The Indian School of Business (ISB) and beverage giant Coca-Cola on Monday signed an MoU to set up a Retail Academy on the former’s Hyderabad campus, for providing a certificate programme in strategic retail management (CSRM).
“The retail sector in India is poised for significant growth to about $637 billion or more by 2015. The academy will help create more India-specific knowledge on the retail sector in the future and the CSRM is the first step in that direction,” ISB deputy dean Deepak Chandra told mediapersons here.
The six-month CSRM programme, a combination of classroom and on-the-job learning, is especially designed for senior personnel in multi-brand retail with 6-8 years experience including in food and beverage, consumer durables, fashion, home decor, jewellery, books, and other sectors like FMCG or those retail vertical of IT who deal with retailers on a day-to-day basis.
Participants in the programme, Chandra said, would have 25 days of classes spread over six months with four days of classes every month (total 200 hours). The applicant should have a Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent qualification, possessing a minimum of four years of full-time work.
The tuition and fees for the programme is Rs 5 lakh and ISB and Coca-Cola will also provide scholarships to deserving candidates.
“The CSRM programme will start with 40 students from July 18. Last year, ISB had 570 students and we will grow to over 700 next year. We cannot expect to grow suddenly but at some stage, the academy will certainly evolve into a centre of excellence,” said ISB dean Ajit Rangnekar.
Coke evaluates input prices
Coca-Cola said commodity prices, especially sugar, was an issue now and with the company having a very large manufacturing base in India, any price fluctuation will have an affect. “We carefully manage pricing in a way that it is not overpriced and at the same time not underpriced. We will certainly evaluate the pricing, depending on the situation,” said Ahmet Bozer, Coca-Cola Company group president (Eurasia and Africa).
The company decided the right pricing levels to manage the commodity costs and procurements side efficiency. “I think the company is capable of managing the fluctuation.”
On reports that Coca-Cola had finalised a three-year, Rs 20-crore endorsement deal with batsman Sachin Tendulkar, Coca-Cola India and southwest Asia president and chief executive Atul Singh said the company had not signed any contractual agreement with the batsman. “When we sign a celebrity, we will come out and announce,” he said.
