Plural form has received an important flow of research works since Bradach's model in 1998. Most of these works were developed in North American, Australian, or European countries. Their purpose was to explain the degree of plural form through economic, environmental, organizational, or
marketing variables. The main result of the present paper stands in the fact that the rate of company-owned units is significantly higher in France than in the United States. This finding can be analyzed through the differences in the territory area, and also managerial and strategic differences in the way retail
and service chains are run in both countries. Other determinants of the use of plural form are also explored.