hypermarket

[theenquirer]

A supermarket must have at least how many checkouts to call itself a hypermarket?

[dzug]

This question has been asked several times before as you should have seen before pressing 'submit' - there is no 'right' answer to it.

Indeed I think there is no real answer to it at all - whether a shop is referred to a 'supermarket' or 'hypermarket' depend on the range of goods it sells and its floor area rather than the number of checkouts and it's a question of usage, not fact.

Indeed, a village shop with one checkout could quite legitimately (if ironically) call itself a hypermarket if it wanted. Certainly some call themselves supermarkets when no-one (except maybe their owners) would really regard them as that.

If this is a quiz question the setter need shooting.

[lafrancaise]

In france the supermarch� sells food and toiletries, small elecrical goods etc.ie things you can carry to the till. Once it starts selling large electrical appliances, so things you can't carry to the till it's called a hypermarch�, but that's France!!

[theenquirer]

Thanks Dzug! This was the very last question of a huge quiz, so I will write a suitably grumpy note on the sheet for wasting everyone's time!!