The exchange of goods and services is a decisive economic and employment factor in Germany. The retail and wholesale sectors are of great importance for economic development in Germany. The development of sales in the retail sector – especially in the retail trade – is regarded as an important indicator for assessing the state of the economy.

Trade is very employment-intensive. Around 14 percent of all employed persons in Germany work in the retail sector. Retail offers many career opportunities in existing businesses and many opportunities to start a business. A distinction is made between the following areas:

Retail

With over 300,000 companies (excluding motor vehicle dealers), more than 3 million employees and over 103,000 trainees, the retail trade is one of the most employment-intensive sectors of the German economy. Despite the concentration developments in the retail sector, this economic sector is still strongly characterized by small and medium-sized enterprises and a wide variety of business forms.

Wholesale

The wholesale sector (excluding the motor vehicle trade) comprises around 153,000 companies in Germany. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 1.86 million people are employed and sales of 1,154 billion euros were generated in 2015.

Franchise

According to the German Franchise Association (DFV), 950 franchise systems with 119,302 franchise partners and 159,348 franchise operations were active in Germany in 2016. According to the association, the franchise industry employed around 698,000 people and generated sales of 103.9 billion euros in 2016.