Organised retailing is expected to become a 24 billion dollar industry by 2010 in India. It will require trained manpower to run hypermarkets, super stores and wholesale cash and carry facilities.

Those aspiring to make a career in retail industry feel that a management institute gives them all that is needed to become successful.

Geetanjali Bawa, who has joined one-year diploma programme in Retail Management at the Global Retail School in Chandigarh, said: "If I start today as a salesperson in a company, after five years I perceive myself as a store manager or somewhere in the middle management. It (the course) gives me proper knowledge about the retail industry otherwise also it helps me in carrying myself in the retail industry."

With a network of 40 retail schools across the country, Global Retail School is tipped to cater to the growing demand for skilled manpower in the retail industry.

Even the youth is eager to grow with the industry and make their mark.

Bhuwan Prasher, who aspires to own a retail store, says: "I am learning the management of a mall, including the necessary rules and regulations. Go to any shopping mall and vehicle parking is a major trouble. So when I launch my own mall, I will make sure that visitors do not face any parking problem."

With global giants like Wal-Mart entering the country's retail sector, supply chain management in another three years will become a strategic issue that will witness cut-throat competition.

Vandana Worrell, Executive of the Orgs - Global Retail School, Chandigarh, said: "There are already 12 million outlets in India and more are coming-up. Wal-Mart is coming in India - they have tied up with Bharti Resources. Once big companies like Wal-Mart, Tesco, will be here, the entire scene of retail is going to change."

Looking at it from any angle -- increased ability of the customer to spend, jobs created, investment and profitability -- there is a boom in the retail industry.

Organised retail is a mere 2.3 percent of the estimated 350 billion dollars retail industry in India. It has the potential to expand and reach out to the untapped markets in smaller cities and even villages.

ANI