（Promulgated by the Ministry of Internal Trade on 27 March 1997.）
颁布日期：19970327 　实施日期：19970327 　颁布单位：国内贸易部

Article 1　“Chain stores” refers to store business trading in the same types of commodities， using unified retail outlets， under the management of a general headquarters， using unified purchasing methods or awarding special permits and other means， in order to obtain the benefits of scale in management organization and structure.

Article 2　A chain store shall consist of 10 or more outlets， implement standardized administration， and must attain a uniform system for the purchasing and distribution of merchandise， unified standards of management and operation， and the separation of purchasing and marketing. All merchandise shall be purchased through the general headquarters； part of the merchandise may， based on the principles of rationalized stock flow， quality and freshness， be supplied and distributed directly to outlets. The remainder shall all be uniformly distributed through the general headquarters.

Article 3　A chain store shall be made up of general headquarters， outlets and distribution centres.

1. The general headquarters is the core of a chain store's management and operation and must have the following functions： purchasing and distribution， administration of financial affairs， quality control， operational guidance， market research， product development， promotional and marketing policy， education and training etc.

2. The outlet is the foundation of a chain store. It assumes chief responsibility， in accordance with the directions of the general headquarters and the service requirements for the daily sales and marketing work.

3. The distribution centre is the chain store's stock flow mechanism. It shall be responsible to each outlet for stock， warehousing， sort processing， collection and distribution， transport and delivery of goods， and other related tasks. The distribution centre's main responsibility is to the chain store enterprise and may be to the society.

Article 4　Chain stores include the following three forms （of enterprise）：

1. Directly managed chains stores. All chain store outlets are opened by the general headquarters which shall either wholly own or have a controlling share in the outlets， and which shall be uniformly operated under the direct management of the headquarters；

2. Voluntary chain stores. All chain store outlets shall be independent legal persons and the assets and ownership rights of each outlet shall be fixed. The outlets shall be jointly managed under the guidance of the general headquarters；

3. Chain stores with a special permit （or allied chain stores）。 All outlets shall sign a contract with the general headquarters， obtaining special permission to use the trademark， business premises and operational technology， and to sell products developed by the general headquarters. Operational rights shall be centralized at the general headquarters.

The three forms of chain stores， directly managed， voluntary and those operating with a special permit， may overlap and mutually co-exist within a chain store enterprise.

Article 5　Chain stores may operate as supermarkets， convenience stores， specialized stores， multi-purpose stores and other types of retail business.

Article 6　The commercial area of chain-store supermarket outlets shall generally be 500 square metres and above and the merchandise shall primarily include meat， poultry eggs， vegetables， fruit， aquatic products， non-staple seasonings and flavourings， cereal oils and their products， and articles for daily use； for which 30% or more of the total commercial area shall be dedicated to meat， poultry eggs， vegetables， fruit， aquatic products and cereal oil products （including the above mentioned batch of merchandise in the living form， fresh produce， frozen products， semi-manufactured goods， pre-cooked products etc.）。 The stores shall have self-service shelves and centralized check-outs at the exits.

Article 7　The main merchandise of chain-store convenience shops shall be food products， fast foods， beverages， smaller daily use items， non-staple seasonings and flavourings and cereal oil products. The majority of merchandise shall be on self-service shelves and business hours shall be 16 hours and above.

Article 8　Chain-store specialized shops shall do business in its primary categories of merchandise and related merchandise， which shall constitute 90% or above of the shop's commercial products. The stores shall operate with self-service shelves.

Article 9　Chain-store multi-purpose markets shall generally have a commercial area of 3，000 square metres and above. The main merchandise shall be goods for daily use， clothing， household electrical appliances and food products.

Article 10　Chain-store supermarkets， convenience stores and multi-purpose stores must use electric cash registers， gradually introduce primary ordering systems （POS） and electronic ordering systems （EOS） and perfect a multi-purpose information control commercial network system （MIS）。 The rate of utilization of bar codes （which include the shop's own code） in chain-store supermarkets and multi-purpose markets selling non-perishable merchandise must reach 90% and above.

Article 11　The contents of the signed contract between the outlets and general headquarters of chain stores with a special permit and voluntary chain stores shall include the following items： authorization to use the general headquarters' trademark and business premises； unified purchase and distribution of merchandise； supply of operational technology； the setting up of alliance store sites and target markets； matters pertaining to the design of the outlets； promotions； quality control； the implementation of the general headquarters' financial supervision and control of the outlets， and receiving alliance fees administration and management costs； fair competition and protection of intellectual property rights； length of， renewal and termination of the contract； and penalties for actions contrary to the contract.

Article 12　Chain stores in the food and beverage， service and machine industries shall， in line with the ministry in charge of the industry， refer to this standardization opinion and formulate separate regulation.