Chain store

By:

James Knight

James is a lead editor for Invezz, where he covers topics from across the financial world, from the stock… read more.

Updated: Aug 20, 2021

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A shop, or store, one of many in common ownership, each in a different location; not to be confused with a deartment store or supermarket though either of these might be a member of a chain-store group. They are present in the main shopping area of most towns in the country. Structurally, they are organized on a branch basis. There is one main shop, or non-trading head office with a registered name, which operates the other shops over a vast area. One conteporary development which could be agains the public interest has been the merging of different chains of shops without altering the name. One can have the disquieting situation where three or four well-know distinct chain shops in the same street arc rid longer in direct competition but in the hands of a single company. This can help the seller through retaining goodwill acquired but will not be to the good of consume who have effectively lost their rangeof choice and will, in the extreme case, be shown the same goods in three shops.

Reference: The Penguin Business Dictionary, 3rd edt.