Coca-Cola and Indian School of Business (ISB) launched a Retail Academy, an initiative aimed at identifying and nurturing much-needed new leadership in the retail sector.
They signed an MoU for starting the ISB Retail Academy which will offer a Certificate programme in Strategic Retail Management (CSRM) involving four days of classrooms a month for six months for senior retail professionals. It will allow them to carry on with their work, while giving them enough action learning and company-specific projects and online modules.
Dean of ISB Ajit Rangnekar said the retail sector in the country was undergoing rapid transformation. The next phase of growth would require well-trained professionals who could combine global best practices together with the unique characteristics of the Indian consumer.
Deputy Dean Deepak Chandra said applications were invited between February 1 and May 15 and that the first batch of the programme, with about 40 students, would start from July 18 this year.
The retail sector was poised for phenomenal growth and was estimated to be about $637 billion by the year 2015. Course fees towards admission and tuition fees, food and accommodation was Rs.5 lakh.
Coca Cola's Group President, Eurasia and Africa, Ahmed Bozer, said his company was monitoring the situation closely in the wake of the rise in input costs, especially sugar and fruits. “We will evaluate the pricing, depending on the situation,” he said.
