- A.A contractual VMS in which the franchisor licenses its business model to franchisees who own and operate individual outlets — scales rapidly with franchisee capital.
- B.Two or more firms at the same channel level cooperate to exploit a marketing opportunity neither could pursue alone.
- C.Retailers classify by product breadth (specialty, department, supermarket), price-service mix (discount, off-price, full-price), and ownership (corporate chain, franchise, independent). ✓
- D.Retailers classify by product breadth (specialty, department, supermarket), price-service mix (discount, off-price, full-price), and ownership (corporate chain, franchise, independent).
Types of Retailers is retailers classify by product breadth (specialty, department, supermarket), price-service mix (discount, off-price, full-price), and ownership (corporate chain, franchise, independent). The other options describe related but distinct concepts in Distribution & Place — see the deep-dive guide for the full distinction.
How to think about questions like this
Each format has different economics, customer base, and competitive dynamics. Questions like this test whether you can distinguish Types of Retailers from neighboring concepts. The most common trap is choosing a closely-related concept that sounds similar but applies in a different context.
When you see a definition question on an exam, do two things: (1) translate the question into your own words, then (2) generate the answer in your own words before reading the options. This avoids the cognitive bias of recognizing a familiar phrase as correct just because it is familiar.