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Unit 1: Introduction to Retail Environment

1.8 Career in Retail Notes

Today, the retail industry is considered amongst the largest in India, and is ever-growing. This
is because as long as there are buyers, this industry will prosper. In the last couple of years, the
buying capacity of an average Indian citizen has increased. This is because of various factors;
prime amongst them is the large pay packets.
Apart from that people have become more aware of themselves, and are willing additional
rupees to feel good and look good. And all this has positive impact for job seekers – full time and
part time.
Thus, today a career in retail is not a difficult one to enter to. It is exciting because of the number
of people one gets to interact with. Apart from that one also needs to be aware of the changing
trends in order to increase sales.
Sometimes being employed in the retail industry can be frustrating, especially when the customer
is not satisfied with their purchase, or they start haggling over the price. But all in all there is a
lot of excitement, with a good enough pay pack, depending where one is employed.

There are also many avenues where the world of retailing jobs has opened up. This brings in the
need for an increasing number of qualified professionals. Interestingly, there are more and
more students who have taken up Retailing, as their subject of specialization while pursuing
their MBA.
The primary reason for the changing scenario in India is the number of malls and departmental
stores that have already opened and are yet under construction. Mall Job in retail in India is a
major demand. Every retail outlet requires customer-friendly sales executives, who relate to the
product. Apart from the brand developers, there are retail specialists as well who look into
every aspect to make the product successful amongst the consumers.
With the increasing demand for retail staff it has becoming a task to employ the right kind of
staff. In fact, according to many the demand tends to be more than the supply. This situation is
arising because of the lack of trained and qualified staff. However, to counter this, the larger
retail outlets are prepared to spend some extra money in training their staff.
When hiring retail staff in India, some of the vital pointers to keep in mind, as far as attributes
of the staff member is concerned are as follows:
Communication skills

Ability to speak in Hindi and good English speaking skills
Friendly personality
Well groomed
Ability to tackle tricky situations
A good team member

Respect for the seniors
Knowledge of the product
Family background

Educational background
Apart from these checkpoints, the employer should maintain a file of the employee, as many
young sale persons tend to flick products on display. Some of them also work for thieving
gangs. However, address records and identity proofs will maintain optimum security.

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