Retail Management Careers
Are you a “people person” who loves to talk and loves to shop? Are you a “take-charge” person who loves responsibility? Would you like to lead a staff to customer service excellence? If you answered, “yes” to these questions, you many enjoy a career in retail management.
Retail Management Job Description
As the name implied, retail managers supervise employees at retail establishments. Though their duties vary by type and size of the store, retail managers typically coordinate the scheduling of the employees, directly supervise a particular shift, handle customer complaints, and perform light accounting or bookkeeping functions.
What Skills do I Need?
A career in retail managements demands that, above all, you have supervisory skills. You must be able to communicate well with your employers, gently directing them in the proper performance of their jobs.
You will also need these same excellent communication skills for interacting with the public. As a retail manager, customer satisfaction will be your chief job. This involves frequent interaction with customers, answering their questions and handling their complaints—always ensuring that they leave your store with a smile.
Finally, you will need to have a good head for business and for numbers. As part of your job will undoubtedly include a certain amount of bookkeeping functions, you should brush up on your math skills and dust off your calculator.
How do I get this Job?
There are no educational or experiential requirements needed to become a retail manager. Many people start out as a lower level worker (such as a cashier) and work their way up to management. Many other people, however, choose to obtain a college degree in retail management. Having a college degree in this field will not only help you to obtain your first retail management job, but will also provide you with additional advancement opportunities within the retail field.
Getting a College Degree
Many colleges and universities offer degrees in retail management and merchandising. The degree offerings for this field are usually a 2-year associate’s degree or a 4-year bachelor’s degree. (Junior and community colleges typically offer the associate’s degrees, while about 40 4-year colleges and universities offer the bachelor’s degrees.)
Whether you pursue an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree in this field, the training program should include a well-rounded education in management, marketing, communications, and accounting. You can expect to take such courses as:
- Principles of Marketing
- Customer Relations
- Principles of Retailing
- Economics
- Public Speaking
- Small Business Management
- Accounting or Bookkeeping
- Retail Buying
- Applied Mathematics for Business
Income for Retail Managers
The incomes of retail managers vary quite a bit, depending on the type, the size, and the geographical location of the retail establishment. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary of retail managers in 2004 was $33,000 per year. But, as stated, this figure varies widely. The BLS reports that grocery store managers, for instance, earned $31,60 per year in 2004, while those employed in Wholesale Markets earned a whopping $79,480.
Career Outlook for Retail Managers
The BLS predicts that competition for retail management jobs will be fierce during the next few years. With the recent economic downturn, employers are reducing the number of managers that they hire and, instead, are giving more responsibility to shift supervisors.
Even so, being a retail manager is a fulfilling career for someone who enjoys all of the responsibilities (and varied duties) of this job.
