Retailers classification in terms of the logistics integration characteristics

The article deals with issues of clarification and supplement of the classification for retail enterprises by including a classification criterion - the use of logistic approaches in the enterprise activity. The author substantiates the necessity to use the companies' classification not only from the customer position, but also from the owners' point of view which allows one to position a trade company more clearly and correctly, observe requirements for pricing and assortment policy and service organization. Use of the term “trade enterprise format” allows one to expand the concept of a type and a form of the company and reflect a real distribution of trade enterprises at the market. The author distinguishes classification features of modern retail trade enterprises formats and gives their description. Depending on these classification criteria, the author marks retail formats which are the most commonly used in the Russian Federation and presents logistics features of these formats. A full logistics complex is used by trade enterprises of those formats: cash@carry, hypermarkets, supermarkets, shopping malls and shopping centers, some elements of the logistics complex are used by other formats of trade enterprises. The author makes a conclusion about a non-traditional development of retail formats in Russia characterized by blurring the lines between the formats and their mixed features acquisition. However, with the competition development, trade enterprises will pay more attention to the format requirements and the use of modern logistics technologies.