Wholesale and retail trade sector.

The Wholesale Trade sector comprises establishments en­ gaged in wholesaling merchandise, generally without transfor­ mation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise. The wholesaling process is an intermediate step in the distribution of merchandise. Wholesalers are organized to sell or arrange the purchase or sale of (1) goods for resale (i.e., goods sold to other wholesalers or retailers), (2) capital or durable non-consumer goods, and (3) raw and intermediate materials and supplies used in production. Wholesalers sell merchandise to other businesses and normally operate from a warehouse or office. The Retail Trade sector comprises establishments engaged in retailing merchandise, generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise. The retailing process is the final step in the distribution of mer­ chandise. Retailers are organized to sell merchandise in small quantities to the general public. This sector comprises two main types of retailers: store and non-store retailers. Within the larger rubric of the National Institute for Oc­ cupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), the Wholesale and Retail Trade (WRT) sector is diverse. It ranges from large businesses, such as “big box” retailers, including Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Lowes, to small “mom and pop” businesses, such as corner gas stations. The NORA WRT Sector Council strives to develop an overall strategy that can address this varied range. At least 85% of the WRT sector consists of small businesses, but the sector itself is remarkably large, and has nearly 1 million injuries a year. High economic costs characterize this large number of injuries. For this reason, WRT opinion leaders from a cross section of disciplines gathered together to discuss Prevention through Design (PtD) approaches that would be useful to achieve NORA’s strategic goals.