| one of a group of retail stores under the same ownership and selling similar merchandise. |
| chain store n. One of a number of retail stores under the same ownership and dealing in the same merchandise. |
chain store
any of two or more retail stores having the same ownership and selling the same lines of goods. Chain stores account for an important segment of retailing operations in the Americas, western Europe, and Japan. Together with the department store and the mail-order company, chain stores represent the first successful application of large-scale integrated methods to a form of retailing.
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