Selling

There is no business without sales. A good business must expand. The expansion of a company means it can produce more goods or sell more of its products. A company, which sells goods in large quantities (in bulk), is called a wholesale distributor (or wholesaler). Whole selling provides channels of distribution. The wholesaler is an intermediarybetween the producer and the retailer. In home trade three types of wholesaler can be distinguished:

1. The wholesaler who for a period owns warehouses goods, But Carries out no process in connection with them.

2. The wholesaler who owns stores goods and prepares them for sale.

3. The wholesaler who organizes the distribution of a commodity but doesn't actually handle it as, for example, the motor-car distributor. A company of a person buying goods in relatively small quantities from wholesaler and selling them to consumers in shops and markets is a retailer.

There are different ways of selling goods.

Direct selling is the practice of a manufacture or importer in selling goods direct to shopkeepers without using the service of a wholesaler or distributor. Mail order is an order for goods to be sent direct to the customers by post. There are mail order houses which sell a wide variety of goods from their warehouses. Orders are collected or obtained with the help of illustrated catalogue, by agents who are paid by commission. Prices are kept low by avoiding the cost of running retail shops and by buying in bulk. While expanding sales a company may need to employ sales representatives or agents. Agents are people who have a number of contracts. They make their money by taking a percentage, say 10%, on everything sold.

There is also a clearance sale which is a special selling of goods at reduced prices to clear remaining stocks quickly and to make room for new stocks. Some kinds of goods can be sold at an auction. Retailing is the general term covering all forms of selling goods to the public. It is a profitable sector in the UK, especially for larger food retailers. Retail businesses in the UK are usually classified according to the number of shops or outlets they have. The smallest operations, such as local grocery or convenience stores are called single outlet retailers. These are independent businesses run from one shop. Small multiple retailers operate a maximum of nine shops, all selling the same range of products. Large multiple retailers (also known as chain stores) are the big names in the business, such as Marks and Spencer. These companies have large numbers of stores selling a wide variety of items. Some operate from out of town locations with parking facilities, known as either superstores (over 20,000 square feet) or hypermarkets (over 50,000 square feet).

Department stores, such as Harrods in London, are large shops which sell a wide variety of products. They are organised in departments, each with its own manager, and are usually found in city centers. Expansion of a company needs the increase of sales. The quickest and the easiest way to increase sales is to persuade existing customers to buy more of the product, more frequently, to offer new products, to sell to new businesses or buyers. There are many ways of acquiring new customers. Firstly, you may follow leads. Leads are those people who have approached you, either as a result of your advertising or having seen your business at an exhibition. Secondly, you may use referrals. You may ask your existing customers if they know of other businesses who might be interested in your product or service. Thirdly, you may look for potential customer's business, find those who are likely to buy from you. When a business goes well, a company receives a lot of orders for the goods and services.

International trade can be define as the exchange of goods and services between different countries. Depending on that a country produces or needs, it can either exports (send goods to another country) or import (bring in goods from another country). Governments can control international trade in different ways. The most common measures taken are tariffs (or duties) and quotas. A tariff is a tax imposed on imported goods, whereas a quota is the maximum quantity of a product that may be admitted in a country during a certain period of time. These measures are said to be protectionist in that they raise the price of imported goods so that domestically produced goods will gain a price advantage.

The purpose of international organizations, such as GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) or EFTA (European Free Trade Association) is to regulate tariffs and to reduce trade restrictions between member countries.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-03