Description

This course provides a good understanding of the concepts, strategies, and trends associated with a retail operation in different marketplaces. It explores the current retail environment and key retail management strategies from managing merchandise and employees, to advertising and promotion. The course incorporates environmental, demographic and social issues into the discussion of retail operations. Key financial and profit formulas are also presented. Therefore, this course aims to enable the student to gain an understanding of the strategies employed by retailers to gain and retain customers, employees, and vendors.

Program

MBA

Objectives

• Upon the completion of the course the student will be able to: • Understand retailing and its functions. • Understand of procedures and methods of buying merchandise, display and promotion, inventory control and budgeting. • List and explain essential retail management concepts. • Discuss the retail environment, from competition to technology. • Know how to develop and implement a retail strategy. • Analyze and understand different retail formats, such as franchises, the “Big Box” phenomenon, service and non-store retailing (e-commerce). • Understand and apply the retail marketing mix, including location, pricing, motion, and customer service. • Demonstrate understanding of buying, handling and the planning and managing of merchandise and inventory. • Critically analyze of real- life retailing strategies and evaluate retail performance. • Compare and contrast different location opportunities and outline the factors that affect retail demand in a region or trade area. • Analyze specific retailing problems and present creative solutions. • Able to solve problems related to the retailing function. • Describe how retailers make international sourcing decisions and identify common ethical and legal issues involved in the purchase and sale of merchandise. • Describe how retailers build a sustainable competitive advantage through human resource management and identify related issues, challenges, and trends, including employee motivation, evaluation, and compensation.