Introduction to Retail Management

Overview

This course is an introduction to understanding retail business. In this course, we will try to unravel the business model of a retail business – essentially the brick and mortar segment.

We will define and discuss retail formats and deliberate the evolution of retail formats. We will use various theories and illustrations that explain the retail business as it is today.

Syllabus

Week 1: Understanding Basics of Retail Business

What is Retailing?
How does Retail business work?
Retail verticals; Roles and responsibility, Organizational structure
What is organized Retail?
Why retail business is significant today?

Week 2: Understanding Retail formats and strategies

Retail classification system and retail formats
Traditional retail formats, mom and pop stores
What is ideal for India? Consequences

Week 3: Retail Strategy Decisions: Merchandising, Pricing

Retail strategy mix
Merchandising basics.
What is merchandising? implications
Pricing basics, methods
Retail pricing, consequences

Week 4: Retail strategy decisions.

Retail distribution network
Supply chain basics
Warehousing, physical distribution, logistics, examples
Basics of Retail Promotion.

Week 5: Retail scenario in emerging markets (India)

What is emerging market? Why it is significant today? What is the retail scenario in emerging markets?
Indian retail sector evolution in different sectors.
Characteristics of Indian consumers
Expert opinion on Indian retail sector – research reports analysis

Week 6: E-tailing