| Retail chain | A firm that consists of multiple retail units under common ownership and usually has some centralization of decision making in defining and implementing its strategy. |
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| Services retailer | Organization that offers consumers’ services rather than merchandise. Examples include banks, hospital, health spas, doctors, legal clinics, entertainment firms, and universities. |
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| SKU (stock keeping unit) | The smallest unit available for keeping inventory control. In soft goods merchandise, an SKU usually means size, color, and style. |
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| specialty catalog retailer | A non store retailer that focuses on specific categories of merchandise, such as fruit (Harry and David), gardening tools (Smith & Hawken), and seeds and plants (Burpee). [Go to their website and understand how they operate] |
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| Specialty store | Store concentrating on a limited number of complementary merchandise categories and providing a high level of service in an area typically under 8,000 square feet. |
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| Super-center | Large store (150,000 to 200,000 square feet) combining a discount store with a supermarket. |
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| Superstore | A large supermarket between 20,000 and 50,000 square feet in size. |
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| Television home shopping / Tele-shopping | A retail format in which customers watch a TV program demonstrating merchandise and then place orders for the merchandise by phone. |
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| Value retailers | General merchandise discount stores that are found in either low-income urban or rural areas and are much smaller than traditional discount stores, less than 9,000 square feet. |
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| variety | The number of different merchandises categories within a store or department. |
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| vending machine retailing | A nonstore format in which merchandise or services are stored in a machine and dispensed to customers when they deposit cash or use a credit card. |
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| warehouse club | A retailer that offers a limited assortment of food and general merchandise with little service and low prices to ultimate consumers and small businesses. |
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