The data collected are mainly the location of stores organized in a brand network and the form of organization that links the establishment to the head of the network: subsidiary or branch if the store is not financially independent, franchise, cooperative group, commission-affiliation, concession, brand license, rental-management or other form of contract.

The 2020 survey covers the following sectors of the French nomenclature :
- Food sector including artisans (47.2 group, 47.11 class and 10.13B, 10.71B, 10.71C, 10.71D subclasses)
- Personal goods in specialised stores (47.7 group, 47.76 and 47.79 classes, 47.78B,47.78C subclasses)
- Car repair (45 division) and automotive retail fuel sales(47.3 group)

A brand network is a set of points of sale that have common characteristics (sale of the same products, offer of the same services) by affixing the brand's logo on their window and which are coordinated by the same company, the "network head". The main information collected about the members of the network are : brand name, link, a fourteen-figure identification number and mailing address.

The statistical unit is the retail network.

This survey is carried out among every network heads (legal units) on all of their outlets.