During the course to prepare for the final examination to become a retail manager (formerly retail economist), you will acquire skills in the following areas:

• Normative and strategic leadership
• Retail value chain
• Supporting customer processes
• Organizational design and development
• Management systems and processes
• Financial management
• Information and communication management
• Support processes in the retail trade

As a retail manager, you should ideally meet these personal requirements:

• Leadership and social skills
• communicative competence
• Organizational skills
• analytical skills
• marketing-oriented thinking
• Stress resistance

After completing the diploma course in retail management, you can take on the following responsibilities:

• Responsible for corporate or divisional planning
• Responsible for achieving the targets set
• Exercise personnel management in the individual branches
• Ensuring compliance with budgets
• Building a long-term successful position in the market

After the retail manager training course, I can attend the following further training courses:

• With a vocational baccalaureate, a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration at a university of applied sciences (sur dossier)
• A postgraduate degree at a university of applied sciences (MAS in Marketing and Management of Services or EMBA in Business Administration)

The working conditions in retail management are usually as follows:

• Retail trade manager takes on a demanding management role
• Activity as managing director, store or specialist store manager and sales manager
• Can also work as an instructor or examination expert
• Good vacancies available in specialist and retail trade
• Retail trade manager works in a hectic working environment
• carry out activities sometimes under great time pressure

After training as a retail manager, you will usually perform the following tasks:

• operate larger branches or several branches
• Create company and business plans
• monitor, analyze and optimize measures implemented in various areas (marketing, product range design, purchasing, logistics, personnel management)
• Inform higher authorities about the success of the implemented measures
• decide on the distribution of the budget
• negotiate with suppliers and other business partners

Training to become a retail manager takes 14 months (part-time). The costs amount to approximately CHF 15,000. The costs for the preparatory courses vary depending on the provider. It is therefore advisable to contact the school of your choice directly.

• Analysis of a case study (written)
• Presentation of the analysis and group discussion (oral)
• Procedure concept case study (written)
• Presentation and examination interview with critical incidents (oral)

Anyone wishing to train as a retail economist (new designation since 2012: retail manager) can do so on a course that prepares them for the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE). The following criteria must be met by the time you take the exam at the latest:

• Federal certificate in a sector-specific field or diploma from an Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE), College of Higher Education or University of Applied Sciences
• At least three years of professional experience in a management position in the retail trade

or

• Federal Diploma of Vocational Education and Training in retail trade or a commercial high school diploma, Baccalaureate or comparable qualification
• At least six years of professional experience, including three years in a management position in the retail trade

and

• can present all the required module qualifications:
  • Basic module 1: Normative and strategic leadership
  • Basic module 2: Retail value chain
  • Basic module 3: Supporting customer processes
  • Basic module 4: Organizational design and development
  • Basic module 5: Management systems and management processes
  • Basic module 6: Financial management
  • Basic module 7: Information and communication management
  • Basic module 8: Support processes in the retail trade