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Wholesale trade
Definition
Wholesale trade consists of purchasing, storing and selling goods, generally to retailers, professional (industrial or commercial) users or authorities, or to other wholesalers or intermediaries, regardless of the quantities sold.
Wholesale trade intermediaries put buyers and vendors into contact (or perform commercial operations for a third party), without being owners of the goods (these are commission agents, brokers, sales agents, self-employed representatives, etc.). Trading groups, other trade intermediaries, may be the owners of goods, which they sell to their members and their affiliates for a very low trade margin.
Almost all goods may give rise to wholesale trade but only some of them are sold in retail (retail trade).
Note
In NAF rev. 2, wholesale is mainly described in division 46, "Wholesale excluding automobiles and motorcycles".
It covers the following groups:
- Wholesale intermediaries,
- Wholesale of gross agricultural products and livestock,
- Wholesale of food, drinks and tobacco,
- Wholesale of domestic goods
- Wholesale of information and communication equipment
- Wholesale of other industrial equipment,
- Other specialist wholesalers.
- Non-specialist wholesale
Wholesale of vehicles and automobile and motorcycle accessories are classified in division 45, "Automobile and motorcycle trade and repair".
