Retail Management Industry - Job Profile
As mentioned , retailing process is a customer facing job which involves a lot of direct interaction with the end customer. It also involves the coordination of business activities from the design stage of a product to its delivery and post-delivery service. There are different ways to classify the retail business one of which we already looked into, and based on these classifications the nature and scope  of the various profiles change. Some parameters used to classify them include their size, shape, product lines, amount of service they offer and prices they charge etc making the categories of specialty stores, supermarket/ malls, factory outlets, franchises, chain stores, discount stores, lifestyle & personal products, furnishing & house hold appliances etc.

Being a customer centric job and a fast growing sector, it offers a very affluent employment opportunity with lots of scope for growth. Good communication skills and analytical skills are a must in this people oriented service sector field but contrary to popular belief, even though it is related to selling, not all positions are in the stores/outlets themselves. So while most positions related to  selling and marketing might involve being at the stores, there are a lot of out-of-store or less customer facing jobs like operations, concept and design, buying and merchandising, marketing analysis and also administration.

Some of the top players in the organized segment include Reliance Group, ITC Retail, Aditya Birla Group, Tata Groups Trent & Westside, Shoppers Stop, Future Groups Big Bazaar & Pantaloons, Apparel Chains, Raymondsinglequotes, Arvind Brands, Lifestyle International, Spencers etc. They offer very competitive  compensation and the work culture is very professional making it a overall good career choice.


What are the  skills that are valued?
Traditionally personal skills have been given a greater value in Retail than professional degrees, but with the increased professionalism with the entry of multinational corporations, there is a increasing emphasis on professional qualification along with the ever important personal skills. Being a people intensive job most profiles require good teamwork and leadership skills along with an analytical bent of mind. Creativity is also valued due to the dynamic and ever changing nature of the job and new ideas to promote their business are very important due to this. Other skills like problem solving skills, negotiation skills, being up to date with the various development for retail (which is possible only with a passion for the same , tact, patience, an interest in sales work, a neat appearance and the ability to communicate clearly etc are also important to a greater degree that other jobs.

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