The Prospects And Rewards

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28481, 10 January 1958, Page 16

The Prospects And Rewards

By

W. G. W. RIX

T SUPPOSE that three main x features engage the minds of all young persons in their choice of career: prospects of advancement; rates of remuneration; and the qualifications required in their chosen field.

Retailing is one of the most challenging, rewarding and stimulating fields, open to young people today. It offers to the right persons, not a job but a career. It calls for the annual recruitment of young men and women with ability and ambition to make good in one of the oldest and most honourable of trades. Advancement

The prospects of advancement are exceptionally good for those with ability to qualify. What are the rates of pay? They compare favourably with any other field. The' thoughtful seeker of employment has his mind on an ultimate goal. He asks: What will I be earning when I am 30? The important matter to weigh in the retail field is that it offers greater opportunity for a greater number of higher paid positions than perhaps any other field. Recent statistics show that 48 per

cent, of persons employed, earn £BOO a year or less. Most large stores would provide 10 to 20 positions paying salaries of £lOOO or more a year.

Where else but in retailing have you so many opportunities to compete for so many well paid positions—even in the one company? Qualifications vary according to the ability of the persons concerned to reach the higher levels of retailing. Generally speaking, whatever position you may eventually fill, requires:— A good personality A liking for people Ability to sell Ability to speak well A good education Ambition to succeed In every sphere of retailing, these features are necessary. Ability to get on with people applies to staff as well as customers of the store. Sound education is' a prime requisite for retailing. Higher positions are more exacting and call for such features as knowledge of goods, knowledge of markets, ability to organise, ability to make decisions,

creative ability, imagination, tenacity of purpose, confidence and the ability to form sound judgments. All these and many more, are required in the successful executive. The requirements of a business today . are both complex and varied. Gone are the days when a storekeeper was considered a "counter-jumper." Retailing has taken its rightful place as a dignified profession, ranking more than favourably with other fields. The exacting demands of today’s competitive trading, together with the advance of modern trading technique, calls for men and women of the highest calibre. University trained men and women with high educational qualifications are urgently required to fill the ranks of retail staff. These can readily qualify for the positions which the trained mind alone can fill. Tomorrow’s trading requirements call for young men and women of ability to enter the retail field now, so they may qualify for the challenge the future will bring.

This vitally affects every young person leaving school. The retail trade is definitely worth your endeavour. It affords you abundant opportunity for advancement in a wide sphere of activities It enables you to meet a greater number of people than otherwise you would have opportunity. Its rewards are liberal to a relatively large number. Your qualifications may be just what are required. Hie staff manager of any store will gladly explain the opportunities you have in the retail field. Leadership There never has been a time when there was a greater need for aspirants to leadership in' the trade, as at the present time. Today’s salespeople are tomorrow's executives. The old saying, “Every soldier has a marshal’s baton in his knapsack.” is particularly true of the retail field as a whole. Your progress is limited only by your own ability to succeed.

Every large store offers an amazing and intensely interesting variety of work. There is as great if not greater range of administrative positions in retailing, than any other career. It is open to the industrious, the ambitious, to. be a manager, an accountant, credit manager, advertising manager, floor supervisor, buyer or display manager. Elsewhere, a far greater range of activity in lesser fields, is indicated, all of whom must play their part in the general successful operation of any store.