1. Relating to the
sale of goods to a
retailer. That is, a wholesaler receives large quantities of goods from a manufacturer and distributes them to stores, where they are sold to consumers. A wholesaler generally is able to extract a better
price from the manufacturer because it
buys so many good relative to an individual retailer. In theory, this enables the retailer to sell the good at a better price for the consumer. See also:
Economies of scale.
2. Relating to the sale of
securities to
institutional investors rather than individuals.