Here is an interesting blog I came across, for those interested in pursuing options in the Indian retail industry! Coming from a person who has just entered the recruitment domain, it comes with a fresh perspective...
We are all aware that the retailing industry has been around in India right since the days of Maharajahs and elephants. Back then, you could stroll into the market square, perhaps on designated days, and buy anything as varied as vegetables, slaves, and diamonds. All for a couple of copper and/or gold coins!
With evolution of civilization and the onset of a democratic and free India, retailing meant everyone from your ‘friendly neighborhood’ tiny grocery store reeking of a mix of odors from its jam-packed collection of spices, detergents, flour, and so on, right up to the strategically located showrooms of the shoe giant, Bata India. A strong network of wholesalers, C & F agents, and distributors with their proactive sales paraphernalia ensured that multinational giants such as Unilever, ITC, Pharma majors, et al, reached their target customers with absolute ease through the retail outlets. Some of the retailers either branched out to different locations, or upgraded themselves to larger spaces in a new avatar – the supermarkets.
So, what if someone wanted to have a career in retail back then? Well, no one really did! They either set up their own little store hoping to close the day, everyday, with a nice bundle of cash to take home. The not-so-lucky ones would join up as shop assistants, attending to customers at the counter, and to the owner’s errands with equal panache - all with the hope of owning their little shops one day into the future! And then, of course, there would be blink-your-eye-and-you’d-miss-him accountant showing himself for a couple of hours to catch up with maintaining the day’s accounts.
Gladly, the situation is dynamically different today. We have almost all the global retailing majors such as Metro, Wal Mart, Foodworld, etc., coming in (apart from our very own pan-Indian groups, Aditya Birla, Bharti, Reliance, RPG, Spencers, Vishal et al) to set up their ambitious retail chain of superstores and hyper stores through every possible town and city in India. With their proven expertise in sales and management of retail chains in other parts of the globe, they hope to tap the world’s most growing economy with the simple mantra of ‘giving more than the customer expects’. So you have the whole gamut of marketing skills being employed from wooing customers with discount coupons, quantity discounts, freebies, and sometimes, free tickets to the latest blockbuster or a celebrity event – to name a few. Now herein lies the tale that is of equal interest to us recruiters, and you, the jobseeker, alike! Of drooling interest, if I may add…
Never before has the average jobseeker have it so good. In fact, this is the next best thing that could happen to them right after the BPO influx, which re-defined recruiting parameters in customer service. The booming retail industry offers as many interesting options in terms of a career, and I am talking of a well-defined career here, for those who seek it. They could be anyone from the front-ender store help, serving the crowd of customers across the floor sections, to the unobtrusive retail outlet manager…and up across the hierarchy ladder.
With practically a zero number of retail chains to source a battle-ready workforce, the mega-retail ventures are picking people from those just into the employment market, and for critical positions, from across sales departments in other industries. We have observed these developments with interest, and would highly recommend this industry to those who would love to ride a stallion across the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to eventually have their pick of Mackenna’s glittering gold! So, here’s wishing you all success………
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