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Retail Trade Industry Resources

Retail Trade – Sector Overview
This part gives you a quick overview of this industry sector, the number of businesses that comprise the sector broken down into large and small businesses along with a discussion about some issues and challenges facing the businesses.

Retail Trade - List of Businesses
This section provides our readers with a listing of the businesses that are categorized under this industry classification.

Retail Trade - Resource Directory
A great tool put together painstakingly by our staff that identifies the major associations and organizations that serve the various businesses in this industry classification.  Besides the name and website, you will also find a brief description about the organization.  Our small business owners always thank us for putting this tool together – we are confident that you will find it useful as well.

RETAIL TRADE – SECTOR OVERVIEW

The first step in determining how to write a business plan at Trident Consultants involves identifying the correct business sector to which our client’s business belongs.  The retail trade sector is a vast industry classification as per the NAICS – North American Industry Classification System.  It covers businesses like auto dealers, furniture stores, electronic stores, hardware stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, liquor stores, pharmacies, department stores, book stores, florists and many others.  (A detailed listing of retail trade businesses has been included at the end of this page.)

There are 1.8 million larger businesses (with employees) in this industry sector that employ over 15 million people with a total payroll of $348 billion.  On average the larger retail firms have at least 8 employees and the average income nationally for each of these employees is about $22k.

In the small business world covering firms with no employees, there are 1.8 million such retail firms with total gross receipts of $83 billion and the average annual income as reported by each firm of around $44k.

Any business plan on a retail trade business would be incomplete without mentioning that this industry more than any other is completely dependent on the economy and the disposal income of the consumer.  The most critical strategic decision a retail business can make in its planning stage is where it wants to position itself in the marketplace.  A retail business selling clothes, furniture or household items must be able to define it’s target market clearly and make sure that is able to market to that particular market – thus if the local demographics tend to favor the price conscious middle class shopper and the business winds up having an inventory or higher end items it may fail right from the get go.  Retail businesses require a very careful understanding of the local demographics and the local economy where they operate.

Carrying large inventories is a major problem with retailers and very often the carrying cost of capital can be critical for the profitability of retail businesses.  The business plan must make adjustments for various interest scenarios to cover the contingencies of higher costs of carrying the inventory without with a retail business cannot survive.

The retail industry is also plagued with periodic skilled labor shortages.  Just when the going gets good in retail and businesses start looking to hire, they find that they are fighting with other local retail businesses for the same talent.  Business planning has to account for that as  well – without the adequate amount of sales staff it is impossible to run a successful retail trade business.  This industry employs the most personnel in the economy and that is why retails sales figures are looked upon so closely by economists to when gauging the health of the economy.

Competition is one of the biggest challenges facing retail businesses.  This competition comes from other smaller retailers and also from larger retailers looking to become category killers.  A well thought through business plan must include the implications of a large store opening up close to where the existing business is being planned.  As is well known by now in retail circles, the minute a wall mart of home depot comes to town, it is curtains for smaller mom and pop shops to operate.  On the other hand smaller firms have the ability to give clients special care and treatment and also can carry a unique merchandise mix that larger stores may not be able to carry.  The right merchandising mix is critical in retail and business planning must address that as well.

Any business plan for a retail business that does not consider the role of the internet in today’s retail environment would be an incomplete plan.  Increasingly consumers are turning to the internet for not just pre-sales information but also to make their purchases online.  Even small businesses can set up web sites without much capital expenditure and this can give them the ability to compete with larger businesses.  A business plan must mention a web strategy for a retail business.

If you are starting a business offering retail services, or are already established but are looking to grow, secure a partner, venture capital or business loans, we would be happy to help.

RETAIL TRADE – LIST OF BUSINESSES

The following is a list of the various businesses that fall under this industry sector:

Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers
New Car Dealers
Used Car Dealers
Other Motor Vehicle Dealers
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
Motorcycle Dealers
Boat Dealers
All Other Motor Vehicle Dealers
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
Tire Dealers

Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores
Furniture Stores
Home Furnishings Stores
Floor Covering Stores
Other Home Furnishings Stores
Window Treatment Stores

Electronics and Appliance Stores
Appliance, Television, and Other Electronics Stores
Household Appliance Stores
Radio, Television, and Other Electronics Stores
Computer and Software Stores
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores

Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers
Home Centers
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
Hardware Stores
Other Building Material Dealers
Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Stores
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Stores

Food and Beverage Stores
Grocery Stores
Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores
Convenience Stores
Specialty Food Stores
Meat Markets
Fish and Seafood Markets
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
Other Specialty Food Stores
Baked Goods Stores
Confectionery and Nut Stores
All Other Specialty Food Stores
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores

Health and Personal Care Stores
Health and Personal Care Stores
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Stores
Optical Goods Stores
Other Health and Personal Care Stores
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
All Other Health and Personal Care Stores

Gasoline Stations
Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores
Other Gasoline Stations

Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores
Clothing Stores
Men's Clothing Stores
Women's Clothing Stores
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
Family Clothing Stores
Clothing Accessories Stores
Other Clothing Stores
Shoe Stores
Jewelry Stores
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores

Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, and Music Stores
Sporting Goods Stores
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
Sewing, Needlework, and Piece Goods Stores
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
Book Stores and News Dealers
Book Stores
News Dealers and Newsstands
Prerecorded Tape, Compact Disc, and Record Stores

General Merchandise Stores
Department Stores
Department Stores (except Discount Department Stores)
Discount Department Stores
Other General Merchandise Stores
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
All Other General Merchandise Stores

Miscellaneous Store Retailers
Florists
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
Used Merchandise Stores
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
Art Dealers
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
Tobacco Stores
All Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers (except Tobacco Stores)

Non-store Retailers
Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses
Electronic Shopping
Electronic Auctions
Mail-Order Houses
Vending Machine Operators
Direct Selling Establishments
Fuel Dealers
Heating Oil Dealers
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Bottled Gas) Dealers
Other Fuel Dealers
Other Direct Selling Establishments