What are Multiple Stores/Chain Stores?

What are Departmental Stores?

A large establishment, which sells a wide variety of products and aims to satisfy all needs of the customers under one roof is known as Departmental Store. Such stores have many departments and each department deals with a particular variety of products. One can find anything here from ‘pin to plane’. Such stores are commonly found in countries like the USA, but in India, real department stores have not yet come. Some of the examples are Big Bazaar, Reliance Fresh Store, etc. They are centrally located and aim at eliminating middlemen. Some of the advantages are: they attract a large number of customers, offer attractive services, have professional management, etc. It also has some limitations, like it has high operational costs, there is a high chance of losses, and high operational costs....

What are Multiple Stores/Chain Stores?

The network of retail shops, which are owned by a single business enterprise is known as Chain stores or Multiple Stores. The management of such stores is centralised and is established by manufacturers or traders. They have similar appearances in different localities. They deal in a similar line of standardised and branded consumer products. They also have a centrally fixed price, and all the sales are made on a cash basis. Some examples are Domino’s Pizza, Cafe Coffee Day, etc. It has many advantages like economies of scale, elimination of middlemen, no bad debts, etc. It also has some limitations, like limited selection of goods, lack of initiative, lack of personal touch, etc....

Difference between Departmental Stores and Multiple Stores

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