Division 46 - Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles of International Standard Industrial Classifications of All Economic Activities (ISIC) Rev.4 includes wholesale trade on own account or on a fee or contract basis (commission trade) related to domestic wholesale trade as well as international wholesale trade (import/export).

Wholesale is the resale (sale without transformation) of new and used goods to retailers, business-to-business trade, such as to industrial, commercial, institutional or professional users, or resale to other wholesalers, or involves acting as an agent or broker in buying goods for, or selling goods to, such persons or companies. The principal types of businesses included are merchant wholesalers, i.e. wholesalers who take title to the goods they sell, such as wholesale merchants or jobbers, industrial distributors, exporters, importers, and cooperative buying associations, sales branches and sales offices (but not retail stores) that are maintained by manufacturing or mining units apart from their plants or mines for the purpose of marketing their products and that do not merely take orders to be filled by direct shipments from the plants or mines. Also included are merchandise brokers, commission merchants and agents and assemblers, buyers and cooperative associations engaged in the marketing of farm products.

Wholesalers frequently physically assemble, sort and grade goods in large lots, break bulk, repack and redistribute in smaller lots, for example pharmaceuticals; store, refrigerate, deliver and install goods, engage in sales promotion for their customers and label design.

This division excludes the wholesale of motor vehicles, caravans and motorcycles, as well as motor vehicle accessories (see division 45), the renting and leasing of goods (see division 77) and the packing of solid goods and bottling of liquid or gaseous goods, including blending and filtering, for third parties (see class 8292).

The division includes these groups and classes:

461 Wholesale on a fee or contract basis

See class 4610.


462 Wholesale of agricultural raw materials and live animals

See class 4620.


463 Wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco

See class 4630.


464 Wholesale of household goods

This group includes the wholesale of household goods, including textiles.


465 Wholesale of machinery, equipment and supplies

This group includes the wholesale of computers, telecommunications equipment, specialized machinery for all kinds of industries and general-purpose machinery.


466 Other specialized wholesale

This group includes other specialized wholesale activities not classified in other groups of this division. This includes the wholesale of intermediate products, except agricultural, typically not for household use.


469 Non-specialized wholesale trade

See class 4690.


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