Careers › Business & finance

How to become a Retail & Merchandising Manager

Runs retail stores and chains - buying, merchandising, stock and staff.

What does a Retail & Merchandising Manager actually do?

More about this career

Covers the operational side of retail - managing a store or department, buying and merchandising stock, planning promotions, and managing frontline staff - for clothing, grocery, pharmacy and other retail chains. It’s a more specialised, hands-on route into retail than a general Business degree, and South Africa’s big retail chains are among the country’s largest private employers, with real promotion paths from store-level management into regional and head-office buying roles.

Where this degree can take you

  • Store Manager
  • Buyer / Merchandiser
  • Visual Merchandiser
  • Retail Operations Manager

This is our general description of the role and related jobs, not from an official source – it’s here to give you a fuller picture, not as a careers-counselling guarantee.

Not from an official source

Subjects that usually help

  • Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy
  • Business Studies, Accounting or Economics (helpful)

This is our general guidance about which school subjects suit this career. It is not an admission requirement and not from an official source – the real requirements are on the degrees below.

Not from an official source

Where to check this yourself

What the programmes we’ve captured actually ask for

  • Mathematics – asked for by 4 of 5 programmes
  • Mathematical Literacy – asked for by 4 of 5 programmes
  • Technical Mathematics – asked for by 1 of 5 programmes

Counted from the requirements below (an “or” alternative counts for each subject named). Each programme links to the page it came from.

Programmes that lead here

5 programmes at 5 universities. More are added as we verify them.

Durban University of Technology

Selection programme

Diploma in Management Sciences: Retail Management

Management Sciences · 3 years

DUT APS 25 points

  • English: level 3 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Three more subjects – Two 20-credit subjects at level 3 (not more than one language) plus one recognised subject at level 3.

New row, read directly from DUT’s 2027 Study Opportunities prospectus (dut-pass-3). DUT says a minimum of 25 points (excluding Life Orientation) will be considered. From DUT’s 2027 Study Opportunities prospectus. Applications go through the CAO (cao.ac.za), not directly to DUT; general closing date 30 September 2026 (fee R250 SA / R300 international).

Source: View the official page (dut.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

Sol Plaatje University

From an older document

Diploma in Retail Business Management

Economic & Management Sciences · 3 years

SPU APS 25

  • English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 5 (60% or more)
  • One more subject – One of Accounting, Business Studies or Economics at level 4.

Raw-confirmed 2026-10-04 against SPU’s own 2026 Undergraduate Prospectus (the 2027 edition is only published as an online viewer that could not be read) - APS and levels match; confirm the 2027 prospectus before relying on a cut-off. Read directly (pdftotext) from SPU’s own 2026 Undergraduate Prospectus. Source PDF labelled "2026", not yet confirmed for 2027.

Source: View the official page (spu.ac.za) (opens the official page)

Tshwane University of Technology

Diploma in Retail Business Management

Management Sciences · 3 years

TUT APS 24 points

  • English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Technical Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 4 (50% or more)

Raw-confirmed 2026-10-04 against TUT’s 2026 faculty prospectus: APS and subject levels match. New row, from the user-supplied Management Sciences Faculty Prospectus. From TUT’s 2027 First-Year Course Information and General Information PDFs. Applications opened 1 April 2026 (fee R240).

Source: View the official page (tut.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of South Africa

No cut-off published

Higher Certificate in Retailing

Economic & Management Sciences

No points cut-off published for this one – see the note below.

  • English: 30%

Read 2026-10-04 from Unisa’s own qualification page (code 90014). NSC (Higher Certificate pass) or equivalent. Unisa states percentages, not an APS, on this page. Confirmed current for the 2027 intake: Unisa’s own pages state its 2027 application window as 17 August - 9 October 2026.

Source: View the official page (unisa.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

Vaal University of Technology

Selection programme

Diploma in Retail Business Management

Management Sciences

VUT APS 20 points

  • English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 3 (40% or more) OR Mathematical Literacy: level 4 (50% or more)
  • One other subject – One further subject at level 4.

New row, from the same Marketing/Retail Business/Sport Management table in the 2027 Minimum Admission Requirements PDF. APS 20 on the Mathematics route, 21 on the Mathematical Literacy route.

Source: View the official page (vut.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

Are your marks enough?

Put your subjects in once and we’ll check them against every programme above – scored each university’s own way.

What do I qualify for?