G 46
Builders’ merchants, food and drinks wholesalers, distributors of industrial supplies, IT equipment or pharmaceutical goods, buying groups, commercial agents and commodity brokers: for manufacturers looking for distributors, hauliers and makers of sales management software.
Our database for France holds 1,577,933 records (as of 4 November 2026); they are not yet assigned to industries. The quote states the size available for this industry.
Export of the whole industry: €409 (full price). Selections by region, department or your own filters are quoted on request.
Official statistics: 159,828 businesses in France according to Eurostat, structural business statistics (sbs_ovw_act) (reference year 2024, data as of 30 September 2026). Division 46 wholesale trade except motor vehicles, including agents involved in the sale of goods (46.1). This is the size of the market, not the size of our database.
When looking for distributors, a precise subclass, for example timber and building materials (46.73A), works better than a whole group. State whether the intermediaries of group 46.1 should be included, excluded or supplied separately.
Our records do not yet carry a NAF code: selecting by activity (NAF subclass) will only be possible for records matched with the Sirene database (matching in progress). The quote states what can be done today: area and required fields.
The official figure shown counts all businesses in division 46, intermediaries included; one speciality is only part of it.
Price of the whole industry: €409. A selection by region, sub-industry or required fields is quoted individually; the whole-industry price is not a price promise for the filtered selection.
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Wholesale is division 46 of NAF rév. 2: resale to other businesses rather than to the end consumer, which INSEE underlines with the words “commerce interentreprises” (business-to-business trade) in the titles of many subclasses. Wholesale of motor vehicles is not included: it is on the Motor trade and repair page.
Group 46.1 covers intermediaries, who do not buy on their own account: commission agents, commodity brokers and other intermediaries acting in the name and on behalf of third parties, including online, as well as buying groups (46.17A for food, 46.19A for non-food).
| NAF rév. 2 | Official INSEE title | What the code covers |
|---|---|---|
| 46.1 | Wholesale on a fee or contract basis | intermediaries acting for third parties, brokers, buying groups |
| 46.2 | Wholesale of agricultural raw materials and live animals | grain, seeds, animal feed, flowers and plants, live animals |
| 46.3 | Wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco | food and drinks wholesalers |
| 46.4 | Wholesale of household goods | textiles, perfume, pharmaceutical goods (46.46Z) and other consumer goods |
| 46.5 | Wholesale of information and communication equipment | computers, software, electronic components |
| 46.6 | Wholesale of other machinery, equipment and supplies | agricultural machinery, machine tools, industrial supplies |
| 46.7 | Other specialised wholesale | fuels, metals, timber and building materials, sanitary ware, plumbing and heating |
| 46.90Z | Non-specialised wholesale trade (intercompany trade) | wholesalers without a particular speciality |
Wholesalers register like any other trader; commercial agents are also recorded in a special register.
The 15 columns supplied are described on the export page.
A wholesaler buys and resells on its own account; an intermediary in group 46.1 sells in the name and on behalf of its principals; a buying group negotiates for member shops. For a manufacturer looking for a route to market, the first stocks your products, the second represents them and the third opens access to a network.
The NAF code reflects the main activity declared. A builders’ merchant that also serves private customers at the counter stays classified as wholesale if it declared that activity as its main one.
A wholesaler often supplies several départements from one depot. The region in our file is that of the establishment’s address, derived from the postcode, not its delivery area.
We manufacture heating equipment and are looking for distributors: wholesalers of sanitary equipment and fitting-out materials (46.73B) and of plumbing and heating supplies (46.74B) in Hauts-de-France and Grand Est, with a website. Can you supply the intermediaries of group 46.1 as a separate list?
Use cases
List the wholesalers of one speciality by region before a sales tour or a trade fair.
Find the merchants’ depots in a département to offer parcel delivery and warehousing.
Estimate the number of merchants per speciality before launching an industry-specific offer.
Find importers and distributors in France for a product category.
Questions
Not yet: our records do not carry a NAF code yet. NAF group 46.1 covers intermediaries acting on behalf of third parties, as well as buying groups, which you will be able to exclude; selection will be possible for records matched with the Sirene database (matching in progress). The quote states how many records have a NAF code and how many do not yet.
The tva_intracommunautaire column is part of the export, but it is only filled in if the business publishes its number itself, for example in the legal notice on its website. Before intra-EU invoicing, check the number’s validity with the official services.
Yes, where they appear in our sources: NAF classifies them among the intermediaries, under 46.17A for food and 46.19A for non-food. A buying group negotiates for its members; it is a separate contact from the shops themselves, which you will find on the retail page.
159,828 businesses in France according to Eurostat, structural business statistics (sbs_ovw_act) (reference year 2024, data as of 30 September 2026). Division 46 wholesale trade except motor vehicles, including agents involved in the sale of goods (46.1). This is a figure from official statistics, not the size of our dataset.
Format, sources, price and the CNIL rules on B2B prospecting: questions about all industries.
