Retailing has changed – but its transformation isn’t over yet. E-commerce and omni-channel retailing have become the new normal, and innovative new technologies will enable even more ways for businesses to connect with consumers. Worldwide, the sector is worth more than $23 trillion annually, and it is projected to grow. To keep pace with changing consumer behaviour, leading retailers have pivoted to online shopping experiences, and the COVID-19 pandemic only accelerated that trend. But with new experiences enabled by 5G communications and artificial intelligence, the next generation online shopping experiences could be almost unrecognizable to today’s online shoppers.
To navigate an industry in an ongoing state of transformation, retailers will need to understand how the sector is changing – and make the right decisions at the right time. The Master of Management in Retailing (MMR) at the Bensadoun School of Retail Management (BSRM) is designed to help our graduates do exactly that. The interdisciplinary program prepares students to develop solutions to real-world problems through experiential education, collaboration with retail partners, and relevant case studies. At the BSRM, students learn from leading experts with decades of experience in retail and a wide-reaching network of industry contacts. At McGill, our students also have access to the Career Services team, which organizes networking events, speaker series, and professional workshops. Career Advisors can help students identify exciting career opportunities and pursue them!
Here is what our students are saying about their experiences with retailing at McGill:
Odile Barbeau
I chose retailing at McGill because of the professors. I knew some retail professionals were coming to teach at McGill and I was eager to learn from the perspective of a professional like Marie-Josee Lamothe or Anwar White. Their teaching style resembles more of the relationship between a mentor and a mentee, and this is something that I was seeking. I also liked the possibility to learn through real-life scenarios and projects and to have the opportunity for more hands-on and interactive learning. Classes like Retail Management Projects or Retailing Beyond 2020 gave me the opportunity to work with companies. I could build my network and get a better idea of real-world projects while still being in a controlled learning environment. Being in a head space where I learned about things at the right place and right moment, because that is what was relevant in the retail market at the exact moment, made me understand and retain my learnings much better. Retailing at McGill helped me develop the important skills like critical thinking, agility and teamwork.
Paolo Tavano
Normally, attending 8:30 morning lectures is always a tough task; however, I would always look forward to Professor Lamothe’s classes because they were very engaging and also different from traditional lecture-based courses. The courses involved more hands-on kind of work and real-life case situations. Her classes encouraged creativity and solving modern real-world retailing issues. Working on cases made the courses really fun while also giving a glimpse of what is to come in the real-world when working in retail management and having to apply yourself with team members. The Retail Management courses really made a difference in my academic life because they pushed me to go above and beyond course material in order to learn about topics and find solutions to certain problems that presented themselves during our case presentations.
Aurélie Ye
Retailing at McGill introduced me to a number of different guest speakers from a variety of industries and companies like Google, Aldo, Walmart and Lightspeed, so I could network and coffee chat while building business acumen. The courses are highly collaborative and cross-functional: projects are tackled in groups in which no matter your discipline or previous specialization (e.g. marketing, finance, OB, operations management), you will certainly bring something unique to the table that perfectly complements your teammates’ strengths. I also enjoy the chance to get to directly advise a company strategically on a real-life retail problem they are facing, which is not only great for resume building, but impactful and meaningful work for a major organization. Being so hands-on, retail management is a place for me to grow!
Read more student testimonials here.
If you are seeking a career that shapes the future of retail, join our Master of Management in Retailing program.
Our final deadline for Canadian citizens and permanent residents to join the 2021 cohort is May 15, 2021. Application details can be found here.
