Beginning this fall, Toronto, Canada-based York University Schulich School of Business will offer a new MBA specialization in Global Retail Management.
The specialization will include courses in a range of retail-specific topics, including "Pricing and Retail Analytics," "Retail Marketing Strategies," and "Strategic Management of e-Business." It will also cover more general business topics like supply chain management and human resources.
Fundamentally, the new MBA specialization intends to help students understand the transformations underway in the global retail industry by touching on issues from globalization to brand insights and analytics.
"Worldwide, the entire sector is in flux, as retailers from North America, Japan, and Western Europe expand and then fiercely compete in growing markets such as India, China, Brazil, and the Middle East," says Robert Kozinets, professor of marketing at Schulich. "As well, technology is changing the picture."
Kozinets says that due to technological innovations and cultural shifts, the global retail industry — currently valued at about $13 trillion — may be close to a tipping point. "We continue to see major growth in online sales," he says, as well as more sophisticated uses of technology such as vending machines that can change prices depending on the temperature or time of day."
However, despite the industry's size and transformative nature, few business schools have, until now, offered dedicated MBA concentrations in retail. Many schools that place strongly in the industry — Purdue - Krannert or Minnesota - Carlson, for instance — don't actually offer retail concentrations but instead leverage their research strengths through functional concentrations such supply chain management or marketing. Other business schools, like Wharton, offer only secondary concentrations in retail; others cluster their retail curriculum together with topics in luxury or fashion.
Schulich's MBA concentration in Global Retail Management is set to launch this fall. For more information, please see Schulich's recent press release announcing the launch of the concentration.
Read more about business school options for MBA applicants interested in a career in retail on FIND MBA's list of Top Business Schools for a Career in Retail and Consumer Goods.
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