Retail career opportunities and options have multiplied due to booming of the industry. Today,  malls offer a multitude of career opportunities for aspirants.
Ekta explores

In the fast-growing organised retail world of today, one issue that you, as a career aspirant, need to ponder over seriously is whether you intend to choose a job option that you are good at, or you want just to buy time. If you are really sincere in making a worthwhile career and have talent, skill, desire to beat the odds, and also a passion to outdo others, the 'vast field of mall development' offers one career option, which is worth considering. A mall-based retail career aspirant becomes an organiser in his own right. As a team member, he contributes, provides services and forms a bond with customers through expertise that lets him know what the customer wants and why.

Under the common roof of a shopping mall that houses so many brands, there is a mélange of job opportunities for an aspirant that contains - right from the entry-level positions to administrative, managerial positions of high profiles. One big shopping mall offers, indeed, relative job positions to complete freshers on a mass scale. Great ambience, beautiful and well-maintained work environment, impressive anchor tenants and popular brands to work with of malls lure job seekers. Various job positions offered include store manager; retail manager; visual merchandisers; supply chain distributors; logistics and warehouse managers, customer relationship managers and sales and marketing positions.

'Malling' the country, attracting consumers
Smaller cities like Lucknow, Kanpur, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Chandigarh, Nasik, Nagpur and Indore are also expected to see a remarkable growth in the number of malls. An enclosed air-conditioned space with branded merchandise may not be sufficient to lure consumers to shop.
Malls, being susceptible to zoning or segmentation, cater to the needs of customers of the catchment area or areas. A growing number of malls that have mushroomed in even smaller towns and cities, provide to a customer an enriching ambience through proper planning, up-market commodities sold at a price that fit his pockets, right retail mix and timing (thereby ensuring unique propositions that affect the conversion factor). 
Numerous developers have defined organized retailing as one of their core business sectors, and have, as a consequence, committed to develop at multiple locations across the country. This change in the Indian retail created by Indian malls has been quite sonorous to the Indian middle class, which has become shopper's class of today. The so far stagnant economic growth of the country has suddenly attained dynamic and Herculean form. Indian landscapes now entice a magnified level of interest coming from the international developers and investors in the Indian real estate.
It is interesting to note that retail space development, a specialised field, has functioned like a magnet inviting or attracting a large number of major players. Double income groups and nuclear families have become a trend of the modern times. The urban culture forms a large section of the population having young earners who complete graduation or post-graduations while working. Technological advancement and foreign travels have created a sound impact on the people of upper and middle classes, who are aware of western concepts of shopping and entertainment.

Careers that suit all
There is a diversified range of career options available today in the retail industry, which most industries do not offer.
Sales: Every retail store depends upon the sales force to sell its merchandise. The position is an entry-level one.
Store manager: Store managers are responsible for managing individual stores. Most store managers take on the duty of running the day-to-day operations of the store.
Retail manager: Apart from understanding the mindset, habits and lifestyle of the customer, the retail manager determines the layout of merchandise, monitors stock levels, places orders for new stock, manages the supply chain and keeps and analyses.
Retail buyers and merchandisers: They are responsible for selecting the merchandise for a store and then, physically buying the goods.
Visual merchandisers: Retail design or visual merchandising plays an important role in this business. Designers or visual merchandisers are the ones who give the brand a face.
Supply chain distributors and logistics and warehouse managers: This is amongst the most vital areas of organized retailing, and normally, is the differentiator between modern chains, more so when it comes to perishable goods retailing.
Major job options are at the shop floor level or in sales, accounting for approximately 60 to 75 per cent of the total jobs in retail. Job positions in merchandising, visual merchandising, customer relationship management and in the marketing and supply chain segment form the rest of the retail career pie chart.

The impeccable retail personnel
Mall-based career in retail is one career in which a candidate's common sense plays a critical part. With a perfect combination of customer orientation and fine knowledge of systems and processes as skills and expertise, an aspirant can go far. A flair for handling people or situations, gift of the gab, and a systematic, rationale bent of mind can contribute to success in the retail industry. Putting it more accurately, the sole qualification required in mall-based retail career is attitude and the right frame of mind.