Explanatory Notes on Main
Statistical Indicators
Total Retail Sales
of Consumer Goods refer to the sum of retail sales of commodities sold
by wholesale and retail trades, catering services, publishing, post and telecommunications
and other service industries to urban and rural households for household
consumption and to social institutions for public consumption. Retail sales of
consumer goods include:
1) Sales sold by
wholesale and retail trades to urban and rural households for household
consumption and to social institutions for public consumption.
a) of commodities to
urban and rural households;
b) of commodities to
foreigners, overseas Chinese and Chinese compatriots from
c) of commodities to
government agencies, institutions, social organizations, military and armed
police units, and commodities 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
in-house 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 indicator 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 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, hotels and catering services, 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
for which 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, reflecting 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 centres, and operating offices) of wholesale and retail enterprises;
(2) commodities in the process of being selected, sorted, and packed; (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), commodities on commission for processing but not yet
delivered, imported commodities of agency of foreign trade enterprise but not
yet delivered to ordering units and finally those put in stock on behalf of the
state material reserves units.
Business Revenue of
Hotels and Catering Services refers to revenue received from providing services or
selling commodities by corporate enterprises and establishments engaged in
hotels and catering services, including income from hotel rooms, from meals,
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 staple 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 trades of commodities with an annual transaction of over
100 million yuan. The sum of sales of all sellers in the market makes up the
transaction value of the market.
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 the 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,
for logistics, quality or freshness considerations, might be delivered by
suppliers directly).
The modes of chain
operation include Regular Chain and Franchise Operation.
Regular Chain:
refers to chain that are invested or controlled by the headquarters. They
operate under direct and unified management from the headquarters. Adopting a
direct management approach, the headquarters gives orders and controls 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.
Franchise Operation includes
Franchise Chain and Voluntary Chain.
Franchise Chain:
Through contracts, chain stores (or their owners) obtain licenses from the
headquarters (franchisee) to use designated trade marks, names, operation
know-how, and to sell commodities 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.
Voluntary Chain: 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 and sign contracts with the headquarters concerning purchase,
sale, and promotion. They will operate under the contracts. They are free to
engage in other activities which are not bounded in the contract. They are free
to join in or leave the chain.