单项选择题

"What does the middleman do but add to the price of goods in the shops" The sentence comments on the middle operations between manufacturers and final customers. The middle action usually attracts a lot of attention from the public and the press. Generally speaking, the operation now talked about is what is often called wholesaling.
The wholesaler buys goods in large quantities from the manufacturers and sells them in smaller parcels to retailers, and for this service his selling price to the retailer is raised several percent higher. For example, a wholesaler might purchase 5,000 pairs of work gloves and then sell 100 pairs to 50 different retailers. But his job is much more difficult because retail demand is not necessarily in accordance with manufacturers’ production. Therefore, he adjusts or regulates the selling amount of goods by holding stock until required so that changing demand doesn’t have an effect on the production, to some extent. Nonetheless, he has to bear the whole risk.
The manufacturer can then keep up a steady production amount, and the retailer has no need to hold heavy stocks, who can call on the wholesaler for supplies any time. This wholesale function is like that of a valve (阀门) in a water pipe. The middleman also bears part of the risk that would otherwise fall on the manufacturer and also the retailer.
The wholesaler provides a purely commercial service, for which he is well rewarded too. But that doesn’t mean that it is the wholesaler who adds to the cost of goods. It is true that one could eliminate the wholesaler but one of his functions should be left: that of making sure that goods find their way to the people who want them. Some large wide-world famous discount chains, such as Wal-Mart Store and IKEA, serve as their own wholesalers. These companies go directly to factories and-other manufacturing outlets, buy in large amounts and then warehouse and ship the goods to their stores.

The wholesaler obtains higher selling prices for ().