Okuzeka
International Trade vocabulary · Import and Export

Distributor

Meaning in international trade, with examples

/dɪˈstrɪbjətər/nounCore term

In international trade, distributor means: A company that buys products from a manufacturer or exporter and resells them in a particular market or region, usually holding its own stock.

In Turkish: distribütör, dağıtıcı, bayi

How it is used

One of the main routes into a foreign market. A distributor buys the goods and owns them, while a sales agent only finds customers and earns a commission. Contracts often make a company the 'exclusive distributor' for a country.

Example sentences

  1. We appointed an exclusive distributor for the Gulf countries last year.

  2. Our distributor in Spain keeps three months of stock.

Common collocations

  • exclusive distributor
  • appoint a distributor
  • distribution agreement
  • local distributor
  • importerA person or company that buys goods from another country and brings them in, usually paying the import duties and taxes.
  • exporterA person or company that sells goods to buyers in other countries and usually handles the export side of the shipment.
  • sourceTo find and buy goods or materials from a particular supplier or country, often after comparing several options.
  • purchase orderA document a buyer sends to a supplier to order goods officially, listing the items, quantities, prices and delivery terms.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Import and Export

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