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Home→The Westburn Dictionary of Marketing→V→variety chain store

variety chain store

Definition:
Retail store offering a wide assortment of products, most of which have a low unit value. Variety chain stores are a form of multiple trading. The term 'chain store' is often used erroneously, as a variety chain store is a type of multiple, but not all multiples are chain stores. The difference lies in the types of merchandise sold. Multiples tend to specialize in one type of product such as shoes, books, clothes, food and so on. Variety chain stores offer a wide range of types of merchandise. They were originally 'bazaar-type' shops. In the USA Woolworth was an original example, but UK variety stores have now developed into different and higher value units (mostly in clothing), with Marks & Spencer plc being a good example.

Cross-References:
[mass merchandiser]

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© Westburn Publishers Ltd 2002, The Westburn Dictionary of Marketing edited by Michael J Baker, ISBN 978-0-946433-01-8. www.themarketingdictionary.com. Entry: [A. J. Brown, Margaret D. Potts and Michael J. Baker], [1998].