KBLI G—Wholesale and Retail Trade

Where G sits

1. G Wholesale and Retail Trade

Contains 2 narrower codes

• 46 Big Trade
• 47 Retail Trade

What G includes

• This category includes wholesale and retail trade (i.e., the sale without technical transformation) of various types of tangible goods, as well as the provision of services related to the sale of merchandise. Goods are physical objects that are produced, needed by the market, for which ownership rights can be established, and whose ownership can be transferred to other entities through transactions in the market.
• Wholesale and retail trade constitute the final stage in the distribution of merchandise.
• For sales purposes, supporting activities can be performed, encompassing a number of general processes associated with trade without any transformation of the goods. These processes include sorting, sorting by quality, assembling goods, mixing, bottling, packaging, breaking down large quantities and repackaging for distribution in smaller quantities, storage, whether refrigerated or not, cleaning and drying agricultural produce, and cutting wood or metal sheets. If not performed as a general process in trade, these activities can be performed as primary, secondary, or supporting activities in other KBLI categories.
• Wholesale trade is the resale of new and used goods to retailers, business-to-business customers, such as industrial, commercial, institutional, or professional users, or to other wholesalers, or acting as agents or brokers in the purchase or sale of merchandise, whether individuals or companies. The primary forms of this activity include wholesalers or merchants who own title to the goods they sell, such as wholesalers, jobbers, distributors, exporters, importers, joint purchasing groups, sales offices and sales branch offices (but not retail stores) operated by industrial or mining companies, separate from the industrial or mining site for the purpose of marketing the product, provided they do not solely accept orders for direct delivery from the factory or mine. It also includes intermediary services, such as the activities of merchandise and commodity brokers, commission traders and agents, as well as wholesalers, buyers, and associations that primarily market agricultural products. If wholesalers do not own title to the goods they trade, they should be classified in group 461. If wholesalers do own title to the goods, even if acting on behalf of a third party, they should be classified in groups 462-469.
• Wholesalers often physically assemble, sort, and categorize large quantities of goods by quality, unpackage them from bulk quantities, and repackage them into smaller quantities, such as pharmaceutical products; store, refrigerate, deliver, and assemble goods; conduct sales promotions for customers; and design labels.
• Retailing is the resale of both new and used goods to the general public for personal or household consumption or use, through stores, convenience stores, kiosks, mail-order companies, door-to-door salespeople, traveling salespeople, consumer cooperatives, auction houses, and others. Retailing also includes the sale of goods through showrooms (where displayed goods can be purchased), temporary points of sale (e.g., pop-up stores), and automated retail stores.
• Retailers generally retain title to the goods they sell, but some retailers act as agents and sell on a consignment or commission basis.
• Retailing through mail-order or online channels is classified based on the type of goods sold.
• The distinction between wholesale and retail trade is not based on the quantity of goods sold, as wholesale can be conducted individually, just as retail can be conducted in bulk. However, the primary difference between wholesale and retail trade is the type of customer. Wholesale trade typically serves business entities as customers, while retail trade typically serves individual consumers or households. If a trader sells to both business entities and households, and it is not practically possible to determine the dominant customer type, it is advisable to classify the trader as a retailer.
• This category also includes: - transit trade, which is the activity of purchasing commodities, moving them from one customs territory to another or from one point to another within the same customs territory, and then selling them; transit trade refers to triangular transactions where transit traders carry out exports and imports between two or more different countries, without involving their own economic territories; transit traders retain title to the commodities during transport, unlike intermediaries who merely arrange transactions without retaining title to the commodities. - intermediation services specialized and not specifically for retail trade. - food and/or beverage sales through vending machines or automated points of sale.

What G excludes

• This category does not include: - electricity trade, see class 3513 - gas fuel trade for energy supply via the grid, see class 3520 - distribution of digital products, including downloading and streaming services for media such as e-books, audio, etc., see category J - retail activities of prepaid telephone cards and telecommunications services, see class 6120 - repair of cars and motorcycles, see division 95.

G in other systems