Retail Retake  
Organised Retail sector has seen a revolutionary growth in the country leading to host of job opportunities for those who have a flair for procuring and selling

Pratiksha Singh
New Delhi, June 07: Just a decade ago, India did not have a single shopping mall. Today the shopping experience of any upwardly mobile retail customer is incomplete without malls and super-specialty stores. From being almost non-existent, there are over a hundred shopping malls in Delhi and Mumbai alone with as many as 700 being planned across the country.  

The retail sector, with its three-year compound annual growth rate of 46.64 per cent, is indeed one of the fastest growing sectors of the Indian economy. In fact, a bigger window of opportunity lies in small towns as compared to the relatively saturated big cities. Small towns show a growth rate of 50-60 per cent as compared to the 40-50 per cent clocked by the big cities. Powered by an upwardly mobile middle class and the new generation of billionaires in the country, the retail experience is all set to don new clothes from the former traditional setup to the new departmental store format.  

The initial efforts were made by the Pantaloon in the Indian retail industry. The chain of Pantaloon retails stores currently holds on the position of the largest retailing channel in India. The Pantaloons’ was followed by the Reliance Industries Limited and Big Bazaar.  Others to follow the path and making huge investments in the retail sector are Bharti; Walmart; AV Birla Group; Future Group etc. Involvement of these mega ventures in the sector has led to increase in the jobs and the salaries of the skilled professionals. 

According to a CII report, the organised retail sector created 200,000 jobs in 2006-2007 and will generate 10 to 15 million jobs over the next five years, and that the value of the organised retail sector in India by 2010 would be around Rs 2,00,000 crore or US$45 billion. As per industry benchmarks, for every 1,000 sq ft, four persons will gain employment. Considering the fact that this is a labour intensive sector and the numbers of programmes of study cut out for training professionals in it are so limited, there will be a marked shortfall in the sector. It is anticipated that in the next five years the sector will emerge as the second largest industry in India.   

It has been seen that the more aggressive areas of growth would be food, beverage, grocery, telecommunication or the retail market for mobile handsets and accessories and children's retailing that is likely to grow by 30-35 per cent. According to estimates, the total apparel market in India for kids is around $2.9 billion (Rs 12,924 crore). India is currently the ninth largest retail market in the world. There is tremendous scope for those who catch this industry in the middle of its meteoric rise. 

The retail trade segment engages over 28.6 million persons, with around 51 per cent working in rural areas. Around 80 per cent of the persons engaged in this sector work as self-employed persons. There have been very few entry barriers for someone with the requisite working capital in this sector. Within the retail trade the sale of food, beverages and tobacco is the largest segment, with over 43 per cent employment. Around 34 per cent employment is in the retail of new goods in specialised stores - pharmacies, textiles, cosmetics, soaps, footwear, furniture, TV /Radio, electronic goods, household appliances, etc.  

Combined with low entry-barriers, this sector has been a fall-back for many poor households. It has been estimated that about 60 per cent of the job opportunities created due to the boom in the industry will be in the rural India.  The major business enterprises which already have a hold in the retail market like Future Group, Reliance Industries and Retail Solution Group are looking forward to increase its workforce to ten folds.   

Within organised retail the types of jobs that are being created include stocking and grading, storekeeping services, quality checking, billing services, cleaning, maintenance, sales, customer service. These livelihoods are relevant for big urban centres. These kinds of jobs require young and energetic persons, and one of the most basic prerequisites includes grooming, communication and presentation skills for those who interface with customers. For the back-office work, such as storekeeping and inventory management, some basic trainings are required.