Merits:

• Economics of scale: As there is central procurement/manufacturing, the multiple-shop organisation enjoys the economies of scale. 
• Elimination of middlemen: By selling directly to the consumers, the multiple-shop organisation is able to eliminate unnecessary middlemen in the sale of goods and services.
• No bad debts: Since all the sales in these shops are made on cash basis, there are no losses on account of bad debts. 
• Transfer of goods: The goods not in demand in a particular locality may be transferred to another locality where it is in demand. This reduces the chances of dead stock in these shops. 
• Diffusion of risk: The losses incurred by one shot may be covered by profits in other shops, reducing the total risk of an organisation. 
• Low cost: Because of centralised a purchasing, elimination of middlemen, centralised promotion of sales and increased sales, the multiple shops have lower cost of business. 
• Flexibility: Under this system, if a shop is flow operating at a profit, the management may decide to close it or shift it to some other place without really affecting the profitability of the organisation as a whole.

Limitations:

• Limited selection of goods: The multiple shops deal only in limited range of products, mostly those produced by the marketers. They do not sell products of other manufacturers.
• Lack of initiative: The personnel managing the multiple shops have to obey the instructions received from the head office. This makes them habitual of looking up to the head office for guidance on all matters, and takes away the initiative from them to use their creative skills to satisfy the customers.
• Lack of personal touch: Lack of initiative in the employees sometimes leads to indifference and lack of personal touch in them. 
• Difficult to change demand: If the demand for the merchandise handled by multiple shops change rapidly, the management may have to sustain huge losses because of large stocks lying unsold at the central depot.