Consumer Products Distribution:

The distribution of consumer products begins with the producer and ends at the ultimate consumer. Between the producer and the consumer there is a middleman---the retailer, who links the producers and the ultimate consumers. Retailing is defined as a conclusive set of activities or steps used to sell a product or a service to consumers for their personal or family use. It is responsible for matching individual demands of the consumer with supplies of all the manufacturers. The word ‘retail’ is derived from the French work retailer, meaning ‘to cut a piece off’ or ‘to break bulk’.