UNIVERSITY OF ALGIERS 3

FACULTY OF ECONOMICS, COMMERCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
SECOND YEAR MASTER
ENGLISH MODULE

WORKSHEET N° 9
PREPARED BY Dr. D. ABDELALI

A Distribution channel

A channel of distribution is a chain of businesses or intermediaries through which

a product passes until it reaches the final buyer or the end consumer.

Distribution channel

Distributors

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B Shops and stores

You can buy food,

clothes and sometimes
other products in a
supermarket. You
can use a trolley and
you pay at a
checkout or till.
A shop (BrE) or store (AmE) is where people buy things. Companies may call it a
retail outlet or sales outlet. Here are some types of shop:
 A chain store is one of a number of shops with the same name. These shops
are all part of a chain – group of stores owned by one company.
 A convenience store is a small shop in a
residential area that is open from very early to very
late.
 A department store very large shop which sells
many types of goods in departments or sections,
for example clothes, furniture, etc., on several
floors.
 A mall or shopping mall is a large building,
usually outside A department store
a city with many
shops and a big car park.

Franchises are owned by the people

that run them (franchisees), but they
only sell the goods of one company. That
company (the Franchisor) provides goods,
organizes advertising, and offers help and


A franchise is the right or licence granted by a company (franchisor) to an individual
(franchisee) to market and/or trade products and services in a specific area or territory.

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 support. In return it takes a percentage of the profits of each franchisee. Many
restaurants are also run like this.

C Direct sales

You can buy things by mail order. You choose from a catalogue and order
(= command) by post, or on or over the phone.
With internet shopping you buy things on or over the
Internet, using the seller’s site or website. Buying and
selling like this is e-commerce.

References:

1. Mascull, B. (2002). Business Vocabulary in Use. United Kingdom: Cambridge

University Press.
2. Mascull, B. (2010). Business Vocabulary in Use (Elementary to Pre-
intermediate) (2nd ed). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.