Chain store

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A Kmart chain store

A Wal-Mart chain store

Chain stores are a range of retail outlets which share a brand and central management, usually with standardized business methods and practices.

These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. Some^[who?] argue that the standardized products which result from such centralization are culturally detrimental; for example, chain music stores are frowned upon by some for stocking works of more popular music if they exclude less well known, usually independent artists. Critics^[who?] of chains allege that they are economically damaging to communities because they extract capital that otherwise would recirculate in the local economy with independently owned businesses.

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^[1] 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.^[2] In Britain, the New Economics Foundation promotes community-based economics and independent ownership.^[3]

By 2004, the world's largest retail chain, Wal-Mart, was the world's largest corporation in terms of gross sales.

[edit] Restaurant chains

A Cracker Barrel chain restaurant.

A restaurant chain is a set of related restaurants, usually with the same name in many different locations either under shared corporate ownership (e.g., In-N-Out Burgers in the U.S.) or franchising agreements. Typically, the restaurants within a chain are built to a standard format and offer a standard menu. Fast food restaurants are the most common, but there are also midscale upscale establishments (T.G.I. Friday's, Ruby Tuesday, Olive Garden etc.). Restaurant chains are often found near shopping malls and tourist areas.

The proliferation of chain restaurants (and other chain businesses) is becoming an increasingly controversial trend worldwide. A common concern is nation-wide homogenization of culture. Some people^[who?] fear this assimilation into chains creates unimaginative cuisine appealing to the lowest common denominator of society, highly processed food shipped from a central location, frozen and meant only to be reheated and served by the restaurant staff, low wages often paid to employees of chain restaurants, and the furthering of suburban sprawl. In the U.S., a movement is building among communities and independent businesses opposing this trend. Examples include the American Independent Business Alliance, The New Rules Project and the Council of Independent Restaurant Associations.