TED ROGERS SCHOOL OF

RETAIL MANAGEMENT

www.ryerson.ca
 leaders in retail education and research
The Ted Rogers School of Retail Management at Ryerson
University provides a targeted education, which includes
theory and practical experience, for those who wish to
become specialized, in-demand business management
professionals.
The program is tailored to the unique needs of the retail
industry, which is the the second largest in Canada, with
a growing employee base of nearly two million people.
BACHELOR OF COMMERCE
www.ryerson.ca/tedrogersschool/rm

Equipped with a Bachelor of Commerce, graduates are
positioned for tremendous career opportunities and are
primed to become leaders, innovators and strategists in
many areas of business.
As with a traditional business program, Retail Management
provides a solid foundation in business theory. However,
it goes one step further by delivering in-depth retail
expertise – a value-added feature that is highly sought
after in the commerce community.
Innovative Curriculum

Exploring retailing within the entire supply chain, the curriculum

is structured around four themes:

1/ LEADERSHIP AND 2/ TECHNOLOGY

PEOPLE SKILLS used to identify customers, assemble information
and support research.
 which includes teamwork, motivation
and communication.

3/ STRATEGY  4/ CUSTOMER SERVICE

which makes use of planning, marketing, AND STORE OPERATIONS
organizational development and trend analysis.
where an understanding of consumers’ needs
is used to increase sales and productivity.

T ed R o gers Sch o o l o f reta il M an ageme n t 


 The Four Themes

1/ LEADERSHIP AND PEOPLE SKILLS

Under this theme, areas of study include:

Interpersonal communications Marketing

Students develop interpersonal, group interviewing Students learn to effectively use persuasion to sell their
and listening skills, as well as an appreciation of how skills, ideas and/or products to employers, suppliers
cultural perspectives, personalities and technology and customers.
affects decision-making, conflict resolution and
negotiating. Applying communication theory, students
learn to express ideas in a clear, targeted, strategic Management
manner for a variety of professional situations. With a focus on ethical leadership, students discover – 
through case studies and literature reviews – the
importance of conscientious values to a business’
Human resources
long-term success.
With a focus on managerial roles, issues examined
include training, mentoring, recruitment, performance
evaluation, occupational health and safety, community
relations and career planning. Organizational behaviour
is studied through topics that include employee motiva-
tion, job design, perception and diversity, interpersonal
and organizational communication, team dynamics,
leadership, and power and politics.

2/ TECHNOLOGY

Under this theme, areas of study include:

Information management and systems Logistics management

Students are introduced to information access/retrieval
technologies and a range of software products used in
the retail marketplace.
Retail technology
Retail site visits, case studies and labs are used to study
how technologies are being adapted to increase the
efficiency of the supply chain, operations and market
management.
Concerned with the supply and demand side of retailing
 – where meeting customer needs in a financially
efficient manner is paramount – students learn about
warehousing and inventory management, order
processing, decision support systems and producing
logistic plans.
Virtual retailing
Analyzing the risks and opportunities to the retail
industry associated with electronic commerce, topics
covered include setting up an online store, order taking,
processing, payment and security.

T ed R o gers Sch o o l o f reta il M an ageme n t 

 The Four Themes
3/ STRATEGY
Under this theme, areas of study include:
Buying
The procurement process is tied to methods for
interpreting customer needs and merchandising
management is tied to financial strategy. Students
learn to work with merchandising plans, measure
productivity and conduct vendor performance
analyses.
Research
Practical applications of business research are
emphasized, including the use and interpretation
of statistics. An ability to undertake research projects
is developed.
New venture start up
For those who may eventually wish to open their own
business, topics include identifying opportunities,
assessing the potential of a business and the market
environment, intellectual property, buying an existing
business, and franchises.
 Ted Rog ers S ch ool o f retail M an ag emen t
Change management
Combined with studies in retail and services
management, theories of organizational behaviour
are related to the causes behind and the means by
which retailers can adapt to a continually changing
business environment.
Microeconomics
Concepts of supply and demand are outlined along
with the theory of the firm, business behaviour,
decision making under various market conditions,
and monopolies.
Finance and accounting
Management of organizational finances through
budgeting is studied, including cash flow analysis
and forecasting, taxation, banking, accounting
and key ratio analysis.
Retail innovations
Coupled with current issues, students investigate
key innovations being undertaken both nationally
and internationally, in response to changes in the
retail sector.
4/ CUSTOMER SERVICE AND STORE OPERATIONS
Under this theme, areas of study include:
Retail operations
Challenges associated with managing human
resources are related to store operations strategies
and productivity issues.
Franchising
The franchise business format is studied, including costs
and benefits, feasibility, and associated legal issues.
Visual merchandising, store design
and planning
Using space-planning software, students explore visual
merchandising practices in layout and in-store design.
Additional topics of study include design research
methods, space planning theory, store design,
renovation and planning methods.
Relationship marketing
This topic is concerned with building long-term
relationships between retailers and their customers
as well as the underlying theories, values and benefits
of this marketing strategy.
Consumer behaviour
To develop an appreciation of the complex behavioural
processes that determine individual and group consumer
actions, students analyze common decision-making
patterns under a variety of situations.
Geodemographics
Geographic techniques are applied to marketing
and retail site-selection. Using socioeconomic and
demographic data, a variety of methods are studied,
including population projections and database
marketing.
Retail Management students
presenting results from their
summer internships.


Experience
The combination of theory with experiential learning
opportunities is a distinguishing feature of a Ryerson
education – one highly valued by our students.
There are internships, a final-year independent project,
training with leading retail software applications and guest
lectures by speakers at the forefront of the retail industry.
These elements provide students with practised know-how
and provide insights that prepare them to hit the ground
running when they graduate.
 Ted Rog ers S ch ool o f retail M an ag emen t
A window display at the flagship Holt
Renfrew store in downtown Toronto.
INTERNSHIPS
There are both optional internships after years one and
two, in addition to a required internship between third and
fourth year. Alternatively, students may work on a part-time
basis during the fourth year of the full-time program.
Internships provide the opportunity to work at a leading
retail organization in a variety of positions including store
operation and management, buying, logistics, marketing,
advertising, allocation analysis and human resources.
Recent internship experiences include placements at:
° DanierLeather where, as part of an import team,
students learned to undertake global sourcing and
import purchasing.
° LoblawCompanies where, as part of a group that
develops category management and marketing strategies,
students helped communicate the group’s merchandising
plans, evaluate competitive strategies and identify
merchandising opportunities for a variety of products.
° Mark’sWork Wearhouse where students helped
maximize sales opportunities and assisted in day-to-day
store operations, merchandising and inventory
management.
° IvanhoeCambridge – a company that manages,
develops and owns shopping centres – where students
co-ordinated with tenants and designers to remodel
leased premises and ensure compliance with design
criteria and quality standards.
INDEPENDENT PROJECT
Based on their interests, students may prepare a
business plan or research proposal for an actual
company. When the proposal or plan is accepted,
students work with faculty to implement it for the
client. The project is an excellent opportunity to make
a contribution to the retail industry before graduating.
RETAIL SOFTWARE
Students are introduced to advanced software
applications that the retail industry uses to ensure
high returns on inventory investment and a lucrative
combination of product offerings. Working with an
assortment of applications, students become proficient
at visual merchandising, product and demand
planning, customer data analysis and assortment
optimization.
Software packages include Arthur Planning™, Arthur
RAPIDS™, Floor Planning by Intactix™, Efficient Item
Assortment by Intactix™ and Space Planning
by Intactix™.
SPEAKERS
Each year, high-profile speakers are invited from the
business community to share with students their
perspectives on current retail issues, providing
inspirational first-hand accounts based on actual,
winning experience.
Examples of recent speakers include:
° Harry Rosen, founder, Harry Rosen
° Steve Matyas, president, Staples Business Depot
° Elliot Wahle, former president, Toys “R” Us Canada
° Christine Magee, co-founder, Sleep Country Canada
To accommodate some speakers, Retail Management
makes novel use of on-campus radio broadcast facilities.
For speakers outside Toronto or for those with tight
schedules, they may communicate over the phone
with a Ryerson moderator and the conversation is
transmitted live over the Internet. Students send
their questions in real-time to speakers who
then respond.

One of the industry-current retail

software applications Retail students
learn to use so that they can hit the
ground running when they graduate.


 Industry Connections
Many faculty members are directly involved in the retail
industry which means the delivery of a highly relevant,
industry-current program. Retail Management was also
designed with the input of some of the most successful
retailers in the country, some of whom sit on the
program’s advisory council. They offer guidance on
curriculum development and input on potential career
enhancing opportunities for students.
Members of the council include presidents, CEOs and
senior management from organizations such as:
° Retail Council of Canada ° Canadian Tire Corporation
° Harry Rosen ° Hudson’s Bay Company
° Loblaws Supermarkets ° Rogers Video
° Sears Canada ° Staples Business Depot
° Sobeys ° Wal-Mart Canada
10
The program has further received industry-wide
support in the form of major gifts including $1 million
or greater from JDA Software Group, Hudson’s Bay
Company, Loblaws Supermarkets, Sears Canada and
Wal-Mart Canada. In recognition of their contributions,
benefactor chairs were presented at a special awards
ceremony to senior executive representatives.
Support from these and other organizations has made
it possible for Retail Management to distribute more
than $80,000 annually to top students in an annual
awards ceremony.
“The retail community is working
extremely well with Ryerson to the
point where we now have a premier
university in Canada granting
degrees in retail management.”
George Heller, Senior Director,  
HBC Board of Directors, 
Hudson’s Bay Company (Hbc)
 Careers

As a graduate, there are a wide variety of career ° Entrepreneurship – start your own business.
opportunities available. Common areas of
° Non-store retailing – including catalogue and
opportunity include:
electronic shopping.
° Store management.
° Shopping centre development.
°B
 uying – including trend identification, assortment
With a degree in Retail Management, students are
planning, selection and procurement, supply chain
rigorously prepared for graduate studies, including
management and logistics functions.
a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program.
° Planning and analysis – evaluating such factors as
changing consumer needs, the retail environment
and impacts of new technologies.

T ed R o gers Sch o o l o f reta il M an ageme n t 11

Ted Rogers School of Undergraduate
retail Management Admission Information
www.ryerson.ca/tedrogersschool/rm www.ryerson.ca/undergraduate/admission
416-979-7283 ask.ryerson.ca  
immediate answers to your questions
choose.ryerson.ca 
personalize your own portal page

Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, Canada. M5B 2K3
August 2007 (50011)