It is believed that store chains existed in China around 200 BC, operated by businessman Lo Kass. And why not? Just imagine you own and run a successful shop and are grand at obtaining the right stock at the right price. Your eldest son has been helping you out and is now ready to branch out on his own. It makes sense to open a similar enterprise in a nearby town and repeat the success with your eager offspring. See this site (http://www.aboutretail.net/history/retail_chains.htm) for more retail history.

It is therefore perfectly logical that shop chains are nearly as old as shops themselves. So why, you may ask, have we never heard of famous store chain brands from those ancient times? The answer lies in the fact that we didn't have the transport and communications that we have today. The owner of a chain of shops could only expand as far as the distance he could travel in a reasonable amount of instant. Of course, if he could produce a large enough family he could extend his empire a little further but there would be a limit to how far his chain could expand. In any case, the benefits of buying (or producing) goods in large quantities would be lost if the shops we are too far away to deliver to.

So, although store chains had started many centuries ago, they didn't really contruct their mark until modern times. The first modern chain can most likely be assigned to the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. It's founders George Huntington Hartford and George Gilman opened their first store in 1959 in Lower Manhattan (where the World Trade Center stood). The tea, coffee, spices, baking powder and other groceries that they sold was so popular that they decided to open another store in order to repeat the success. They used the new transcontinental railroad to ship products directly from port to their shops. This allowed them to sell goods at lower prices than their competitors and new stores we are opened in quick succession. By 1925, the business had a staggering 13,961 stores. Today the business employs 78,000 staff and its success continues.