IndiaRetailBiz

The Retailers Association of India (RAI) has decided to conduct a competitive test called Common Admission Retail Test (CART), to select students for admission to the Association’s Post Graduate Programme in Retail Management (PGPRM), being offered through 15 Business schools chosen across the country.

The common admission test will be conducted across 25 cities on Sunday, the 27th January, 2008. The test comprising Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning and Consumer Comprehension would last for the 90 minutes duration.

Application forms for CART are being made available through Career Launcher Centres, few branches of Axis Bank, all PGPRM Partnering B-schools, and all retail outlets of Shoppers’ Stop, Croma, Vishal Mega Mart, Viveks Ltd, Landmark Bookstores, Odyssey Bookstores, Big Bazaar, Crossword Bookstores and Kirtilals.

The content for PGPRM course has been prepared by faculty members drawn from the retail sector in India, according to BS Nagesh, MD Shoppers’ Stop, and Chairman RAI. With a view to provide interface with the right industry resources, guest lectures in the partnering B-Schools will be delivered by these faculty members, added Nagesh.

Speaking about the objective of the course, Gibson G Vedamani, CEO, RAI, said “The objective of the PGPRM programme is to provide students with a high level of knowledge and an understanding of the concepts and processes involved in retailing and to equip them with operational and analytical skills necessary for a professional career in the retail sector.”

“With the phenomenal growth of the organised retail sector, the demand for quality human resources is also rapidly increasing. The availability of suitable talent to aid this growth has been a challenge that organised retail players are grappling with,” added Vedamani.