DIVISION G – RETAIL TRADE
The Retail Trade Division includes units mainly engaged in the purchase and/or onselling, the commission based buying, and the commission based selling of goods, without significant transformation, to the general public. The Retail Trade Division also includes units that purchase and onsell goods to the general public using non-traditional means, including the internet. Units are classified to the Retail Trade Division in the first instance if they buy finished goods and then onsell them (including on a commission basis) to the general public.
Retail units generally operate from premises located and designed to attract a high volume of walk-in customers, have an extensive display of goods, and/or use mass media advertising designed to attract customers. The display and advertising of goods may be physical or electronic.
Physical display and advertising includes shops, printed catalogues, billboards and print advertisements. Electronic display and advertising includes catalogues, internet websites, television and radio advertisements and infomercials. While non-store retailers, by definition, do not posses the physical characteristics of traditional retail units with a physical shop-front location, these units share the requisite function of the purchasing and onselling of goods to the general public, and are therefore included in this division.
A unit which sells to both businesses and the general public will be classified to the Retail Trade Division if it operates from shop-front premises, arranges and displays stock to attract a high proportion of walk-in customers and utilises mass media advertising to attract customers.
The buying of goods for resale to the general public is a characteristic of Retail Trade units that distinguishes them from units in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Manufacturing; and Construction industries. For example, farms that sell their products, at or from, the point of production are not classified in Retail Trade, but rather in Agriculture as the production of agricultural output are these units primary activity. Units in all these industries provide their output to the market for sale. Similarly, units that both manufacture and sell their products to the general public are not classified in Retail Trade, but rather in Manufacturing.
Wholesale units also engage in the buying of goods for resale, but typically operate from a warehouse or office and neither the design nor the location of these premises is intended to solicit a high volume of walk-in traffic. In general, wholesale units have large storage facilities and small display area, while the reverse is true for retail units.
Units in Retail often undertake non-retail secondary activities, such as watch and jewellery stores, that undertake repairs of these goods as well as retailing new items. However, units whose primary activity is the provision of repair and maintenance services are excluded from this division, and are classified to the Other Services Division.
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