What is a BBA in retailing?

‘You love it when you visit a store that somehow exceeds your expectations, and you hate it when a store inconveniences you, or gives you a hard time, or just pretends you’re invisible.’

– Sam Walton

According to Statista (2022), trade – a category encompassing the wholesale and retail trade, vehicle repair, personal and household goods, hotels and restaurants – is the second-largest employer in South Africa after the community and social services sector. 

 (Statista, 2022)

If you too want to be part of this evergreen, evolving and dynamic industry, you need something more than a generic qualification. You need more than a generic Bachelor of Business Administration, which prepares you to manage a business in general. You need a Bachelor of Business Administration in retail management.

How a BBA in retail prepares you for the job market

The retail landscape of South Africa, as suggested by the number of people employed in it, provides many opportunities … but is also highly competitive. 

Retail, as an industry that includes brick and mortar stores, online stores, spaza shops and other outlets in the small and medium-sized enterprise category, is growing, and needs professionally qualified people to serve its evolving market. 

Given the new retail technologies, retail formats, the expansion of e-commerce, growing customer expectations, and competition from within and outside the industry, you need a qualification that provides you with the specialised knowledge and understanding of various aspects of retail. It’s a sector that requires domain-specific knowledge, rather than a generic understanding that serves multiple domains. 

A BBA in retail will help make you industry-ready, imparting the knowledge you need and honing retail industry-specific skills. 

Specialist retail management courses are what make this degree

The Bachelor of Business Administration – Retail Management is a 360-credit qualification, completed in three to five years. It has been developed to equip you not simply to manage a business, but to manage a retail business.

The BBA in retail courses offered by Regenesys Business School include Retail Marketing, Retail Management, and Retail Strategic Management at all three levels of the programme. 

Additional modules, such as economics – though more generic – are crucial to understanding the broader environment of retail. (Incidentally, Sam Walton, founder of the multibillion-dollar no-frills discount empire of Wal-Mart, was an economics major.)

You will also cover the more broadly applied subjects of financial management, human resource management, and information and communication technology in a curriculum that incorporates case studies, simulations and discussions centred on the retail industry. You will also learn about the latest retail trends and technology, and how to stay abreast – or even get ahead – of them.

Career path and growth opportunities

Many BBA retail students are self-assured enough to start business ventures of their own. Some already have, enrolling to enhance their skills. As the programme exposes you to every aspect of the retail industry, it prepares you to start your own business, or gradually scale up existing operations. 

A BBA in retail provides a well-defined career path and growth opportunities for those already in the industry. The qualification is supported by the Wholesale and Retail Seta, as well as retail organisations of various sizes. Both recognise its value.

The leadership skills imparted through the retail management courses in this specialist programme equip graduates to take on various roles and responsibilities. 

What is a BBA in Retailing? – FAQs