Open to all retail sectors, including jewellery, the Retail Doctor Group (RDG) Scholarship program will be held in conjunction with the National Retail Association’s (NRA) Young Retailer of the Year Award. There will be 20 award finalists – aged 25 years and under – and one will receive the scholarship.
The scholarship program will provide coaching and development for 12 months. During that time the recipient will receive monthly one-on-one mentoring with RDG founder and CEO Brian Walker, as well as tours to other retail environments, creation of a career development plan and copies of case studies.
According to Walker, the scholarship will be awarded to someone who displays leadership qualities, perseverance and is highly adaptive to changing environments.
“I think retail is a fascinating career opportunity because it now includes online retail, social media, consumer behaviours, psychology of consumers, trend spotting and data management. It’s all part of the retail repertoire,” he said.
Walker added that he planned to offer the scholarship on an annual basis and believed that “training, mentoring and rewarding achievers will help to propel the next generation of retail leaders”.
The NRA Young Retailer of the Year Award recognises retail staff for their efforts and achievements in leadership, innovation and industry knowledge.
Jewellers are encouraged to
nominate their staff for the awards by Friday 24 May. The scholarship will be awarded at an awards ceremony and gala dinner on Wednesday 31 July.
The Retail Doctor Group is a retail consulting business that was founded in 2005. It has worked with more than 400 retailers, retail service providers, shopping centres, manufacturers and not-for-profit organisations.