Andhra University pioneered in offering Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) in India way back in 1957 visualising the emerging needs of Business and Industry for management professionals. It has produced thousands of management professionals who occupied and are occupying important positions in various Multi National Companies, Public and Private sector organizations with in the country and abroad. Continuing its visionary outlook, the University introduced several new Post Graduate Programmes in Science and Engineering from the academic year 2006-07. The latest in the list is MBA Retail Management.

        The Department of Commerce and Management Studies at the instance of the Vice Chancellor, Andhra University thoroughly reviewed the dynamic changes taking place in the retailing sector in India and abroad and found that there is growing employment potential for professional managers in this sector. The following are the facts that supported this point of view.

• In the list of Fortune 500 companies 10% or 50 are Retail Organisations - Wal-Mart (The Retail Giant) is the first among the fortune 500 companies.
   

• 25 of the Asian Top 200 companies are retailing companies.
   

• Retailing Sector employs around 8% of the labour in India which is six times bigger than Thailand and five times larger than South Korea and Taiwan. It is Second largest employment provider in the country after Agriculture.
   

• There are 4.3 million retail outlets in India.
   

• Organised retailing in India is only two per cent which is very poor compared to other South Asian Countries.

  	Organized Retailing	Traditional Retailing
  Malaysia	50%	50%
  Thailand	40%	60%
  Philippines	35%	65%
  Indonesia	25%	75%
  South Korea	15%	85%
  China	20%	80%
  India	2%	98%

  
   

• India has around 200 shopping malls presently located in cities.
   

• Sharp growth rate of 35-40% in organised retailing across the country is a positive sign of growth.
   

• The total domestic retail market was estimated around Rs.9,300 billion in 2003-04 and the annual growth rate is around 4 to 6 per cent.
   

• Price Water House Coopers (PWC) had estimated India among the six most attractive destinations in retailing alongside China, Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia and Hungary.
   

• Big business houses in India like Reliance, Godrej, Mahendras, Wadia, Tata, Hero and Malhotras are now looking at retail sector.
   

• Pantaloon, Shoppers Stop, RPG Group, Trent, Life Style, Subhiksha, Food World, Vivek's, Nilgiris, Ebnoy, Crosswords, Globus, Barista, Quicky's, Café Coffee Day, Wills Lifestyle, Raymond, Titan, Bata, West side, Trinetra, Chandana Brothers etc. already have established retail networks in the county in a big way.
   

• Reliance India is entering into the sector in a big way with an investment of Rs.25,000 crores and an estimated employment generation of around 10 lakhs.
   

• The international players who have already entered into retailing business in India include McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Levis, Lee, Nike, Adidas, TGIF, Benetton, Sony, Sharp, Kodak, the Medicine Shoppe and Wal-Mart.
   

• Foreign Direct Investment in retail business is allowed up to 51 per cent through Foreign Investment Promotion Board as a measure to encourage the entry of Multi National Corporations in the country.
   

• The size of the organized retail market is expected to register substantial growth by 2007. The following are the estimates of the Intelligence Group of the Economic Times.
   

  	2001-02	2007
  Total (No. of outlets)	16,000	37,216
  Food	1,800	7,743
  Clothing	4,950	10,423
  Consumer Durables	1,650	3,787
  Books & Music	450	1,426

  
  

• Sector wise key players in organized retailing in India
   

  Food & Grocery	Non Food
  Groceries	Apparel
  Foodworld Nilgiris Subhiksha Food Bazaar	Arrow, Lee, Levi's Benetton, Weekender, Will Sport, Mark's & Spencer, Mango, Provogue, etc.
  	Books & Music, Stationery
  	Crossword, Planet M, Archives, Music World
  	Electronics
  Restaurants & Fast Foods	Viveks, Vijay Sales, VGP
  McDonald's Pizza Hut Domino's Barista Coffee Day	Departmental Stores
  	Shopper's Stop, Westside, Globus, Pyramid, etc.
  	Furnishings
  	Zeba, Yamini, Fabindia
  	Beauty
  	Lakme, Shahnaz Herbals
  	Jewellery
  	Tanishq, Gili, Oyzterbay, Intergold
  	Watches
  	Titan, HMT, Omega, Fossil, etc.
  	Hypermarkets
  	Big Bazaar, Giants, Sabka Bazaar

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UNIQUE FEATURES OF MBA RETAIL MANAGEMENT

• The course is offered in the Department of Commerce and Management Studies, Andhra University which is the single largest department with highly qualified and experienced faculty and state-of-the Art technological support.
   
• The duration of course is 2 years comprising of 4 semesters.
   
• First semester comprises seven foundation courses in management.
   
• Second semester and Third semester focuses on various managerial functions of retailing business.
   
• At the end of the second semester the students will make an observational study for three weeks in retail organizations and submit a report which carries 50 marks.
   
• At the end of the first year students have to face a comprehensive viva voce which carries 50 marks.
   
• Add on courses Business Ethics & Social Responsibility, Retail Brand Management and Foreign Language/Hindi are offered in fourth semester.
   
• 12 week internship in retail corporations.
   
• Project report for 100 marks in the fourth semester.
   
• Comprehensive Viva Voce at the end of the programme

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Career Opportunities

Retail Management Students acquire a comprehensive range of analytical, problem-solving and professional skills, which are increasingly valued not just in the retail industry itself but also in other areas of commerce, education, government and non-profit making organizations. Thus, a Masters Degree in Retail Management can become the key to pursue a specialized retail career or a more general management career in a wide range of sectors.

The University has interacted with many Corporate Bodies in the Retailing Sector before finalizing the course structure. Efforts are in progress to have collaboration with the Indian and Multi National Retailing Organisations for participation in training as well as for placement of the students. The University is hopeful of signing MOU's with the leading Retailing Corporations for strengthening the programme further.

Eligibility

Candidates seeking admission into the course need to get qualified in ICET. The admissions will be made through centralized online counseling organized by AP Council for Higher Education.

Total number of seats is 24.

Fee: On par with self financed MBA.

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Course Structure
 

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