David F. Miller Retail Center

Retail career opportunities occur in merchandising/buying, store management and corporate staff functions. Corporate positions are found in such areas as accounting, finance, promotions and advertising, information and distribution systems, and human resource management.

Retail corporate staff

The corporate staff positions in retail firms require knowledge, skills and abilities similar to those in comparable positions in non-retail firms. Thus, many managers in these positions identify with their profession rather than the retail industry. Similarly, accountants in retail firms view themselves as accountants, not as retailers.

Management information systems

Employees in this area are involved with applications for capturing data and developing and maintaining inventory. Management of the retailer’s systems — such as POS terminals, websites, customer databases, self-checkout systems and in-store kiosks — is an additional facet.

Supply chain management

Supply chain management operations employees are responsible for operating and maintaining the store’s physical plant, for providing various customer services, for the receipt, ticketing, warehousing, and distribution of a store’s inventory, and for buying and maintaining store supplies and operating equipment.

Marketing/communications

Many aspects include public relations, advertising, visual merchandising and special events. This department attempts to build the brand image and encourage customers to visit stores and/or the website. Managers in this area typically major in marketing or mass communications.

Real estate

Real estate divisions are responsible for selecting locations for stores, negotiating leases and land purchases, and managing leasehold costs. Students entering this area typically major in real estate or finance.

Finance/control

The finance/control division is responsible for the financial health of the company. They prepare financial reports for all aspects of the business, including long-range forecasting and planning, economic trend analysis and budgeting, shortage control and internal audit, gross and net profit, accounts payable to vendors and accounts receivable from charge customers. In addition, they manage the relationship with the financial community.

Human resource management

Responsibilities include the effective selection, training, placement, advancement and welfare of employees. Because there are seasonal peaks in retailing (such as Christmas, when many extra people must be hired), human resource personnel must be flexible and highly efficient.

Retail store management

The typical entry-level retail store management position is a department manager, who is responsible for merchandise presentation, customer service and inventory control for an area of the store. 

The next level is an area or group manager responsible for executing merchandising plans and achieving sales goals for several areas, as well as supervising, training, and developing department managers. After these positions, they can be promoted to store manager, then a district manager responsible for a group of stores, and eventually a regional manager responsible for a group of districts, or they may be eligible for a corporate position.

Retail merchandise management

Retail merchandise management attracts people with strong analytical capabilities, an ability to predict what merchandise will appeal to their target markets, and a skill for negotiating with vendors, as well as store management. 

Retail merchandise buyers invest in a portfolio of merchandise, monitor the performance and make purchase decisions based on sales. Buyers are responsible for selecting the type and amount of merchandise to buy, negotiating the wholesale price and payment terms with suppliers, setting the initial retail price for the merchandise and monitoring merchandise sales to make appropriate retail price adjustments.

The typical entry-level position for college graduates interested in retail merchandise management is either assistant buyer or assistant planner in a merchandise category, such as men’s athletic shoes or accessories for consumer electronics.

Sales clerk is the entry-level job in retailing

Most students and their parents think that people working in retail have jobs as sales clerks and cashiers. They hold this view because, as customers in retail stores, they typically only interact with sales associates and not their managers. But, as we have discussed, retail firms are large, sophisticated corporations that employ managers with a wide variety of knowledge, skills and abilities. College and university graduates are typically given entry-level positions as management trainees in buying or store organizations, not as sales associates.

Management trainees in retailing are given more responsibility more quickly than in other industries. Buyers are responsible for choosing, promoting, pricing, distributing and selling millions of dollars worth of merchandise each season. The department manager, who is generally the first position after a training program, is often responsible for merchandising one or more departments, as well as for managing 10 or more full- and part-time sales associates.

College degrees are not needed to succeed in retailing

While some employees are promoted based on their retail experience, a college degree is needed for most retail management positions, which range from store manager to CEO. Over 150 colleges and universities offer programs of study and degrees or majors in retailing.

Are retail jobs low-paying?

Starting salaries for management trainees with a college degree range from $35,000 to $45,000 a year for entry-level store and merchandise management and $60,000 for students with specialized master’s degrees. 

However, the compensation of top management ranks among the highest in any industry. For example, store managers with only a few years of experience can earn up to $100,000 or more, depending on performance bonuses. A senior buyer for a department store earns from $50,000 to $90,000 or more. A department store manager can earn from $50,000 to $150,000; a discount store manager makes $70,000 to $100,000 or more; and a specialty store manager earns $35,000 to $60,000 or more.

Retailing is not a low-growth industry with little opportunity for advancement

While the growth rate of retail parallels the growth rate of the overall economy, many opportunities for rapid advancement exist simply because of the rapid growth of many chains and the sheer size of the retail industry. Thirty years ago, Walmart, Home Depot, Starbucks and Best Buy were small companies.