Explanatory Notes on Main Statistical Indicators
Total Retail Sales of
Consumer Goods refer to the sum of retail sales of commodities sold by
wholesale, retail, catering, publishing, post and telecommunications and other
service industries to urban and rural households for private consumption and to
social institutions for public consumption. Retail sales of consumer goods
include:
1) Sales by wholesale and
retail units:
a) of
consumer goods sold to urban and rural households
b) of
commodities sold to foreigners, overseas Chinese and Chinese compatriots from
c) of
commodities sold to government agencies, institutions, social organizations,
military and armed police units, and commodities sold to enterprises in the
form of retail sales. More specifically, they include: office facilities and
articles for non-production purposes such as communications equipment,
computing equipment and instruments, TV and network equipment, printing and
copying equipment, audio-visual equipment and instruments, paper, notebooks,
stationeries, furniture, electric appliances, knitwear, sanitation and cleaning
articles, cultural and sport articles, articles for prizes, souvenirs, etc.;
transport vehicles and fuels for employees; materials, spare parts and tools
for the maintenance of office facilities; equipment, fuels, materials and food
for winter heating or summer cooling purposes; articles and equipment for
teaching purpose; Chinese and western medicines and medical equipment and facilities
purchased by non profit-making medical institutes; non-specialized work safety
articles; cooking utensils, tableware, equipment, cleaning articles, food and
fuels purchased by internal cafeterias; clothes and personal articles purchased
by military or armed police units for their officials and soldiers; and other
equipment and articles for non-production purposes.
2) Sales of stable food,
cooked dishes, beverages, tobaccos and other articles by catering units.
3) Sales of books,
newspapers, magazines, audio-visual products and post products by publishing,
post and telecommunications departments to urban and rural households and to
enterprises, institutions, military and armed police units.
4) Sales of food,
beverages, tobaccos, clothing, hats, footwear, articles for daily use,
medicines, medical and health articles, work of art, handicrafts, toys, funeral
articles and other articles by other service industries.
Purchase, Sales and
Stock of Commodities by Wholesale and Retail Trades refer to the total volume of
commodities purchased, total volume of sales and exports, and the stock of
commodities by wholesale and retail enterprises (establishments) of different
status of registration from domestic and overseas markets. This indictor
reflects the relationship among purchase, sales and stock of commodities in the
circulation of goods and reveals the existing problems.
Total Purchases of
Commodities refer to the
total value of purchases of commodities by the enterprises (establishments)
from other establishments or individuals (including direct import from abroad)
for the purpose of re-selling, either with or without further processing of the
commodities purchased. This indicator is used to show the total value of
purchases of commodities by wholesale and retail establishments from domestic
and overseas markets. The total purchases include: (1) agricultural and
industrial products purchased from producers; (2) books, magazines and
newspapers purchased from distribution departments of the publishers; (3) commodities
purchased from wholesale and retail establishments of different status of
registration; (4) commodities purchased from other units, such as surplus
materials purchased from government agencies, enterprises or institutions,
commodities purchased from catering and service establishments, confiscated
goods purchased from customs authorities or market management agencies,
second-hand goods and wastes purchased from residents; and (5) commodities
directly imported from abroad. Excluded are commodities purchased by
enterprises (establishments) for use in their own business operation,
commodities obtained without buying or selling procedures, rejected
commodities, etc.
Total Sales of
Commodities refer to value
of commodities sold by the establishments to other establishments and
individuals (including direct export). This indicator is used to show the total
value of sales of commodities at domestic markets and export. The total sales
include: (1) commodities sold to urban and rural residents and social groups
for their consumption; (2) commodities sold to establishments in industry,
agriculture, construction, transportation, post and telecommunications,
wholesale and retail trades, catering trade and public utility for their
production and operation; (3) commodities sold to wholesale and retail
establishments for re selling, with or without further processing; and (4)commodities for direct export to
other countries. Excluded are selling of waste packaging materials used by the
establishments (units) themselves, commodities transferred without buying or
selling procedures, commission income from brokerage in transactions whose
settlement is directly handled by buyers and sellers, rejected commodities in
the purchase, loss in commodities, etc.
Commodity Stock of
Wholesale and Retail Enterprises
refers to total commodities possessed by wholesale and retail enterprises
(units) of various types of registration status at the end of the reference
period, which reflects the commodity stock level of various wholesale and
retail enterprises and the potential for market supply. It includes: (1)
commodities located in storage, garages, counters, and shelves of operating
units (such as sale stores, wholesale centers, and operating offices) of
wholesale and retail enterprises; (2) commodities in the process of selecting,
sorting, and packing; (3) commodities not arrived but recorded as purchase in
the account, i.e. commodities not arrived but payment receipts for the
commodities from the sellers or the banks arrived; (4) commodities deposited in
other places rather than places mentioned above, for instance: commodities in
the hold of purchasers temporarily due to the refusal of payment and
commodities not taken back after going through the formalities; (5) commodities
entrusted to other units to sell but not sold yet; (6) commodities purchased
for other units but not delivered yet. Commodities not included as stock are
those not owned by the enterprises (units), those allocated to financially
independent factories rather than wholesale and retail enterprises for
processing but not taken back yet, and finally those put in stock by wholesale
and retail enterprises on behalf of the state material reserves units.
For the calculation of the
value of commodities stock, the value is calculated at purchasing prices in
agricultural goods purchasing units and wholesale units, and at the accounting
prices in retail units.
Business Revenue of
Hotels and Catering Services: refer
to revenue received from providing services or selling commodities by corporate
enterprises and establishments engaged in hotel and catering services,
including income from hotel rooms, from catering services, from selling of
commodities and from other services. Income from hotel rooms refers to income
of corporate enterprises and establishments by providing lodging services.
Income from catering services refers to income of corporate enterprises and
establishments by providing catering services, including selling of cooked or
prepared foods such as stable food, cooked dishes or cold dishes. Income from
selling of commodities refers to income of corporate enterprises and
establishments by selling commodities that accompany the services they provide.
Income from other activities refers to income received other than income from
hotel rooms, catering services or selling of commodities, such as income from
providing recreation, fitness or business services.
Volume of Transaction
at Large Commodity Markets (with transaction value over 100 million yuan) refers
to markets approved by the industrial and commercial administration
departments, which specialize in wholesale and retail of commodities with an
annual transaction of over 100 million yuan. The sum
of sales of all sellers in the markets makes up the transaction value of the
markets.
Chain Enterprises (also called chain stores or chain
corporations) refer to a form of joint economic entities under which scattered
enterprises or establishments engaged in providing homogeneous commodities or
services, with the central leadership of core enterprise or headquarters and
guided by common policies, conduct centralized purchase and distributed selling
of commodities, in order to gain better efficiency through standardized
operation. Consisting of a number of branch stores, the chain stores have in
general following features: 1) homogeneous commodities, 2) unique name of
stores, 3) centralized purchase and delivery which is separated from
distributed selling operation (most commodities are delivered from the
headquarters except some items which, from logistics, quality or freshness
considerations, might be delivered by the suppliers directly).
Chain stores have 3
categories:
a) Chain stores under
direct management: These are formal chain stores invested or controlled by the
headquarters. They operate under the direct and unified management from the
headquarters. Adopting a direct management approach, the headquarters give
orders and control all retail stores, which follow completely the directives
from the headquarters. Large monopolized commercial companies develop and
expand their business through purchasing, merging, direct investment and
controlling of shares.
b) Chain stores through
special permit: Through contracts, chain stores (or their owners) obtain
licenses from the headquarters to use designated trade marks, names, operation
know-how, and to sell the commodity developed by the headquarters. Under this
arrangement, each store in the chain is an independent legal entity and
operates under the guidance from the headquarters.
c) Chain stores through
voluntary arrangement: Under this arrangement, all stores operate together
under the guidance of the headquarters, while maintaining their status of
independent legal entities with full ownership of their assets. They use the
same store name, sign contracts with the headquarters concerning purchase,
sale, publicity, etc. and operate under the contract. They are free to engage
in other activities which are not bounded in the contract. They could join or
leave the chain on voluntary basis.
Chain stores through
special permit and those through voluntary arrangement make up chain stores
through license arrangement.