Trading House

It is a company that specializes in arranging trade between the United States and other nations.

Author: Rohan Arora
Rohan Arora
Rohan Arora
Investment Banking | Private Equity

Mr. Arora is an experienced private equity investment professional, with experience working across multiple markets. Rohan has a focus in particular on consumer and business services transactions and operational growth. Rohan has also worked at Evercore, where he also spent time in private equity advisory.

Rohan holds a BA (Hons., Scholar) in Economics and Management from Oxford University.

Reviewed By: Austin Anderson
Austin Anderson
Austin Anderson
Consulting | Data Analysis

Austin has been working with Ernst & Young for over four years, starting as a senior consultant before being promoted to a manager. At EY, he focuses on strategy, process and operations improvement, and business transformation consulting services focused on health provider, payer, and public health organizations. Austin specializes in the health industry but supports clients across multiple industries.

Austin has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration in Strategy, Management and Organization, both from the University of Michigan.

Last Updated:November 2, 2023

What is a Trading House?

A trading house is a company that specializes in arranging trades between the United States and other nations. It is an exporter, importer, and merchant who buys and sells things for several companies. 

These houses help firms who need overseas trade specialists to handle or transport items or services. In addition, these organizations purchase physical market commodities and commodity derivatives for clients and their accounts.

These act as a middleman. It may buy pants in bulk from China and resell them to a shop in the United States. 

The retailers in the United States would still get wholesale rates, though it would be somewhat pricier than stores ordered outright from the Chinese corporation.

To pay its expenses and create a profit, the trading houses must jack up the cost of their products; yet, the pants shop escapes the headaches of imports.

The store may also streamline its processes by obtaining merchandise through one or two trading houses rather than dealing with multiple suppliers.

When a small firm uses this house, it may use its knowledge and perception of the foreign markets in its business in addition to having a connection to a set of accounts via private loans and credit sales.

Advantages of Trading Houses

To better understand this concept, it's essential to look at the benefits the trading house offers. Here are a few of them:

1. Economies of Scale

It often has an extensive customer base, which provides economies of scale advantage. Massive dwellings, for instance, can leverage their substantial purchasing power to obtain concessions from suppliers and vendors. 

If a trade business sends in considerable numbers to consumers, these houses can even save money on shipping costs.

2. International Presence

They have a wide range of relationships in worldwide marketplaces, which helps them close good agreements and gain new clients. 

They may also employ professionals in overseas subsidiaries to deal with customs duties and address legal difficulties to ensure the operations are managed smoothly.

3. Money Management

Since a trading company constantly exports and imports items, they are expert at controlling currency fluctuations. Therefore, these houses employ risk-management strategies, including hedging, to prevent being subjected to harmful currency swings.

Trading Houses, for instance, with a future payment in €, may utilize a currency forward contract to fix the prevailing EUR/USD rate of exchange.

Example of Trading Houses

Japan imports most of its resources—notably food—through 5 trading houses named sōgō shōsha since it lacks environmental and agricultural reserves.

These houses were founded in Japan during the Meiji Restoration era to assist economic growth during reconstruction. They also aided in the restoration of the nation's economy despite its loss and wreckage during WWII.

Trading houses trade items and services from various industries critical to the nation's economy, ranging from autos to architecture to clothes. 

  • Mitsubishi Corp.
  • Mitsui & Co. Ltd.
  • Sumitomo Corp.
  • Itochu Corp.

And Marubeni Corp. is one of the top five sōgō shōshas.

Trading House FAQs

Researched and authored by Drishti Kohli | LinkedIn

Reviewed & Edited by Ankit SinhaLinkedIn

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