Chain store
Chain stores are a range of retail outlets or eating establishments which share a brand and central management, usually with standardised business methods and practices. Such stores may be branches owned by one company or franchises run by local firms (though the term "franchise" is commonly distinguished from a "chain" by its lack of centralised ownership). Features common to all chains are centralised marketing and purchasing, which often result in economies of scale, meaning lower costs and presumably higher profits.
Some argue that the standardised products which result from such centralisation are culturally detrimental; for example, chain music stores are frowned upon by some for their promotion of more popular music over less well known, usually independent artists.
The displacement of independent businesses by chains has generated controversy in many nations and has sparked increased collaboration among independent businesses and communities to prevent chain proliferation. Such efforts occur within national trade groups such as the American Booksellers Association and Council of Independent Restaurants of America as well as community-based coalitions such as Independent Business Alliances. National entities like the American Independent Business Alliance and The New Rules Project promote these efforts in the U.S. In Britain, the New Economics Foundation promotes community-based economics and independent ownership.
By 2004, the world's largest retail chain, Wal-Mart, was the world's largest corporation in terms of gross sales.
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