The bright spot: Orient Craft plans to recruit 100 merchandisers in 2005-06

Merchandisers are not some new species to have descended on the country's job market, though you wouldn't guess that from the puzzled look that befalls people when they're mentioned. For the record, they have little in common with sailors, and even less with grumpy old men behind customer counters who rant against the terror of vat (value added tax) before reaching for that little jar you came for.

Simply put, merchandisers are people who serve as an interface between domestic suppliers and foreign buyers in the apparel industry. They are needed by both sides: garment exporters on the lookout for orders, and foreign retailers such as Wal-Mart, jcpenney and Tesco, who procure merchandise from India. Now that the big western markets are lowering their import barriers, Indian exports have a gargantuan opportunity-being expressed currently as a boost in demand for merchandisers.

First Flush

Whether it is domestic retailers such as Big Bazaar, Westside and Shoppers' Stop, or export houses such as Orient Craft, Leela Scottish Lace and Gokuldas Images, recruitment executives are talking about hiring merchandisers. Says Pantaloon Retail's chief Kishore Biyani: "We have less than 200 merchandisers now (out of 7,000 employees), but we expect this number to double in the next three years." According to Orient Craft CMD Sudhir Dhingra: "We will add 100 merchandisers to our current team of 500 (out of 20,000 employees in 19 plants in the NCR) in 2005-06. Good merchandisers are getting paid better than many MBA grads." And in the words of Raghu Pillai, head of RPG Retail, "We already have 60 buyers, which is likely to go up substantially, especially once we get into more categories and strengthen our private labels' portfolio." In his estimate, "a buyer with two-plus years of experience should get Rs 4 lakh-plus a year".

Pay packets have, needless to add, been rising these past few months. "At the entry level, competing firms are taking merchandiser trainees with an initial salary of Rs 10,000-Rs 12,000 a month, while a good merchandiser with five years' experience may easily ask for around Rs 70,000 a month," reveals Robin Bartholomew, CEO, Crew B.O.S. Products, an exporter of leather accessories that employs 2,000 people, including 30 merchandisers (a count that is expected to double in two years).

Overall, the demand for merchandisers is already into the thousands. If industry watchers have it right, foreign demand is especially strong, with over 50 American and European buying houses estimated to be employing up to 1,000 merchandisers already, and many more to come. As actual mega deals start getting inked, expect much more action.

Just Connect

Where will all those merchandisers come from? Why, largely from other jobs within the garments industry, according to Vijay Mathur, Director, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), as employed professionals get trained, learn from experience, upgrade their skills and move up the value addition chain. Mathur points out that there exist "supervisory job profiles from where a large number of merchandisers are usually drawn in the apparel industry". Also, by his count, India has some 10,000 shopfloor level students turned out by over 70 institutions every year, plus 2,000 students trained in supervisory skills.

India's training institutes are also busy expanding capacity. Delhi's Pearl Academy of Fashion, for example, has more than doubled its annual intake of students (to 55) for its premier course, while the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) is opening a branch each in Mumbai and Kolkata (each with 30 students to a batch for its two-year post-graduate fashion management course). Meanwhile, 2005 will see NIFT put out 30 professionals each from its Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad centres, according to J.K. Batra, a NIFT professor.

Right stuff: Crew B.O.S. expects to double its mer-chandiser headcount soon

Then there's also the well-spread JD Institute of Fashion and Technology, which turns out some 3,000 professionals every year from as many as 19 centres across the country. At least a thousand would become merchandisers, estimates the institute's ED R.C. Dalal.

So, are these people those who started off wanting to be the sort of designers seen on The Bold And The Beautiful? Not always. Merchandisers play a critical organisational role. Ask Sachin Juyal, 26, who is one of the four merchandisers employed by Delhi-based export firm Worldwide Export Centre. "I travel to around 15 different locations like Behet in Uttar Pradesh, Sambhal and Firozabad," he says, "to look for Indian handicrafts." Other than that, he must "talk to the buyer, bring business, look after the quality of production-from fabric sourcing to the final shipment-and then maintain interaction with the buyer on a daily basis".

The big buck earners-raking in a monthly lakh or more-are few, but are those who've understood more than just what India is uniquely capable of. They have understood what it is that tickles the western market's imagination. Making this connection is the game, ultimately. "The outlook for merchandisers is bright," sums up jcpenney's India head Adil Raza.

-additional reporting by Rahul Sachitanand

SPOTLIGHT
Cricket Umpires

Umpire Bansal: Cricket beckons

If you can recite the cricket rulebook at the drop of a hat, look sharp, listen sharper, have total presence of mind and deep pockets to go with it, try a parallel career as an umpire. Deep pockets, literally that is-to store watches, sunshades, lucky charms and assorted unofficial play accessories. To qualify, according to umpire S.K. Bansal, you must pass a battery of tests and interviews. "You have to have courage, oodles of common sense and the ability to think before you act. Also, a non-biased attitude with a pleasant temperament will help you in your ratings." The pay? About Rs 50,000 per day for an international match. And women? Welcome too. Seriously. No matter how you start, your career hinges on credibility-especially in those single-finger decisions.

-Indrani Rajkhowa

COUNSELLING
Help, Tarun!

I am a first-class graduate in mechanical engineering with a post-graduate degree in industrial engineering. I have been working with a government supported consultancy for over nine years. My area of experience is in consulting and training services in productivity and quality improvement. My senior colleagues tell me that our company is going to shut down in two years. Meanwhile, I have qualified for the Executive MBA at XLRI, Jamshedpur. Please advise if I should undertake this course, and if it will help me get a senior level management position in a private firm or an MNC.

Honestly, an Executive MBA is not valued much in our country. It is considered more as a mid-career refresher and grooming of management within a company. But an MBA from XLRI has its value and though it may not act as the catapult you are probably hoping for, it will definitely enhance your career prospects. With your background in consulting in quality and productivity, you can get a job in the private sector as well as in consulting or other organisations/institutes.

I had worked in the leather industry for seven years after completing a diploma in mechanical engineering and simultaneously graduating in industrial engineering from the Indian Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai. Thereafter, I worked with a small construction company for five years. For the past four years, I have been working as an Area Sales Manager with a manufacturing company. I am also pursuing an MBA-Marketing through distance education. I want to change my job now, but am unable to take a decision on which sector to focus for my career on. Please help.

You have really moved around. You have worked in the leather industry, construction industry and a manufacturing company. Well, take your pick-either one of these sectors is open to you. I am not too sure what industry you are currently in. That, unfortunately, constrains me in giving you any specific advice. Your next choice of sector will, to a great extent, depend on this. If you are working in the industrial goods sector, I would suggest you look at any industrial marketing job. To make a transition, you could opt for an institutional marketing role in consumer goods as well.

I am a 33-year-old pursuing a teaching job. I have recently completed an MCA (Master of Computer Application) from the Indira Gandhi Open University. Now I would like to develop my career in the field of computers. However, I don't have any experience in programming. Also, considering my age, what other options do I have that will set me on the right track and give a boost to my career? Please advise.

You could definitely get into the computer training segment that will utilise both your qualification as well as your teaching experience. This could be in a training institute or in the training department of a software company. I would recommend the latter, if there is a possibility of you getting a job in a large progressive company. Meanwhile, do keep in touch with all the latest developments in the field. This could then help your career evolve into a full-fledged software career as well. On the other hand, you could start from the entry level in software itself.

I am a 34-year-old B.Com, AICWA working at the middle management level with an MNC in manufacturing, and am doing well in my job. Recently I came across a business idea for a website and am seriously thinking of pursuing it. However, considering my non-experience in e-commerce, should I approach a venture capitalist or an existing IT company for funds? Also, are there any IT firms who seek new business ideas? My financial position does not allow me to leave my present job.

There are always companies seeking new ideas, but it is difficult to know which one's business and plans would fit well with yours. Also, unless you have direct contact with a company, it is difficult to get into serious dialogue. To go to a VC, you must formulate a business plan that gives the outlay involved and what you plan to accomplish over the short and long terms. You could also go to "incubators" who take a nascent idea and nurture it. I would suggest that you discuss the idea with some friends/associates and first make sure it is viable commercially. Just a germ of an idea will not get you any points-you need to think this through in terms of a business. You need to, therefore, have something solid and also be able to present it as such.

Answers to your career concerns are contributed by Tarun Sheth (Senior Consultant) and Shilpa Sheth (Managing Partner, US practice) of HR firm, Shilputsi Consultants. Write to Help,Tarun! c/o Business Today, Videocon Tower, Fifth Floor, E-1, Jhandewalan Extn., New Delhi-110055..

Waft And Weft Of It
A look at the assortment of textile sector jobs.

A stitch in time: 15 million will join them in five years

India's textile and apparel sector is reputed to employ around 83 million people already, and is being banked upon to deliver a good 15 million more jobs over the next five years, as the big export thrust begins in earnest. But what sort of jobs are these anyway-tailors, designers, what?

The sector's value chain has dozens of roles, actually (merchandisers being just one). Vijay Mathur, Director, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), speaks of garment fabric checkers and pattern cutting masters, apart from production supervisors. With increasing mechanisation, there are also garment technologists, industrial engineers and marketing executives. According to Prashant Agarwal, Manager, KSA Technopak, "The thumb rule is that there are two jobs created per machine," and a large number of new installations are expected to occur now. While jobs are generated across the sector for every conceivable role (salary levels have risen by 30 per cent at the entry level), the bulk of these are for those involved in the mundane business of bulk production. But that doesn't mean artists and dreamers should stay away from the party.

-Amanpreet Singh

Arches For Architecture
Bridging the demand-supply gap in architecture.

Swinging arches: A chance for architects to leave their imprints

Standing atop a skyscraper in Gurgaon, you actually see tomorrow's urbanscape taking shape-right in front of your eyes. Is it pleasant? Is it distinctive? Is all the concrete, steel and glass characteristic of anything? The more people ask such questions, the harder it will be to find landmark-sculpting architects.

Already, top architects have overcrowded blueprint boards, and demand is expected to spiral with the coming of dollar projects. "People want and demand the highest quality from their buildings," says Jasbir Sawhney, Consultant Architect for Delhi's Ansal Group, who expects foreign architecture firms to come in for specialised jobs such as airports. Regular demand will have to be met locally, which could mean opportunity for young ambitious architects eager to leave their imprint on the face of the earth. "And with all these new urban renewal projects like the one planned for the Dharavi slums coming up," adds Sawhney, "such competition will give architectural students a chance to practice on live examples, and that will really make the sector boom."

-Kushan Mitra