trade), the exchange of goods and services for money (currency), for other goods and services (barter or countertrade) or in payment of a debt. Wholesale trade occurs between firms in large volumes. Gross profit here there is usually less than in the case of T. smaller volumes of goods and services. Rose trade is intended for the end consumer. Usually it is carried out through stores, but there are other ways of organizing it (for example, ordering goods with delivery by mail). The term T. Economists often refer to international. trade, activity, region consists of import and export. T. goods are called visible, and services - invisible. It is believed that free T. exists in the absence of government. interventions aimed at both encouraging and deterring international T. Classical economists. and neoclassical schools argue that free trade stimulates the specialization of each country in the production of goods and services, in which it has a comparative advantage, which brings benefits to all countries participating in trade; Ricardo wrote that T. will lead to an increase in the amount of goods and the mass of pleasures. In practice, T. is often associated with protectionism. It can be carried out in the form of tariffs, quotas, etc. fees (for example, weekly changing tariffs adopted in the EU common agricultural policy), health and safety standards, dumping restrictions (sales of goods at low prices), agreements on voluntary restriction of exports, bilateral agreements adopted in the USA and the EU, between the importing country and the exporting country, according to which the latter undertakes not to export goods in excess of the defined limit. quantity in exchange for certain (possibly unrelated to trade) concessions from the importer. The need to use such various methods in the policy of protectionism partly stem from the desire (usually unjustified) to limit trade to measures not permitted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) (GATT, balance of trade, exchange rate).

Trade(English) trade) is one of the most powerful factors in the historical process. There is no period in history when it does not influence public life to a greater or lesser extent. Beginning with modest exchange within a country and ending with a network of complex commercial transactions spread throughout the world, various types of trade relations always react in one way or another on various aspects of social life.

Trade among primitive peoples

Trade is one of the most reliable indicators of the cultural level of a people. If trade relations occupy a prominent place in his everyday life, then his general cultural level is high - and vice versa. Ethnography knows of few peoples to whom trade would not be known at least in the most elementary form. Such a people are the inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, who, before meeting the Europeans and to a large extent even later, were unfamiliar with the very idea of ​​\u200b\u200btrade. Along with them stand, or rather stood, many of the Australian savages. The Ceylon Vedas, even having come into contact with cultural newcomers, could only come up with the most primitive type of exchange, which Charles Letourneau (a modern French ethnographer-sociologist) calls “commerce par depots” (trade through warehouses).

As soon as the material conditions of life become more complicated, as soon as tools and, in general, the rudiments of industry appear, the idea of ​​exchange arises. Letourneau looks for the origin of trade relations in the custom of exchanging gifts. One thing is certain: the exchange did not immediately acquire an economic character. Initially, it had a symbolic meaning, sanctioning union, peace, friendship, and entering into closer relationships. The first sign by which one can judge that exchange is beginning to receive economic importance- this is the establishment of the custom of exchanging objects of more or less equal value or considered to be of equal value. Perhaps, in order to distinguish exchange as such from symbolic barter, the savages introduced into custom those folding places that Herodotus already notes among the Libyans and which to this day are found, in addition to the Veddas, among the Eskimos, among the Polynesians, among the African Moors, in Abyssinia. Already among savages we meet in embryonic form two essentially necessary conditions for the development of trade: specialization of industry and coin. The role of the latter in different places is played by jewelry, decorations (shells), furs, slaves, livestock, etc.

Trade among the peoples of the ancient East

The first information about the existence of trade relations is found very early. Already three and a half millennia BC. The first king of Assyro-Babylonia from the Sumerian dynasty established trade relations with the north and south) from his capital Sirtella. A thousand years later, one can already state quite complex system exchange. A huge number of documents (wedge-shaped) about the purchases of land, slaves, and buildings have reached us; we know about the existence of the loan, about the interest rates (17-20% per annum). Three branches of production especially flourished in Assyro-Babylonia: the manufacture of weapons, ceramics and the manufacture of textiles (Babylonian carpets and dyed fabrics). During the flourishing era of the country, starting from approximately 2000 BC, these fabrics became widespread throughout the East, and somewhat later penetrated into Europe.

Trade routes, which at the same time satisfied strategic goals, were laid in all directions: to Bactria, to Media, to Persia, to Armenia, to India, to Arabia, to Western Asia. The Chaldean monarchy, due to its geographical location, served as a mediator between East and West. Caravans brought there products from Arabia and East Africa (gold, smoking), India (fabrics, metals and products made from them, gems). From there they were also transported by caravan to Phenicia. The Persian Gulf was little exploited by the Assyrians as a trade route. Within the country, trade took place mainly along the two great rivers of Mesopotamia: the Tigris and Euphrates. Semitic peoples also took part in international trade early. A caravan of Ishmaelites traveling from Gilead (Palestine) to Egypt with various kinds bought Joseph from his brothers with incense (resin, tragacanth, incense, mastic), delivered, in all likelihood, from Arabia; a little later, the latter went to Egypt by sea with a cargo of fragrances, honey, nuts and almonds in order to get bread from there. These facts indicate constant relations with Egypt.

More detailed information about the trade of the Jews dates back to the era of Solomon. Relations with the south were maintained very regularly; Every three years, the king's fleet made trade voyages to India and, in exchange for wood and gum, brought from there gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, etc. Under Solomon, Palmyra (Tadmor) was built, which became an intermediate station between Palestine and the East; with him, the Queen of Sheba (from southern Arabia) appeared in Jerusalem, bringing incense and precious stones in unprecedented quantities. Relations with Phenicia were constantly maintained; There were always many Jews at the fairs in Tire. There were two routes from Arabia to Phenicia: one - from Yemen through present-day Mecca and through the countries of the Moabites and Ammonites; the other from Hadhramaut and Oman through the northern desert and Dedan, and then to the west, where it joined the Yemeni caravan route. - In Egypt, during the era of the construction of the pyramids, subsistence farming; insignificant internal exchange was of an exchange nature. Only in early XVI V. BC the influence of the Asian East is found in Egypt; a coin (copper ingots) appears. In this era, trade was predominantly overland. Its main routes are concentrated at Memphis and Thebes.

Ramses II began construction of a canal connecting the Nile with the Red Sea; Neho continued. This was the main waterway until the founding of Alexandria. Two roads led from Thebes south to Ethiopia and Meroe; one walked along the banks of the Nile, the other through the desert. Thebes communicated with Carthage through the oasis of Ammon and greater Sirte. Relations with the Red Sea coast did not present any difficulties. Egypt received in this era mainly luxury goods - precious stones, metals, wood, fragrances, vessels, etc.; but even after Psammetichus, trade in Egypt did not acquire any serious importance. The real commercial flourishing came here only after the founding of Alexandria.

The importance of the Phoenicians in the history of trade

With the Phoenicians, trade entered a new phase of development. Previously, it almost did not go beyond the simple exchange of products between various states and tribes of the East; now it is becoming worldwide and becoming primarily maritime. Initially, however, the Phoenicians did not dare to go into long sea ​​travel; they visited the nearest places: India, Palestine, Arabia, Egypt, Greece - by sea, Assyro-Babylonia, Armenia - by land. The Phoenicians had especially close trade ties with the Jews. In exchange for local (timber, fruits and metals) and imported (ivory, jewelry, glass, etc.) products, the Phoenicians received grain, oil, wine and all kinds of raw materials from Palestine. From Syria they received wine and fine wool, which they dyed with their famous purple dye and transported all over the world, from Cappadocia - horses, from the Caucasus - mules. All trade items were exchanged for one another and the Phoenicians received huge profits. These profits increased many times over when Phoenician merchants began to travel further west along the Mediterranean Sea. Carefully making their way along the shore, they reached Spain, where they founded a colony (now Cadiz). Silver from the mines of the Iberian Peninsula was exchanged for products of the East; From there they exported oil, wax, wine, bread, wool, lead, etc. The pillars of Hercules did not stop the Phoenician merchants; they reached the Baltic Sea, establishing trade relations everywhere; and exported fish, leather, amber, and tin from the villages of Europe.

About 1000 BC Phoenician trade was in full bloom. Strictly maintaining the secret of their Western voyages, they inseparably reigned over the sea from India to Jutland, delivering the works of the East to the West and vice versa. But the decline of this trade came as quickly as its prosperity. Internal turmoil and enemy invasions exhausted the strength of the small people; his trade monopoly came to an end, but one of his colonies, Carthage, subsequently became a great trading power.

Trade among the ancient Persians

Trade among the ancient Persians received a huge boost thanks to the activities of Darius Hystaspes. He completed the Ramses and Necho Canal, carried out a monetary reform to facilitate exchange, covered his huge state with a whole network of roads and intermediate stations, which served as much for military as for commercial purposes, explored the course of the Indus and the shores of the seas that washed his power. Industry has reached a flourishing state; Persian fabrics and carpets, mosaic and enamel products, furniture from drago valuable wood had no rivals. Indian products were transported by caravans throughout the state; the Arabs were intermediaries in relations with the south, the Greek colonies of the Asia Minor coast, subject to the Persians, with the west and north. And here the decline came soon after the prosperity; the loss of the western coast of Asia Minor was his first moment.

Trade in ancient Greece

The fact of the existence of relations between the Phoenicians and Greeks in the Mycenaean era can apparently be considered established. The Phoenicians brought oriental goods and took away raw materials. The well-being of coastal inhabitants increased, their needs increased; native industry began to imitate overseas products. Eastern influence spread mainly along the eastern shores of Hellas, along five gulfs: Laconian, Argive, Saronic, Euboean and Pagasean; Argos was the cultural center.

Main industry industry in the Mycenaean era was metal. Metals extracted from local mines, both in Hellas and on the islands and on the Asia Minor coast, were not enough; The Phoenicians brought copper and tin. Metals became the most valuable object of trade within the country, where livestock was the measure of value. In the 8th century Navigation begins among the Greeks, but the influence of the Phoenicians does not fall. Eastern imports continue: Phoenician ships bring silver vessels from Sidon, metal armor from Cyprus, linen chitons, glass, ivory; from the East the Greeks received some domestic animals and plants. Cups and swords were imported from Thrace to Hellas; very lively relations existed between the Greeks of Asia Minor and their neighbors - the Lydians, Lycians, and Carians. The real commercial boom in Greece begins with colonization. The Hellenes gradually populated almost the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the shores of the Euxine Pontus and Propontis, the islands of the Archipelago, trade relations opened with the Scythians, with the Thracians, with the native tribes of Asia Minor and the Caucasus, with the Libyans, with the inhabitants of Italy, southern France, and Spain. In the half of the 7th century. Egypt joins here. Attica supplied oil and silver, Boeotia - bread, the islands - wine, Cythera - purple, Laconia - iron. Imports consisted mainly of all kinds of raw materials and slaves; but the East and Etruria also imported the products of their industry into Greece.

The main item of import was bread, which even in Attica was only scarce. Livestock and jewelry, as a measure of value, first gave way to ingots of copper and iron, and then to precious metals, by weight units; finally, a coin was borrowed from Lydia. In the 7th century the first place in terms of trade belonged to Aegina; only Corinth could compete with her. In the VI century. Athens gradually begins to advance and, with the help of Corinth, defeats Aegina.

The success of trade leads everywhere to the fall of the landowning aristocracy. Attempts by the Corinthian Cypselids and Athenian Pisistratids to raise small landownership lead to nothing, and both cities, in the 5th century, turned into merchant republics. Agriculture could not withstand the competition of Pontus, Sicily, Egypt and southern Italy. In the 5th century At least 300,000 meters were imported into Piraeus annually. tsntn. bread, and total imports to all harbors Aegean Sea reached several million meters. tsntn. The income from trading was proportional to the amount of risk; if sailing to Sicily and Italy gave up to 100%, then sailing around the Archipelago brought no more than 20-30%. This was the state of affairs during the era of the highest commercial prosperity that followed the Greco-Persian wars. The Peloponnesian War led to a decrease in population, the ruin of the country, tax oppression, and economic crises; but even Athens, which suffered most from the wars, did not lose all its strength and retained its commercial and industrial importance. Syracuse took first place among the western Hellenic cities and retained it until the rise of Alexandria; Ephesus became an intermediate point through which trade with Asia Minor passed; Rhodes grew in the southeast, rivaling the largest shopping centers Greek world.

According to industrial development, trade also grows. In maritime trade, the magnitude of risk early led to the formation trading companies, the simplest type of which was the Bodmer agreement. A cash loan secured by a ship and cargo was paid more expensive than a simple cash loan; while the percentage for the first reached 30%, for the second it rarely rose above 18%. Alexander the Great's campaign in Egypt led him to the idea that trade with India could go through Egypt much more conveniently than through the old route. At the mouths of the Nile, Alexandria appeared, which its founder predicted to play the role of a trade intermediary between East and West. Under the Ptolemies, a large merchant fleet in the Red Sea served for relations with India; Along the Nile, relations were carried out with Ethiopia, from where mainly ivory came. With the subjugation of Rome, the trading activity of Alexandria - like Byzantium, another port connecting the West with the East - increased significantly.

Carthage and Etpyria

When Tire fell under the blows of Alexander, Carthage took over the commercial heritage of its metropolis. The history of Carthage is especially interesting because trade considerations were always in the foreground. State structure, conquests - everything adapted to economic needs. Maintaining a trade monopoly in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea was the main task. Foreign ships were expelled and, on occasion, sunk; any other maritime power that wished to enter into relations with the powerful republic had to trade exclusively in Carthage itself.

The unusually advantageous geographical position placed Carthage in very favorable conditions. Caravans that regularly traveled into Africa and Egypt brought from there ebony, ivory, gold, ostrich feathers, dates, and slaves; European colonies supplied wool, metals, and bread. Carthaginian factories processed raw materials and produced fabrics on the market, hardware and glass.

During the heyday of Carthaginian power, Etruria grew in Italy and also played a role in the history of trade. She entered into an alliance with Carthage; in 540, the allies defeated the Phocian colonists at Alalia (Corsica) and pushed them back to the mainland (Massilia). The power of Etruria did not last long; after its fall, the Greek pirates became bolder, so that Rome and Carthage had to negotiate their extermination (The question of the time of the first Roman-Corthaginian treaty is very controversial. Mommsen, Ar. Schaefer and Clason date it to 348 BC, and E. Müller, Nissen and Ed. Meyer are inclined to consider the Polybius date - 509 - to be genuine). Some time later, the rise of Rome put an end to the Greeks, the Etruscans, and the Carthaginians.

Trade in ancient Rome

In ancient times, trade in Italy was limited to relations between neighboring communities. Early on, periodic fairs appeared to coincide with festivals; the most significant of these was at Soracta, an Etruscan mountain near Rome. Trade probably took place here before the Greek or Phoenician merchant appeared in central Italy. The instruments of exchange were cattle, slaves, and later metal (copper) in ingots.

Rome's favorable geographical position soon made it a storage point for all of Latium. The initial modest exchange was revived when Greek settlements appeared in Italy, and Etruscan merchants established close relations with the Greeks. The settlements on the eastern coast of Italy began to come into direct contact with Greece; Latium exchanged its raw materials for manufactures with the southern Italian and Sicilian Greeks. This state of affairs continued until Rome began to extend its rule to the natural borders of Italy. Roman denarii, says Mommsen, were not one step behind the Roman legions. And Rome’s overseas wars were partly caused by the trade interests of the republic. Rome did not become an industrial center capable of competing with the East and Carthage; only trade on a large scale could become a real source of wealth for him. The Punic Wars, which crushed Carthage, and the campaign in Greece, which put an end to Corinth, gave the Roman merchants the opportunity to put their capital into circulation.

The first step after the Roman conquest was usually the introduction of the Roman monetary system. Silver coins came into use in the 3rd century, and gold (mainly in bullion) during the Punic Wars. Port duties have become an important financial item. The countries of the East joined the circle of countries with which the Romans were in relations. But even now, as until the end of its days, Rome exclusively imported, paying for overseas products with the gold that was collected in the conquered countries by the state and tax farmers. The empire brought peace to the world, which was primarily reflected in the ordering and regulation of trade. Customs barriers no longer hampered trade, the roads were safe from robbers, and the seas were not swarming with pirates.

Of the institutions from the times of the empire, the “horrea” - state warehouses, mainly granaries, where African and Egyptian grain was received, deserve attention. The second place among imported items was meat. Whole herds were brought to Rome from abroad; dairy products came from Gaul and Britain. A wide variety of fish were consumed both fresh and salted and pickled. Vegetables and fruits also came from abroad in huge quantities; Carthage and Cordoba were famous for artichokes, Germany for asparagus, Egypt for lentils; apples came from Africa, Syria and Numidia, plums from Syria and Armenia, cherries from Pontus, peaches from Persia, apricots from Armenia, pomegranates from Carthage. Italy produced a lot of wine in general, but even in the era of the empire there was not enough of it; wine was brought from Greece, Asia Minor, the islands, and later from Gaul and Raetia. The oil, consumed in huge quantities in the baths, was delivered from Africa. Salt was also a major trade item. For Roman houses and villas, furniture made of valuable wood, sofas decorated with silver, marble, and precious statues were brought from afar. Phenicia, Africa and Syria supplied purple fabrics, China - silk and silk fabrics; tanned leather came from Phenicia, Babylonia, Parthia, sandals - from Lycia (the famous factory in Patara), bronze and copper - from Greece and Etruria, swords, daggers, armor - from Spain. In the I-III centuries. AD

The Roman Empire was the greatest area of ​​free trade that history has ever known. Unity of coin, measure and weight, free floating of all everywhere, flourishing state of industry in Spain, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Northern Italy, partly Greece, high level agriculture in Africa and on the Black Sea coast - all this contributed to the prosperity of trade. The accidental discovery of Ceylon under Claudius indicated a new route to India. But this prosperity did not last long. Under Diocletian, a terrible economic crisis arose, from which Roman trade could no longer recover. In vain did the emperors try to improve matters by establishing close guardianship over all spheres of economic life, regulating agriculture, crafts, and trade. Everything was in vain, since the state pursued not national economic, but fiscal goals. International relations continued to decline, and then barbarians appeared, and a terrible decline in culture ended the history of the Roman Empire.

Byzantium and Levantine trade before the arrival of the Arabs

Money crash end of the 3rd century for the eastern half of the empire it turned out to be less disastrous than for the western. As soon as the ferment caused by the barbarians more or less subsided or swept to the West, the eastern empire began to organize itself again, its military prestige was resurrected, and relations with the East began to be resumed. Since the time of Justinian (527-565), Byzantium became a mediator between East and West and retained its role until the bourgeoisie of Italian and southern French cities took this position from it. In the Middle Ages it was the main target of European trade. What later began to be obtained in abundance from America - for example, cotton and sugar - now came from Syria, Asia Minor, Cyprus; Indian smokes and spices could also be obtained only in the East; At first, silk was produced only in China.

The favorable trading position of Byzantium was determined primarily by geographical conditions. Only she could not communicate directly with China; The Chinese did not travel by sea further than Ceylon, and their caravans only reached Turkestan. In its further movement towards Byzantium, Chinese silk inevitably had to pass through Persia. Justinian tried in vain to arrange for its delivery by sea to Ethiopia in order to avoid hostile Persia. Indian goods were also brought to the shores on native or Persian ships Persian Gulf, but trade with India also took place directly, through the Greek harbor on the Red Sea, Klysma (near modern Suez). Trade with Ethiopia, extremely profitable (smokes, precious stones, ivory), went partly through Alexandria, partly by sea; the inhabitants of Ethiopia were also engaged in transporting Greek merchants to India and in the transit of Indian goods. Towards the end of Justinian's reign, missionaries stole the secret of silk production from the East. Under Justin II, a silk industry already existed in the Byzantine Empire, concentrated mainly in Syria. The Syrians began to look for markets in the West. In the Merovingian era we meet them not only in Naroonne and Bordeaux, but even in Orleans and Tours; their ships brought not only silk, but also wine, tanned leather, and expensive materials for decorating temples. The Syrian merchants were followed by Egyptian ones, with local works (papyrus, etc.). In Italy, while it belonged to Byzantium, there were even more eastern merchants. In Germany they were found only in Romanized areas - along the Rhine and Danube.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron

Introduction

trade Russian market

The social division of labor and the separation of commercial capital from general industrial capital made trade into a separate independent branch of the economy. Currently, trading activity in Russia is the most common type of business activity. The specificity of trading activity is such that it is associated with a large number of inventory items. Trading business largely contributes to solving the most important task of social production - meeting the needs of the population for consumer goods and services. The transition to market relations required new approaches to the organization and technology of trade. There is a need to train new specialists and retrain existing personnel who can effectively carry out commercial activities in new conditions. There is a need for completely different regulatory legal documents regulating trade activities.

The relevance of this topic is due to the fact that trade continues to be one of the most dynamic sectors of world business. Every person, one way or another, participates in the trading process almost every day.

The purpose of this work is to study trade as a type of service activity.

In this regard, the main tasks are:

Consideration of the concept and essence of trade, its main types;

Studying the current state of the industry, the specifics of the labor of workers employed in it;

Identification of trade problems and prospects for further development.

Concept, functions, tasks and types of trading

According to State standard RF GOST R 51303-99 “Trade. Terms and definitions" (adopted and put into effect by Decree of the State Standard of the Russian Federation dated August 11, 1999 No. 242-st) trade is "a type of business activity associated with the purchase and sale of goods and the provision of services to customers." It, realizing production consumer value, connects production with consumption.

Trade affects the volume and structure of production of goods, improving their range and improving quality. She actively influences consumers, cultivates reasonable needs, and promotes new products.

The objects of action in trade are: exchange of goods, purchase and sale of goods, customer service.

Trading functions:

Studying the demand for goods, maintaining a balance between supply and demand

Influence on production in order to expand the range and increase the volume of goods

Organization of product distribution, bringing goods to the consumer

Formation of inventory

Reducing distribution costs in the sphere of consumption (i.e., the costs of buyers for purchasing goods)

Carrying out trade and technological operations with goods

Trading objectives:

Increasing trade turnover volumes

Improving the culture of serving the population

Increasing the profitability of trading enterprises

These tasks and functions are inseparable from each other. Their ultimate goal is to most fully satisfy the consumer demand. It is trade, realizing production consumer value, that connects production with consumption and maintains the balance between supply and demand.

The trade area is divided into external (international) And internal. The fundamental difference between foreign trade and domestic trade is that when exporting goods, they leave the customs territory of the country of export, cross the customs borders of the countries of export and import, and remain in the customs territory of the country of import. When importing, the sequence is reversed.

The emergence of vast unified customs territories of several states, within which there are no interstate customs borders, required more precise definition the term “foreign trade”, which can also be used in relation to foreign trade in services. In this case, foreign trade is a paid exchange of goods and services between residents of different states.

Trade is called domestic because it does not go beyond the borders of a particular country, since its objects are either manufactured within the country and sold there, or produced not even within its borders, but abroad, but purchased on the domestic market and sold there.

In contrast, foreign trade consists of bringing goods from abroad, exporting them there, or transporting them through the country from one state to another. It consists, therefore, in the fact that goods are produced or purchased in one country and sold in another. These two moments are separated from each other by the passage of goods across the state border; a merchant or producer of a product seems to have one foot at home and the other in a foreign country. Once the goods have already been transported across the border and sold there, further transactions, resale of them in the country where they were exported, again belong to internal trade, since again both the acquisition and the sale of them do not go beyond the borders of the same country. So the vast majority of trade transactions relate to internal trade, while external trade comes down to those transactions that are divided into two parts by the state line that lies between them.

Also, foreign and domestic trade differ from each other in that:

* Resources for international level less mobile than within the country

* In internal trade, each country uses its own currency, and in external trade - the world one

* Foreign trade is more confirmed by political control.

Trade is divided into two main types: Wholesale And retail.

Wholesale-- this is any activity for the sale of goods and services to those who purchase them for the purpose of either further use (processing, sewing) or resale. Therefore, in wholesale trade, goods are purchased in large quantities and in large volumes.

Retail- this is a special activity of people associated with the implementation of the act of purchase and sale of goods by the final consumer. This activity is a set of specific technological and economic operations aimed at servicing the exchange process, and is the final link in the movement of goods in the sphere of circulation.

The market space includes not only direct producers and consumers of commercial products, but also a significant number of active intermediate links that establish business relations between them. These links include wholesale intermediary organizations that provide essential services to both manufacturers and end consumers of products.

Wholesale trade is the most important link that ensures acceleration of the process of movement of goods through distribution channels. Rational organization and improvement of wholesale trade are one of the most important tasks. The wholesale link determines the direction of commodity flows, transforms the production assortment into a commercial one, and acts as a conductor for a huge mass of goods to the consumer market.

All this allows both manufacturers and retailers to turn to wholesale trade services. The need for the functioning of wholesale trade is caused by the fact that direct sale of goods by manufacturing enterprises to the population is practically difficult to implement, since they produce goods that are sold in various cities And populated areas. Therefore, trade in consumer goods is carried out in two stages:

§ at the first, initial stage, goods are sold by manufacturing enterprises to trading enterprises (wholesale trade) or trading enterprises to each other;

§ on the second, final stage Retailers sell goods to the public (retail trade).

In wholesale trade, a product can be sold two or more times - first at the regional level, then at the local level.

Wholesale trade determines the structure and direction of commodity flows. It acts in the market as an intermediary between industry and retail trade.

The characteristic tasks of wholesale trade are:

§ searching for suppliers of goods for retailers and other buyers;

§ purchase of large quantities of goods from manufacturers;

§ increasing the number of stages of intermediate users of products;

§ formation of a trade assortment and adapting it to the needs of intermediate and final consumers;

§ pursuing a policy of timely updating and improving the quality of goods;

§ providing manufacturing enterprises with sales of their goods;

§ marketing research for goods manufacturers and retailers;

§ information service;

§ acceptance of risk when handling goods.

Thus, manufacturers and retailers have every reason to use wholesale trade services.

The definition of the concept “retail trade” is given in Part 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which states that under a retail purchase and sale agreement, a seller engaged in business activities in the field of retail trade transfers to the buyer goods intended for personal, family, home or other use not related to With entrepreneurial activity, i.e. Retailers sell goods to end consumers.

Retail trade combines the interests of the seller in generating income and the needs of the buyer in obtaining high-quality goods and services.

It is retail trade that focuses domestic producers take into account the needs of society as much as possible. Retail trade is based on the theory of individual choice, which is based on the principle of consumer priority. Therefore, retail trade is a social expression of the quality of life of a society.

Retail trade solves the following problems:

§ purchases goods from a wholesaler and offers them for sale to anyone (store trade) unchanged or after processing (processing) usual for retail trade;

§ creates an assortment of goods and a list of services to meet the needs of customers;

§ demonstrates samples at open trade stands in order to receive orders for goods (order receiving point);

§ organizes trade with home delivery of goods. Trade with home delivery offers its goods, as a rule, outside the location of its warehouses or operates without them at all;

§ organizes peddling, when a retailer walks with his goods from house to house;

§ organizes street trading - the merchant shortens the shopping path for the housewife. At a certain time, he appears in a residential area to sell vegetables, fruits, eggs, drinks, pickles, etc. to residents;

§ carries out petty trading - traders offer their goods on counters, which are installed in squares and streets with busy traffic or in places where special events are held.

In conditions of increasing competition in trade, retail trade networks, which are a collection of trading enterprises under common management, are actively developing. Network retail trade is represented by various store formats. Moreover, in various countries and regions, different formats predominate.

In the process of trade, human activity is realized in certain acts with the following structure:

Subject (legal entity or individual entrepreneur engaged in trade and registered in accordance with the established procedure.);

Purpose (transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or legal entity to another; making a profit);

Means (production, which are directly involved in the trading process: land plots, buildings, structures, vehicles, equipment, showcases...; non-production, municipal and cultural facilities that are on the balance sheet of enterprises: residential buildings, kindergartens, sanatoriums, sports facilities);

Item (buyer);

Action (operations for the sale of goods, trade turnover, barter);

Result (product sales, profit).

According to All-Russian classification of services to the population (OKUN) Trade services include:

Retail services

Sales of goods

Packaging store-bought items

Reception (including by phone) and registration

pre-orders for goods

Preparation for a specific time by pre-ordering individual products available for sale

Reception and execution of orders for goods sold through the parcel trading section

Loading and delivery of heavy and large-sized products by vehicles (if delivery is not carried out by Transagency)

Valuation and acceptance of items for commission at the consignor’s home

Transfer to committents cash for goods sold to the specified bank account

Valuation of jewelry made of precious metals, precious, semi-precious and semi-precious stones

Receiving glassware at home

Providing booths for charging photographic equipment

Providing a booth or lounge for listening to soundtracks and watching videotapes that are commercially available or recorded in a store

Advisory services of specialists on the rules and procedures for using technically complex products - new products with demonstrations of them in action

Consultations with nutritionists and cosmetologists

Guaranteed storage of purchased goods

Acceptance for storage of buyer's belongings and baby strollers (if there is a set of goods for children)

Providing mother and child room services (if a range of goods for children is available)

After sales service

Wholesale trade services

Procurement services

Marketing services

Currently one of the main areas human activity is trade. What is “hidden” under the concept, what are the types of this procedure and how do they differ from each other? We will look at all this in this article to familiarize ourselves with an extremely important concept - trading.

Introduction

What is trading?

In a highly specialized sense, this term refers to the process of negotiations between subjects, the purpose of which is to find consensus and implement the terms of the transaction.

Trade is an economic branch that has taken the form economic activity. It is aimed at conducting transactions for the purchase and sale and exchange of goods. It is also associated with direct customer service, delivery of goods, their storage and preparation for sale.

To answer the question of what trade is, we first take a look at modern types.

The first type of such transactions is state. trade. It is based on property owned by the state and is the main type of trade. The entire amount of funds received from government labor. enterprises and organizations becomes the property of the country. With the help of these same “trade routes”, the needs of people in cities and other populated areas are met. It is important to know that later a municipal form of this procedure appeared, which was separated from the state process.

The second type is market trading. In fact, this is a surplus of agricultural products of personal production. Such transactions are carried out in markets in populated areas. The material base is represented by agricultural production. IN this process there is no organized market, which is determined by the rise and fall of prices in response to demand.

Private trade transactions are the third type of such phenomenon. They are relatively new and modern. They are carried out within the framework of a market economy. Private holdings and property are used as objects of consumption and are produced by civilian or visiting actors. Trade management is controlled by law only at a superficial level. This allows people to carry out and develop this area of ​​activity to increase opportunities.

Mixing species

Trade includes the concept of mixed forms of ownership (partnership, joint stock company, trading house, etc.) Objects of this type are at the stage of development. The insignificance of the share is evidence of the presence of organizational and economic problems. The phenomenon of denationalization and privatization are processes that hampered the development of certain types of trade. This was due to the impossibility of obtaining anything from private property. The main problem was the lack of bidding, both joint stock and competitive.

All countries that have a market economy (including the Russian Federation) encourage the development of trade. Also, the transactions in question are protected by law and are responsible for monitoring some of their forms.

About diversity

The creation and consumption of various products are two components that form a continuously repeating process of reproduction. Two more important components are distribution and reciprocity. The phenomena of production and trading within the framework of reproduction for society are responsible for providing and solving problems that arose on the basis of needs and their satisfaction. Much depends on the division of labor, both in the state itself and in specific structures of enterprises, organizations, etc.

Wholesale and small wholesale

There are types of trade that differ in purchase quantity and retail.

The 1st type is called wholesale trade. It represents any activity related to the sale of goods or services that will be resold or used in production in the future. Trading rules in in this case will directly depend on legislative documents and be determined by them. Wholesale is responsible for ensuring the accumulation of goods and their movement throughout the country or the world, and the goals of its development are:

• Creation of a developed system of channels for the delivery of goods and services.
• Maintaining the required volume and intensity of goods flow.
• Creation of sources of collateral that will serve as reserves.

The 2nd type is small wholesale trade. It is represented by the sale of large quantities of products (within a ton) and satisfies the needs of small retail trade. Also used for non-commercial purposes.

Retail and small retail

When answering the question of what trade is, it will also be important to familiarize yourself with the types of transactions whose purpose is to meet the needs of society. But they differ in the scope of application.

Another type of such transactions is retail trade. It works with food and non-food products individually or sells in small quantities for individual consumption. Transfer occurs immediately to end buyers.

Retail trade satisfies the needs of the people. It is carried out by networks of special enterprises, an example of which is a store. A purchase can only be made if there is a seller. It is this entity that will be in direct contact with end customers.

The 4th type is small retail trade. It is the sale of goods through stationary and mobile retail chains. This could be a kiosk, tent, stall, pavilion, etc. Its functions include the following tasks:

• formation of a wide range of goods and services;
• determining the real demand for a particular product;
• setting prices, carrying out a technological series of operations;
• promotion of goods in the “space” of the market;
• the desire to create favorable conditions for the sale;
• service trade.

Retail companies

We have already defined what trade is. Now let's get acquainted with the objects within which it is carried out.

A specialized store is a trading enterprise intended for the turnover of a specific product group.

A department store is a large retail establishment that offers a wide selection of different products.

A supermarket is a self-service enterprise with low costs.

There is also a supermarket and a store for household goods and everyday needs.