The Gazetteers Department

A steadily growing volume of retail trade and the growing number of retail shops were witnessed throughout the district from the early decades of this century. Formerly, only a few retail shops, and the periodical markets and the village fairs featured prominently in retail trade. The extension and improvement of road and rail traffic made possible the expansion of retail business in the remote villages of the district. Gradually the existing shops started dealing in varied goods in a large volume. The change is, however, more conspicuous in the urban and semi-urban areas of the district. The population of the towns of Bhir, Parali-Vaijnath, Ambejogai, Georai, Manjlegaon, Ashti, etc. has gone up and consequently the number of retail shops dealing in various commodities has also increased.

Retail shops which provide a link between the consumer and the wholesaler are located in the various wards and peths of these towns and cater to the needs of their localities. Their stock-in-trade is usually limited and is rapidly replenished when goods are sold out. At some of the wholesale trade centres there is not much of a distinction between wholesale and retail business, as a few wholesalers do retail trade. The retailers usually have dealings with the wholesalers in the town but some have direct dealings with outside merchants, particularly in the doth trade. Sales are usually on a cash basis, but the practice of maintaining running accounts for customers is not uncommon.

Parali-Vaijnath is the most important town of the district in respect of trade and industry. It serves as the entrepot for the whole district connected as it is by a broad-gauge rail with Hyderabad, by a meter-gauge line with Parbhani and the Manrnad Kacheguda line connecting it with many other places of trade. Roadways join Parali to the outside trade centres of Nanded, Jalna, Barsi, Latur and Hingoli. The industrial and commercial activities attract a large number of people giving rise to considerable retail trade. Bhir which is the headquarters of the district is gradually developing industrially. It has a fairly large population and has a considerable number of retail shops catering to the needs of its residents. As the Shops and Establishments Act is not made applicable to Bhir district, a record about the distribution of various retail shops is not available.

However, a survey of retail trade carried out in the district gives the following information about them.

Grocery, pan-bidi, cloth, coal and wood and vegetable shops are numerous and are located in almost all the wards and localities. A large number of cycle shops (for hire and repair) are also found.

Shops dealing in medicines, stationery, general merchandise, sweetmeats and fruits are not so well dispersed as the first group.

Still other groups, the demand for which is seasonal or less regular e.g. those selling jewellery, utensils, glass-ware, hardware, building materials are infrequent. Most of these are concentrated in particular localities. The concentration of shops selling mutton and fish in a few places is mainly due to restrictions imposed by the local authorities.

Retail shops of every category are not found in small villages. But those dealing in goods of the daily consumption such as grocery, cloth, wood and fuel, pan-bidi are found even in the distant villages. Sometimes they do composite business involving a sale of a variety of articles.

Trade at most of the retail shops is generally brisk from October to June reaching the peak during festivals. The value of the stock-in-trade depends on the business and varies considerably from a couple of hundred rupees to scores of thousands in case of a distant village and a busy town respectively.

Retailers generally buy from the wholesale trade centres in the district or directly from outside centres. Grains are brought from Parali-Vaijnath, Dharur, Barsi, Kalamb, Nanded, Nagpur, Poona and Latur; cloth from Sholapur and Bombay, and from Ichalkaranji, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Poona and Jalna; hosiery, woollen goods and ready-made clothes from Ludhiana, Bombay. Hyderabad. Poona and Bangalore; stationery goods and books mainly required by school children from Latur, Parali, Bombay, Barsi, Poona and Jalna; fruits from Nagpur, Nasik, Parbhani and also from local markets. Flowers and vegetables are mostly obtained from the adjoining local areas. The drug shops in the district mainly sell ayurvedic and unani medicines. These are brought from Jalna, Nasik, Nagar, Bhusawal, and Panvel. Allopathic drugs are acquired from Aurangabad, Jalna and Bombay.

The retailers mostly carry on their business on credit, and pay the wholesalers when the goods are sold out. In some cases the adtyas (commission agents) arrange for money on commission basis. Except at a few places in the district like Bhir, Parali-Vaijanath and Ambejogai, the lack of banking facilities and cooperative credit and absence of storage facilities have affected the retail trade. Inadequacy of all-weather motorable roads joining rural places and absence of any agency for the dissemination of market news also affect the retail trade.