Ebony to set up retail academy

agencyfaqs! News Bureau

NEW DELHI, July 28

Ebony, the retailing arm of the business chain owned by Britain-based Indian entrepreneur H.S. Narula, has tied up with a Delhi-based sales and marketing institute to set up a retail academy here to tap the retailing boom in India. Ebony is part of the $300 million D.S. Group run by H.S. Narula, which is also engaged in real estate, hotels and leisure management besides construction and commodity trading.

The academy, which is the first initiative of its kind by any retail chain in India, will cover all aspects of retailing, including visual merchandising, product positioning, floor management, customer care and merchandise display.

Initially, however, the Ebony Retail Academy will offer a three-month certificate course in front office management and later, other long-term courses will be included to cover all aspects of retailing.

Delhi-based National Institute of Sales (NIS) will help Ebony set up the academy as well as devise the course content. Experts would also be invited from the fashion industry and leading fashion institutions to explain to the students the different aspects of retailing.

The group plans to join hands with institutions such as the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and the Pearl Academy of Fashion for faculty and student exchange programmes.

The academy will start functioning from September and the first batch of 25 students will be selected after a written test and interview, which would be conducted in different parts of the country soon. The eligibility criterion for the course is graduation and the course fee has been fixed at Rs 11,000 for the three-month course.

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