A Job for Setia Uncle
Last year, when I was getting placed, the retail boom was supposed to be in the nascent stages. No one really wanted a job in retail…no matter what the newspapers/profs said. It wasn’t paying as much as you expected from a job out of B-school, it wasn’t as glamorous, and it was certainly nothing to write home or tell your friends about. And in the age of celebrity placements (just a term I coined for those placements which make you an instant celebrity, whether just in your college or plastered all over TV is irrelevant), retail still didn’t have much favor. Until today, when Reliance’s retail venture is shopping all around and picking up the goods. All for a higher price, of course. Head honchos from all over are in talks for some of the key positions in the ventures. What the hell, they haven’t spared the kirana guys either. Oops, sorry, it is the kirana guys who have stopped worrying about where their shops will go, as long as they can land a plum position with Reliance. Lol.
However, apparently these kirana guys are not skilled enough to do justice to the positions that they hope to land. With 97% of the market in the unorganized sector, is it not a bit silly not to realize that resources within the unorganized sector will be the key to organize the market? Have they not serviced household communities for years? Have they not spent their lifetimes anticipating the demands of each particular household they serviced? Have they not perfected their skills in being the customer interface? Have they not seen the kids grow up and do the shopping instead of the parents, seen the generation shift enough to realize the importance of moving with the times? Are these not the faces that are going to be the catalysts in the weakening of the consumer resistance to the newer formats? So the other skills can be imparted easily right? The product knowledge is already there, the sophistication can be learnt. The service has already been learnt, the quality will follow. The loyalty has been achieved, the consistency will be picked up.
The words are already there, the language can be learnt.
Sure, get the big guys for the big jobs, you need em. I still don’t want a job in retail. I will not add much value to that store you are opening, but Setia uncle might just.
However, apparently these kirana guys are not skilled enough to do justice to the positions that they hope to land. With 97% of the market in the unorganized sector, is it not a bit silly not to realize that resources within the unorganized sector will be the key to organize the market? Have they not serviced household communities for years? Have they not spent their lifetimes anticipating the demands of each particular household they serviced? Have they not perfected their skills in being the customer interface? Have they not seen the kids grow up and do the shopping instead of the parents, seen the generation shift enough to realize the importance of moving with the times? Are these not the faces that are going to be the catalysts in the weakening of the consumer resistance to the newer formats? So the other skills can be imparted easily right? The product knowledge is already there, the sophistication can be learnt. The service has already been learnt, the quality will follow. The loyalty has been achieved, the consistency will be picked up.
The words are already there, the language can be learnt.
Sure, get the big guys for the big jobs, you need em. I still don’t want a job in retail. I will not add much value to that store you are opening, but Setia uncle might just.
Blessings of Achtlandia @ 8:56 PM
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