What's the difference between 支店 and 支局?


What's the difference between 支{し}店{てん} and 支{し}局{きょく}?

They both share the definition of "branch office" but 支店 uses the kanji for
store, while 支局 uses the kanji for bureau or department.

Would 支店 be more appropriate for venues that sell something, and 支局 for venues
that are related to office work?  
Or are they fully interchangeable?




They are basically the same in the sense that they refer to branches, but not
interchangeable.

The difference is simply whether or not they use 局 or 店 in naming departments
of the organization. As [the following
definition](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E6%94%AF%E5%B1%80/) says 局 is
mostly used by media-related companies.

> **新聞社・放送局** などで、本社・本局の管理のもとに各地に置かれ、その地域の業務を取り扱う局。

* * *

There are also 支社 or 支部. Technically 支社 must be independently registered
(according to [this](https://syokutyu-arekore.com/entry2121.html)). 支部 is yet
another 'branch office'. Which one is used is ultimately the choice of the
company.

Kind of related:

  * [Concrete meaning of 部 , 課 and 局](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/97496/45489)




They are basically the same in the sense that they refer to branches, but not
interchangeable.

The difference is simply whether or not they use 局 or 店 in naming departments
of the organization. As [the following
definition](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E6%94%AF%E5%B1%80/) says 局 is
mostly used by media-related companies.

> **新聞社・放送局** などで、本社・本局の管理のもとに各地に置かれ、その地域の業務を取り扱う局。

* * *

There are also 支社 or 支部. Technically 支社 must be independently registered
(according to [this](https://syokutyu-arekore.com/entry2121.html)). 支部 is yet
another 'branch office'. Which one is used is ultimately the choice of the
company.

Kind of related:

  * [Concrete meaning of 部 , 課 and 局](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/97496/45489)

