12-09-2013, 03:50 PM
Retail Management
What is Retail?
Retail is the final stage of any economic activity. BY virtue of this fact Retail occupies an important place in the world economy. In an attempt to understand the scope of the term retail, various definitions of the term have been examined.
According to Philip Kotler: "Retailing includes all the activities involved in selling goods or Services to the final consumers for personal, non-business use. A retailer or retail store is any business enterprise whose sale volume comes primarily from retailing. Any organization selling to final consumers whether it is a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer is doing retailing It does not matter how the goods services are sold (by person, mail, telephone, vending machine or internet or where the are sold - in a store, on the street or in the consumer's home)"
Post Graduate Certificate Programme in Retail Management
Indian Retail Industry is one of the largest in the world and is estimated to be over USD 450 billion. It is in a high growth phase and is expected to grow continuously for the next two decades. There are many reforms in the anvil that will expand the industry way beyond the current level, FDI approval being one of them.
The growing retail industry has a dearth of professional talent in retail management. Post Graduate Certificate in Retail Management is a program that is designed to create talent to meet the current and future needs of the retail industry.
Overview & Pedagogy
This program focuses on building a strong foundation in Retail Management for entry-level to mid-level professionals. It aims at providing a thorough understanding and hands-on experience of Retail Management.
Functions of a Retailer:
From the customers point of view, the retailer serves him by providing the goods that he needs in the required assortment, at the required place and time. From an economic standpoint, the role of a retailer is to provide real added value or utility to the customer. This comes from four different perspectives:
1. First is utility regarding the form of a product that is acceptable to the customer. The retailer does not supply raw materials, but rather offers finished goods and services in a form that the customers want. Retailer performs the function of storing the goods, and providing us with an assortment of products in various categories.
2. He create; time utility.-by keeping the store open when the consumers prefer to shop.
3. By being available at a convenient location, he creates .place utility.
4. Finally, when the product is sold, ownership utility is created.
The rise of retailer
In the not so distant past, manufacturers created a product, advertised it slickly and sold it through their distribution channel. The manufacturing companies enjoyed economic power, as they were significantly bigger in size as compared to the distributors or the retailers. They determined prices, the products that the retailer could stock and also the dealer and distributor margins. They would also independently advertise for their products. In case of a dispute with the distributor or retailer it would not be rare for the manufacturer to discontinue supplies. However, much has changed.