These days, the focus is on how the British chains themselves compete with Internet booksellers and large American firms.
Tyres hang on the wall, rusty chains coil around the place and a faint smell of oil permeates the air.
While the initial approach was to bring in key subsystems such as engines, transmissions and other from foreign companies, the present emphasis is on building up the supply chains in China.
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Our image of the slave is we see adults with chains on the necks.
The Torpoint Ferry, which is pulled across the River Tamar on chains, is one of the main ways to travel between Devon and Cornwall.
That shows up on the big hospital chains' profit-and-loss statements, where bad debt levels have almost doubled to 10% of revenue since 2000.
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One way, which the government now seems prepared to allow, is to encourage the formation of private school-management chains based on the methods of the best schools.
In the early to mid portion of the noughties, health authorities called on fast food chains to decrease the size of their menu items in response to rising rates of obesity.
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V.s cut through the fields, dragging metal bars on chains, which knocked down the poppies.
No one is pointing to a similar fate for the office chains, but the lesson is on the mind of OfficeMax Chief Executive Ravi Saligram, who said he looked at what happened to both chains and knew his employer had to change.
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On the other hand, of the four restaurant chains that have successfully gone public so far this year, three have performed well.
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Some critics say that the investigations should focus as well on the powerful major supermarket chains for arm-twisting factories on their prices.
But governments should determine what will best nurture accountability and innovation before breaking the chains on their data, a recent report by the Albany-based Center for Technology in Government (CTG) found.
There's going to be nothing coming from any member of Congress that says we're going to have to have Miranda warnings on the battlefield, or chains of evidence as we normally think of them when we all watch Miami CSI.
We need to do it urgently, even as we contend with some of these other issues that affect our economy that either we have limited control over or no control over, like the effect that the Arab uprisings had on oil prices or the effect that the earthquake and tsunami had on the economy because of disrupted supply chains.
No wonder the big retail chains are trying to muscle in on the motoring business too.
Carmike Cinemas has embarked on the most aggressive digital expansion of any of the theater chains.
Torpoint ferries are pulled across the River Tamar on chains and are an important travel link between Plymouth and Torpoint in Cornwall.
Torpoint ferries are pulled across the River Tamar on chains and are an important travel link between Plymouth, Devon and Torpoint in Cornwall.
BBC: Body found in River Tamar during missing Jordan Cobb search
Carmike Cinemas ( CKEC - news - people ) has embarked on the most aggressive digital expansion of any of the theater chains.
Yet he foresees less volatility in future, thanks in part to the positive impact that firms such as his have had on the efficiency of corporate supply chains.
While many high street chains focus on the younger and more liberal market to shape their collections, Mode-sty prides itself on stocking conservative items for women who are uncomfortable with revealing garments.
Starting in the late 1980s, the chains marched on new markets by offering a broader selection of videos and, later, by drafting revenue-sharing agreements with the movie studios, which allowed the chains to carry many copies of new releases for a small upfront fee.
When Sony recently offered a video- on-demand download of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs one month before the film was scheduled to come out on DVD, theater chains like Regal and AMC pulled the film from screens.
Sony ( SNE - news - people ) recently offered a video- on-demand download of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs one month before the film was scheduled to come out on DVD, theater chains like Regal and AMC pulled the film from screens.
They say they crossed the Sahara on foot, but many cruise the camp decked in gold chains, designer clothes and mobile phones.
What global supply chains look like on the other side is widely unknown.
His design came about by accident when swings were put up on large poles and chains in the park for a Sunday school treat.
Some of them, hopefully, were temporary, like the impact of the tsunami and earthquake in Japan and the impact that had on supply chains.
Amazon said this week that it was selling more e-books in the UK than hardbacks, underlining the pressure on High Street book chains such as Waterstone's.
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