I tried to compare the wholesale structure of Korea with that of Japan. The theoretical background of this paper is based on the Comparative Distribution Methodology. When using this methodology, a researcher should investigate the differences not onl...
I tried to compare the wholesale structure of Korea with that of Japan. The theoretical background of this paper is based on the Comparative Distribution Methodology. When using this methodology, a researcher should investigate the differences not only between distribution situations but also between distribution environments. In this paper the economic aspect is considered over any other distribution environments.
The conclusions are as follows.
1. As the wholesale industry had been modernized during economic development of Japan, the distribution maintained a steady growth. However the wholesale industry was recently stagnated. Taking into consideration the spread of chain stores and the enlargement of wholesale companies, the recent tendency of wholesale industry is not a crisis but one of new structural reformations.
2. Korean wholesale was not modernized enough to meet the requirements of industrialization. The pre-modernity of wholesale industry hindered distribution development. The big production enterprises' marketing and retailers' distribution behavior could not replace wholesalers. The wholesalers are even faced with a subject that they must secure the capacity to carry out their original functions.
3. The tendency of wholesale is greatly affected by that of retail. In Japan, the number of wholesalers follows that of retailers by a regular time-lag. When this trend happens in Korea, the number of wholesalers will go up for the time being.
4. Contrary to Japanese case, Korean distribution channel is expected to be extended for the time being. We can catch this fact from the increase of "industrial goods-wholesale ratio" and that of the number of retailers. In my opinion, the extension of distribution channel means that wholesalers are possessing the capacity to carry out their original functions.
5. As previously stated, one of the Korean distribution problems is that wholesalers don't establish their original position enough yet. Accordingly, wholesale industry need to be supported for this direction. The policy to control big retailers and to support wholesale industry directly etc. will enforce wholesalers' inherent roles.