Career Diploma in
Retail Management

Defining retailing; traits of successful retailers; the retail organization; management positions; departmental personnel; management training; motivating employees; components of customer service in the retail environment; training employees in good customer service practices.

The corporate mission statement; management strategies; target and niche marketing; department manager responsibilities; store set-up; department layout; personalization; buyers and vendors; business meetings; business analysis; controlling department performance.

Specialty retailing; capitalization; location; market analysis; traits of a successful entrepreneur; steps to launching a small retail enterprise; competing against large retailers; store design; principles of store set-up; store aesthetics, fixtures and colors; incremental and impulse sales; customer loyalty programs; multi-channel retailing; Internet opportunities for small businesses.

The economic significance of retail sales; retail employment; the top 25 global retailers; structure of retailing and global distribution channels; retail management and entrepreneurial opportunities; decision-making; implementing retail strategy; trends in retailing; retailer characteristics; food, general merchandise, non-store, and services retailing; types of ownership.

Retail channels for interacting with customers; trends and implications; electronic retailing: multichannel retailing; shopping in the future; types of buying decisions; the buying process; social factors influencing buying decisions; market segmentation.

Definition of retail market strategy; target market and retail format; building a competitive advantage via location, human resource management, unique merchandise, distribution and information systems, vendor relations and customer service; market penetration, expansion and diversification; global growth opportunities; the strategic retail planning process; the strategic profit model: sales, margins and expenses; the turnover path; return on assets; setting performance objectives.

Retailing centers; city or town locations; freestanding sites; location and retail strategy; economies of scale vs. cannibalization; demographics; business climate; accessibility; locational advantages within a center; trade area; methods of estimating demand.

Gaining competitive advantage via human resource management; organization of a single store, regional department store and other types of retailers; coordinating merchandise with store management; building employee commitment; managing diversity; legal issues; supply chain management; data warehousing; electronic data interchange; logistics of distribution; implementing CRM programs; collecting and analyzing customer data; market segments.

Organizing buying by categories; the merchandise plan; margins, sales and inventory turnover; sales forecasting; assortment planning; staple merchandise buying systems; fashion merchandise budget plan; open-to-buy; allocating merchandise to stores; analyzing merchandise performance; branding strategies; international sourcing; negotiating and partnering with vendors.

Pricing strategies; setting prices; price adjustments; using price to stimulate sales; building brand equity; personal and impersonal methods of communicating with customers; planning, implementing and evaluating retail communication programs.

Key management duties; recruiting employees; training, motivating and managing new store employees; compensation; controlling costs; reducing inventory loss; elements of good store design and layout; space planning; presenting merchandise; atmospherics; customer service strategies; customer evaluation of service quality; meeting and exceeding service standards.