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Anjali Prayag

Bangalore , Oct. 1

THE Mumbai-based Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research is all set to open its gates in Bangalore soon.

Explaining the reason for its focus on Bangalore, Prof V. Gibson, Associate Dean and Head, Welingkar School of Retailing, Mumbai, said, "Bangalore is the hub for business activity in south India and like all other B schools we too are looking at multi-locational presence in the country." The institute is in the process of finalising the land and according to Prof Gibson, the campus should be ready by June 2004.

In Mumbai, the Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research offers a regular Master's in Management Studies, a PG Diploma in Business Administration besides some first timers such as Professional Programme in Retailing and PG Programme in E Business.

The Welingkar School of Retailing, the first of its kind in the country, is already in its third batch in Mumbai and will be launched in November in Bangalore.

The reason why the school is looking at retail is very clear: By the year 2005, retail is expected to grow to Rs 1,65,000-crore industry and a 10-fold growth is expected by 2010. There are 300 malls in the making in the country and about six million retail outlets already up and running in the country. And the retailing industry is trying to become more professional. "We need talent to handle this business where 85 per cent of the people are in frontline positions," says Prof Gibson.

In India, retailing is at the crossroads where traditional formats co-exist with modern malls. Through its School of Retailing, Welingkar hopes to enhance the quality of retailing in the country.

The programme has courses in retail store design and store space planning practices, visual merchandising and display skills, gross margin return on inventory, gross margin return on footage and gross margin return on labour employed, efficient retail selling skills, role plays and practical sessions (selling, cashiering and customer service)

The School of Retailing has also taken up consulting assignments and customised corporate training for employees of retail stores. In Bangalore, it has trained employees of Monday to Sunday, a retail store, BP's In and Out and Carbon, the jewellery store.

Besides the course in retailing, Welingkar also offers a PGP in e-business. The two-year business management programme teaches concepts such as e-security, supply chain management, e-finance and e-governance. Incidentally, this is the first PGPeBiz course in the country.

According to Professor Pradeep Pendse, Senior Asssociate Dean, System and E Business, "Typically only engineers get into this business as it requires technical knowledge. But our course is for any graduate who wants to get into e-business."

The institute also has other firsts to its credit such as a tri-national MBA course in India in affiliation with Temple University's Fox School of Business.

The International Masters in Business Administration Programme (IMBA) is a new package for students to study in three economic regions— India, the US and Japan — in a full-time, 11-month program. The institute is also considering similar tie-ups for its School of Retailing, says Prof Gibson.

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