Historically, tradespeople have often sold wares themselves at town, city and regional markets. Over time, however, outsourcing increased, separating the people who make goods to sell and those who sell them. Today, many retailers of all sizes specialize in selling, not in making, and they often have several retail businesses where they sell products to consumers. Here's a look at just how common it is for business owners, regardless of their company's size, to have more than one retail outlet.

Franchisees Often Have Multiple Franchise Locations

Many times, franchisees, who are the individuals who actually own franchise locations, have more than one location. In fact, they may be required by their contract to open a specific number of locations within a certain timeframe. If they don't agree to the terms, the territory they're interested in may be awarded to someone else.

Local Small Business Owners Often Want to Open Multiple Locations

Even owners of small retail stores that aren't franchises often hope to open up more than one store eventually. In order to increase their company's revenue, they need to get their wares in front of more potential customers—which often requires opening additional locations.

Many Business Owner Have Physical and Online Stores

In today's digital age, almost every brick-and-mortar store has an online site through which customers can make purchases. Owners of these stores must manage both their physical store and their e-commerce website, which essentially functions as a second retail outlet.

Venture Capitalists Invest in Many Companies

Venture capitalists, who have large sums of money to invest, often put their financial resources into several different companies. For example, Rami Reda is the director of a firm that has shares in five distinct companies, two of which are retail businesses with more than 300 combined locations. For their investment, they typically receive some share of the company's profits, although whether they get a say in day-to-day operations varies.

To be successful in today's world, retailers can't sit around making wares to sell. Instead, they need to purchase products wholesale and get them in front of as many potential buyers as possible. This requires opening multiple retail outlets, and, therefore, most retail business owners today have more than one location where they sell products. From franchisees and local small business owners to venture capitalists with lots of money to invest, almost everyone involved in retail has their hand in more than one project.