Retail
As a founder member of the National Skills Academy for Retail, we have been established for over eleven years; specialising in retail, customer service and hospitality, recruitment, training and business solutions.
The Learning Shop is unique; set up in partnership with Job Centre Plus the focus of the operation is raising the profile of retail as a real career opportunity. For you retail does not have to be just a Saturday job!
As part of a national network, we offer Retail Business qualifications, Retail Knowledge, Retail Skills, Pre-employment training, Apprenticeships, World Class Customer service programmes, Mary Portas Guide to Successful Retailing, Visual Merchandising Programmes and much more.
The retail sector employs over 3 million people in around 290,000 businesses, but its influence is often under estimated. A successful retail business depends on a number of key departments working together. Forget the myth that retail is just about the shop floor!
There are a variety of job roles from sales assistant right up to the top, and not just in store, but at head office too. It doesn’t matter what level you start at, there are always opportunities to progress with transferable skills across all businesses. Retail is a rewarding, enjoyable and challenging career that can take you wherever you want.
So what can you do in retail? Whoever you are, whatever you enjoy, you can find something to ignite your passion and have a successful career. Here are a few ideas of the kind of areas you could get involved in.
To get in to dynamic industry or progress in the industry call us on 01322 624455 for more information.
Retail Careers
Visual merchandisers:
Create the best store layouts and the most eye catching shop windows, visual theatre that gets your buying impulses buzzing from the minute you walk past.
Store Operations:
With job ranging from sales assistants to store managers, operations deal with customers ensuring excellent service, turning product in to profit.
Merchandising:
The link between buyers and the sales floor, merchandisers supply departments with the lowdown on how products perform, making sure the right products are in the right place at the right time.
Buying
Every product appears thanks to a careful process of selection and sampling from suppliers. Buyers live in the future and have to get it right, predicting tomorrow’s tastes and trends.
Human Resources
Attract, hire and train the talent, making sure every department has the best people in the best positions. Often responsible for interviewing potential staff, reviewing salaries and performance.
Marketing and PR
Marketing and public relations (PR) departments are megaphones for the business and use TV, radio, online and print media to get the message across about their brand and their products.
IT
From the minute merchandise gets to the warehouse to it being scanned at the checkout, IT departments provide the most efficient systems that support the complete supply chain.
Logistics
This department transports everything from factory to front of store, through road, rail, sea and air, making sure it arrives on time, on schedule and in the right place.
Finance
The finance teams plan and secure the strategic and financial future of the business. They monitor each store’s performance, allocate resources and work with the links in the chain to develop product range and pricing.
