Why are there multiple websites with the same owners?

Sorry if this has been asked (and answered before), but why are there so many websites that are all run by the same (seemingly, respected) companies?

We have Official Staunton (https://www.officialstaunton.com), who also own:

•English Chess Company 

•Chess Maze - https://www.chessmaze.co.uk

Wholesale Chess - https://www.wholesalechess.com (International, so a little different).

You then have Regency Chess (https://www.regencychess.co.uk/) who also own:

• Chess Sets - https://www.chesssets.co.uk

It seems (from looking and reading), that Regency and Official Staunton 2 of the main and most respected retailers of Chess in the UK, so why do they have 5 different websites between them, offering different prices on the same items (some sold out, others not), and with the appearance of completely different companies?

The most frustrating thing is that the customer service is the same, so if you can't get hold of one, you can't get hold of the others either.

Just seems really strange!

Wholesalechess is not the same owner as Regency Chess. Wholesalechess is House of Staunton. USCF sales is also House of Staunton. 

1. Wholesale was bought by HoS

2. USCF sales appears to be in existence for simplicity and added revenue for USCF.  

- Simplicity in the sense that a regular USCF member might not know which equipment sites are reputable but would probably trust a site seemingly hosted by their home Chess Federation.  

- Added revenue since I'm sure HoS pays for this privilege in some way.  

As for the UK Vendors I can't say. 

Wholesalechess is owned by Official Staunton - Sorry if the post wasn't clear.

As for "who cares" - I find it intriguing that there seems to be very few independent retailers (certainly in thee UK).

It also doesn't really make much sense to sell the same things for cheaper on a different site.

Nothing inherently wrong with it, but was curious if this was common knowledge. 

It's the same thing with many, many other products in our society. I'm a cyclist and I know that most all of the helmet brands are owned by the same few companies for example. It's something you also see with soft drinks. Most all of the different types of sodas you can buy are owned by just two companies, Coca Cola and Pepsi. 

I did a Google search and found an article that gives many different examples of this.

I think they do it to create the false sense of competition in the market so consumers think they have more choices than they actually do, because in the end the money ends up in the hands of one of just a few different companies. This is really an economics question though that I'm sure you could find more information about online.

WholesaleChess.com is owned by Shawn who also owns The House of Staunton and US Chess Sales.  He also ic the company running sales at Chess.com, this site.

He bought House of Staunton from Frank Camaratta in 2004 or so.  Then he won the contract to run US Chess Sales in the last decade.  He then bought WholesaleChess.com within the last couple of years.  And then he got the contract from Chess.com for the sales on this site.

I am sure Carl owns Official Staunton Company and Chess Maze.  I do not know of the other or others.

I think it is like cars. Toyota created Lexus and what use to be Scion. Toyota sells more practical everyday cars for families while Lexus sells more expensive luxury cars. Scion use to gear to younger people. The same goes for Nissan and Infinity. I think it is about brand and a company's identity. It would go against what Toyota is about if they suddenly sold luxury cars or cars with a lot of options that are geared towards a younger crowd. I think it is the same way with HoS and Wholesalechess.com. It is all about brand identity. 

I don’t think it is that altruistic.

Wholesale Chess was known to be having financial problems for quite awhile.  Shawn saw the opportunity and bought it.

Maybe you're right. I was just thinking HoS is the more expensive brand while wholesale chess like its name implies is less expensive.

@MegaLumberjack, Carl Miceli owns Official Staunton, which is a retailer. The English Chess Company is a wholesaler, and a partnership between Carl and IM Malcolm Pein, who is the Managing director of ECC. ChessMaze International is a international holding company that combines OS and ECC with the manufacturing concerns that Carl owns solely or in part in both India and Italy. Hope this helps your understanding of that particular corporate structure. EyeChess explained the ownership interests of Shawn Sullivan pretty well. 

For the record, at least 90 percent of all the chess sets manufactured in the world today are made in either India or China. Specialty concerns exist in Argentina, Brazil, Slovenia, Germany, and Russia, with a smattering of individual makers as well (Jorge Hirsch, Oleg Raikis, and Gabriel Coss being notable examples), but India makes more sets than everyone else combined by a large margin.

Ah, that’s great info! 
Why do you think Chess International would have the same product as Official Staunton, but massively cheaper? 

OS has some 4” pieces for £170 and Chess Maze has them for £99. OS is also out of stock whilst Chess Maze has them in. 

Seems a massive price difference for the same thing, from effectively the same company. 

Time to make the documentary "chess inc" a la food Inc. 

This is an excellent thread. To give you an idea of how confusing things can be, here are further examples of websites that appear to be owned or operated by the same company. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Mandeep Handicrafts:

• https://mandeephandicrafts.tradeindia.com/
• https://stauntoncastle.com/

Mark of Westminster & Chess USA: 

• http://markofwestminster.com/
• https://www.chessusa.com/

House of Chess:

• https://www.houseofchess.com/
• https://www.pleasanttimes.com/old/index.html

Noj Ltd.:

• https://www.noj.si/
• http://www.leonardochess.com/
• https://www.dubrovnikchessmen.com/

I should add - I didn't start this thread as a criticism as such, more an observation.

In the UK right now, hardly any chess companies are answering their phones - The message is "we are too busy shipping orders due to the Queens Gambit" - Or words similar.

I found it pretty amazing that I'd gone though 5 different websites, and NONE of them could answer my call.

It was then I clocked that of the 5 websites (and apparently different companies), there were only 2 phone numbers.

I then started poking around and comparing the prices, and saw they were different as well.

It must be so difficult for the customer service staff to keep up with the various differences of the sites - The first question must be "What site did you see that on"?