Q.Merchant middlemen can be classified into ________ categories.

Merchant middlemen take ownership of goods and resell them at a profit; they are of two kinds — wholesalers and retailers — so the classification is into two categories.

Middlemen in distribution are broadly of two sorts: merchant middlemen and agent middlemen. Merchant middlemen are those who actually purchase the goods, take title (ownership) to them, and then resell them. They are classified into two categories:

• Wholesalers — buy in bulk from producers and sell in smaller lots to retailers. …