A Study on the Feasibility of Win-Win Growth in Wholesale Market

Abstract

Purpose: At a time when the distribution industry is dominated by capital and technology, win-win growth among businesses groups (BGs) in wholesale market is becoming a social issue. Therefore, through analysis of market growth, market concentration (MC) and market power (MP), we want to identify the structure of the wholesale market and the competitiveness of the BGs in terms of market share (MS), sales-profit ratio (SPR), and labor productivity (LP) to explore the possibility of win-win growth. Market situation: Wholesale and Retail sales ratio (W/S) continues to increase, which also means inefficiency in distribution channels or opportunities in wholesale markets. Wholesale sales have grown 8.3 percent annually over the past 15 years, while the number of companies and workers has declined since 2017, which is why some restructuring is believed to begin in the wholesale industry. In terms of MC and MP, the growth potential of SBG can be found in FCB, ARM, FBT and CME BTs. Methodology and data: Through ANOVA and Regression Analysis, the 2015 Economic Census Data of KOSTAT was analyzed. Results: The results of ANOVA show that statistically significant SBG has a larger MS than LBG. The SPR was not different among BGs. LP is higher for LBG than for other BGs. Regression results show that the employment weight (EW) and the company size (SC) have positive effects on the MS, but the company weight (CW) and employment size (SE) have negative effects. In the case of SPR, the CW is positive and the EW is negative. In addition, LP appears to be more positive as SC in the BGs is larger. Conclusions: Although there is sufficient potential for SBG in the wholesale market, there is a problem that needs to increase LP. Therefore, the SBG needs to restructure in terms of number of companies and SC to improve the efficiency of employment. In terms of MC and MP, the SBG looks for possibilities in FCB, ARM, FBT and CME BTs. In addition, SBG that seeks higher returns with human services rather than simple sales is found to be competitive in the HHG, MES and CME BTs.