The pandemic Covid 19 & digitalisation has brought rapid changes in marketing, and adapting to the evolving market and its employment needs is the need of the hour. Keeping this in mind, Bhavan’s College (Autonomous), Andheri has launched a new course – B. Com in Retail Management (BRM) that would commence from the academic session of 2021-22. Taught by the experienced & industry trained faculty, this course offers an undergraduate degree over the course of 3 years. Internships are an integral part of the course. This would help the students to develop the skills needed to succeed in the Retail industry.
As per Forrester Research, in 2020, India’s retail sector was estimated at US$ 883 billion, with grocery retail accounting for US$ 608 billion. The market is projected to reach US$ 1.3 trillion by 2024. This growth will be majorly driven by consumer data and technology disruptions. Along with this, consumer preferences will be the focus for all brands and retailers. The retailers will be working to meet the surging consumer’s demand; they will have to focus on their USP so as to differentiate them from the other brands in the market and create Brand Loyalty. Differentiation will be the need of the hour. Hence, to ensure this, the retailers will be focusing on revamping their revenue business model, focus on offering exclusive subscriptions or memberships to ensure consumer loyalty, developing new partnerships and collaborations with key FMCG and consumer durable players, and an omni channel digital experience.
Since there is increased use of smartphones, apps, the internet, and social media, there will be a dire need for the retailers to come up with extraordinary omni-channel strategies along with the perfect blend of an offline and online extension of customer experiences. Customer is the king; to retain customers they require trained retail personnel.
The course of B. Com in Retail Management strives to create a new generation of smart retail professionals and aims to equip them with the best practices followed in the industry, making – B. Com in Retail Management (BRM) a unique and pioneering course offering a degree in retail management.
This course has been launched to generate a workforce that is employable directly at the supervisory level post completion of the degree. B. Com in Retail Management is quite different from the traditional B. Com degree courses offered, owing much of it to its judicious mix of academic and skill based education. Industrial training and internships are the most important feature of this course, which provides students with first-hand experience of the industry thus providing them with an ample work experience. This makes them industry-ready and all set to get absorbed in in the Retail industry.
The internships would be paid (approximately Rs 6000 per month), thus offering some financial help to students, while getting a degree. This degree is equivalent to the level 5 certification of the NSFQ, and the degree shall be provided by the University of Mumbai. The apprenticeship assessment would be done by the industry experts and the RASCI, while the college faculty members would be looking after the academic assessment.
Grooming professionals by providing them with modern facilities for academic excellence and achieving a holistic development in the personality through education is what Bhavan’s College aims at, and the launch of this course in the first year of its autonomy is a prime example of the same.
The course of B. Com in Retail Management is designed in accordance with the New Education Policy(NEP) 2020, which gives students a choice to drop out with a certificate or a diploma in retail management at the end of their first or second year respectively. However, the students would be required to complete the three-year course in order to secure a Permanent job at supervisor/ managerial level.
Moreover, practical skills like data analytics and computerised accountancy embedded in course itself. This enables students to get acquainted skill needed in the job market.
More information about the course is available in the brochure which also encloses the registration link for the programme.
