Learning through practical experience

Students of the dept. of B.Voc in Retail management and Information technology at the St Francis College for Women are learning real lessons through practical means thanks to the Bethel Retail Store on their campus. This is the first retail store on any Telengana campus run entirely by its students. The store sells clothes, jewellery, footwear, cosmetics and other products. It is wholly managed by the students who look after marketing and promotion, setting up of the products, finances, and all other aspects of running the store.

What the students learn in class is put to practical use in the store that is patronised by students from across the departments, faculty, parents and outsiders too. 

“We make students industry ready within three years. Once they finish the course, they are directly eligible for a post as an assistant manager of a retail store. Each batch of students get to manage the store for a year. Private vendors invest in our store. Once the stock is taken inward, students are responsible for marketing, sales, accounting and revenue generation,” informs Venkat Mutyala, Industry Expert, B.Voc Retail Management & IT.

Feedback from students who work at the store is also very encouraging. 19-year-old Shruthi Laya Reddy, the head of the store, says, “I want to be an entrepreneur in the future and this store is helping me gain practical experience. It has everything that a woman needs. My responsibilities are to ensure that there are two students at the store at any given point of time and I am also in touch with the suppliers. I need to make sure that the cash from the store goes to the finance department at the college and everything tallies up. It’s basically a crash course on how to run a store in real life.” The store timings are from 8.30 am till 4 pm.

Students also have a lot of fun at the store. Talking about her experience, 19-year-old Shreya Jain, says, “Sometimes, convincing the customers is a little tough, because a lot of them come and leave without buying.” 

19-year-old Monica Mangwani says that her stint at the store gave her a lot of exposure while she was interning at Tommy Hilfiger.

Srishti Agarwal says that the store changed her outlook towards the retail industry. “You cannot understand unless you experience something, so this has been a great experience,” she says.

Dealing with the realities of running a business is part of the experience and working in the store teaches students things that only theory cannot.