Economic Analysis and Statistics  Canadian Industry Statistics  Canadian Economy  Services  Retail Trade

Establishments
Retail Trade
(NAICS 44-45)

This section reviews data on establishments for the Retail Trade (NAICS 44-45) sector for 2005.

The data are drawn from Statistics Canada's Canadian Business Patterns database which offers statistical information based on the Business Register.

The Business Register maintains a complete, up to date and unduplicated list on all active businesses in Canada that have a corporate income tax (T2) account, are an employer or have a GST account with an annual gross business income of over $30,000. It may not match other estimates of establishments derived from survey results.

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Position in NAICS Hierarchy

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Business Establishments and Enterprises

For statistical reporting purposes, different types of business entities are recognized, e.g. the enterprise and the establishment. This section deals exclusively with the establishment which is generally in a single location producing a limited range of products.

The establishment, as a statistical unit used in business surveys, is defined as the most homogeneous unit of production for which the business maintains accounting records from which it is possible to compile data on the inputs used in the production process (cost of materials and services, labour and capital) and the gross value of production (total sales, shipments or revenues and inventories).

The activity of an establishment can be described in terms of what is produced, namely the type of goods and services produced, or how they are produced namely, the raw material and service inputs used and the process of production or the the skills and technology used.

Depending on the sector, establishments are referred to by a variety of trade designations. For instance, in the Manufacturing Sector, the establishment generally corresponds to a plant, mill or factory; while in the case of the Wholesale Trade sector, there is a distinction between what are commonly known as agents and brokers on the one hand, and wholesale merchants on the other.

In the sectors dealing with construction, transportation and communications, activities tend to be dispersed. The individual sites, projects, fields, networks, lines or systems of such activities are not normally treated as establishments. The establishment is represented by those relatively permanent main or branch offices, terminals, stations, etc. that are either :

1. directly responsible for supervising such activities, or
2. the base from which personnel operate to carry out these activities.

In contrast, an enterprise, as a statistical unit in business surveys, is defined as the organisational unit of a business that directs and controls the allocation of resources relating to its domestic operations, and for which consolidated financial and balance sheet accounts are maintained from which international transactions, an international investment position and a consolidated financial position for the unit can be derived.

In the case of most small and medium sized businesses in Canada, the enterprise and the establishment are identical. Large and complex enterprises, consisting of more than one establishment, may belong to more than one NAICS industry.

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Establishments by Employment Type and Region

Some establishments do not employ any individuals, and in some cases employment estimates are indeterminate. Non-employers are in effect owner operated and the owners do not pay wages or salaries to themselves as an employee of the company. Even though some establishments do not maintain employee payrolls, they may have work forces, which may consist of contracted workers, part-time employees, family members or business owners.

The table below shows the breakdown between employers and non-employers for each province and territory as well as a percentage distribution at the national level. For the Retail Trade sector, 38.4 % are non-employers and, conversely, 61.6% are employers of one employee or more.

Number of Establishments in Canada by Type and Region Retail Trade (NAICS 44-45) December 2005
Province or Territory	Employers	Non-Employers/ Indeterminate	Total	% of Canada *
Alberta	14,750	7,515	22,265	10.2%
British Columbia	18,961	11,944	30,905	14.2%
Manitoba	4,395	2,401	6,796	3.1%
New Brunswick	3,474	1,476	4,950	2.3%
Newfoundland and Labrador	2,853	1,107	3,960	1.8%
Northwest Territories	218	47	265	0.1%
Nova Scotia	4,116	2,081	6,197	2.8%
Nunavut	75	12	87	0.0%
Ontario	46,414	37,341	83,755	38.4%
Prince Edward Island	750	264	1,014	0.5%
Quebec	33,247	17,359	50,606	23.2%
Saskatchewan	4,732	2,142	6,874	3.2%
Yukon Territory	198	62	260	0.1%
CANADA	134,183	83,751	217,934	100%
Percent Distribution *	61.6%	38.4%	100%
Notes: * May not add up perfectly due to rounding Source: Statistics Canada, Business Patterns Database, December 2005

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Establishments by Employment Size Category and Region

The size of a business can be defined in many ways, for example by the value of its annual sales or shipments, its annual gross or net revenue, the size of its assets, or by the number of employees. Industry Canada often uses a definition based on the number of employees.

A goods producing firm is considered small if it has fewer than 100 employees, while for service producing firms the cut-off point is seen as 50 employees. Above that size, and up to 500 employees, a firm is considered medium-sized. The term SME (for small and medium enterprises) is used to refer to all these components of the economy together. For more details, see information on Key Small Business Statistics.

The table below indicates the number of employer establishments by employment size category and by province and territory in the Retail Trade sector.

Number of Employer Establishments in Canada by Employment Size Category and Region Retail Trade (NAICS 44-45) December 2005
Province or Territory	Employment Size Category (Number of employees)
	Micro 1-4	Small 5-49	Medium 50-499	Large 500+
Alberta	5,891	7,957	899	3
British Columbia	9,024	8,942	985	10
Manitoba	1,692	2,421	280	2
New Brunswick	1,571	1,740	163	0
Newfoundland and Labrador	1,445	1,304	102	2
Northwest Territories	80	126	12	0
Nova Scotia	1,814	2,057	244	1
Nunavut	15	57	3	0
Ontario	20,070	23,484	2,804	56
Prince Edward Island	312	404	34	0
Quebec	17,231	14,446	1,554	16
Saskatchewan	1,879	2,655	197	1
Yukon Territory	80	111	7	0
CANADA	61,104	65,704	7,284	91
Percent Distribution *	45.5%	49.0%	5.4%	0.1%
Notes: * May not add up perfectly due to rounding Source: Statistics Canada, Business Patterns Database, December 2005

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Company Directory

See the Company Directories section.

Number of Principal Establishments

Canadian Industry Statistics references principal financial statistics from the Annual Survey of Manufactures for incorporated establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing with employees and sales of manufactured goods equal to or greater than $30,000, in this context, referred to as principal establishments. Thus, it would exclude non-employers, unincorporated establishments as well as establishments where manufacturing activity is minimal.

Because of major conceptual and methodological changes made to the Annual Survey of Manufactures in the year 2000, the reader should exercise caution when interpreting data and subsequent rates of change between the years 1999 and 2000. The results of these changes have added nearly 24,000 units to incorporated establishments with employees and sales of manufactured goods equal to or greater than $30,000 (old methodology) to the manufacturing sector. The magnitude of the effect from these changes will differ by industry.

Based on the Annual Survey of Manufactures data, the chart below illustrates that the number of principal establishments changed from 0 in 1994 to @F1asmest_cnt_lyr@ in 2003. This represents a growth rate of @F4asmest_lg_lyr@% per year. Over the most recent year, the number of establishments in the Retail Trade sector @S1asmest_sg_lyr@ @F4asmest_sg_lyr@%.

Number of Principal Establishments in Canada
1994-2003
Retail Trade
(NAICS 44-45)

There are several reasons why the number of principal establishments can vary from year to year, notably:

• First, establishments are created and disbanded.
• Second, an establishment is placed in a NAICS category according to its primary product, the product whose shipments are the highest in terms of dollar value. If an establishment produces more than one product and these products cross over NAICS boundaries then an establishment could move from one NAICS code to another, diminishing numbers attributed to one code and augmenting another. For example, an establishment could be making steel and plastic auto parts, and the NAICS code to which it is assigned would depend on which product accounts for the largest share of its revenues in terms of sales or shipments in a specific year.
• Finally, not all of the principal establishments respond to the survey questionnaires, and the number of establishments for which values are imputed from administrative tax records varies from year to year.