Not quite, but if you have no idea of how the hierarchy works (such as what your supervisors role entails) or how anything works within a company/business/even a small shop then how are you going to fare when you're expected to be fully concentrated on the project in hand? Its not the hardest stuff to learn but I've found it only really comes from experience.
Retail I found is useful simply for people skills and organisation. But as I say; imagine you have no experience an have somehow landed a job in a firm where you're going to have deal with clients professionally and in an organised manner.