Retail Conglomerates Key Terms

Connect with basic vocabulary to understand retail conglomerates

By Lisa Maloney

Retail conglomerates are the 800-pound gorillas of the sales world. Their importing habits and choices of when to buy domestically or not shape the American retail scene and have a strong effect on world trade. As the main drivers of consumer buying habits, understanding retail conglomerates can help you understand the ins and outs of the retail market as a whole. Use this sheet of key vocabulary to help you understand the complex interrelationships of marketing, wholesale and retail companies within the conglomerates.

Business-to-business wholesale

Business-to-business marketing helps eliminate the middlemen and streamline the transactions from product source to the retailer that will eventually market the product to consumers.
Try: Hanes Brands, Inc. does an excellent job of explaining why business-to-business wholesale sites are advantageous to retail conglomerates through its site.

Conglomerate

A business or retail conglomerate is not that different from the more mainstream connotation of the word. Think of a retail conglomerate as a collection of diverse retail stores all gathered under the same general business leadership.
Try: Investor Words and Raymond James & Associates offer two slightly different takes on the concept of a business conglomerate.

B2C

B2C or business to customer are terms that refer to transactions between a company or conglomerate and customers, as opposed to b2b or business-to-business transactions conducted only between companies.
Try: AIB Capital Markets expands on the definition of b2c.

Authorized resellers

When retail conglomerates carry popular products, like Apple brand computers and iPods, they often choose to become authorized resellers. Essentially, they are entering into a partnership in which the manufacturer endorses the retail store as an approved source for purchasing its product.
Try: Webtrends gives a detailed explanation of how its authorized reseller program works.

Balance of trade

The balance of trade is essentially a way of measuring how a country's imports compare to its exports. Retail conglomerates can shift this balance through their purchasing habits with foreign and domestic goods.
Try: Investopedia explains the concept of balance of trade and why a trade deficit is not necessarily a bad thing.

Sales tax exemption certificate

A sales tax exemption certificate, also known simply as a tax exemption certificate or resale certificate, is a standard business form used as proof that you intend to resell the goods you purchased at wholesale prices.
Try: The Washington State Department of Revenue explains the use of a resale certificate in business-to-business transactions.