A business that buys and sells cars or other goods, usually authorized by a manufacturer to represent their brand.
From 'deal' (Old English 'dæl', meaning to divide or distribute) + the suffix '-er' (one who does) + '-ship' (state of being or office). The term evolved in the 20th century as a commercial structure for distributing manufactured goods.
The dealership model became crucial during the early auto industry because it solved a distribution problem—manufacturers couldn't reach every customer directly, so authorized dealers became the middlemen, and this pattern spread to video games, appliances, and countless other industries.
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