Category killer

A category killer is a retailer, often a big-box store, that specializes in and carries a large product assortment of a given category.^[1]^{: 109–111} Through their wide merchandise selections, low pricing, deep supply, large buying power, and market penetration, they have a comparative advantage over other, smaller retailers, and can greatly reduce the sales of rival retailers within that category, in the area^[2] and beyond it.^[1]

In essence, they are a price- or discount-based specialist mass-retailer.^[1]^: 13^[2] Chains such as OfficeMax, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, and Hobby Lobby have been considered category killers.^[3]

Once typically found in power centers, increasingly they are found in or adjacent to (as an outbuilding of) repurposed traditional malls.

Large category killer stores are mostly in mid- and large-sized cities, because a large population is required to be feasible.^[1]^: 33

Impact

Local merchants in cities with category killers "may suffer a substantial reduction in sales," and stores in a wider radius can be affected by the draw.^[1]^{: 109–111} Between 1983 and 1993, Iowans spent 31% less in hardware stores, translating to a loss of 37% in the same time to those stores as a result of category killer stores.^[1]^{: 67–68, 89}

Canadian retailers

Examples of retailers considered to be category killers
Retailer	Category
The Home Depot	Home and construction
Best Buy	Electronics
Toys "R" Us	Toys
Indigo Books and Music	Books
Staples	Office supplies
Shoppers Drug Mart	Drug Stores
PetSmart	Pet supplies
Party City	Party supplies
Dollarama	Dollar Stores

United States retailers

Sporting goods stores that are category killers range in footprint from 10,000 to 40,000 square feet (930 to 3,720 m²).^[1]^: 37Home Depot carries 30,000 items in 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m²) stores.^[4]^: 148

Examples of retailers considered to be category killers^[1]^: 4
Retailer	Category	Defunct?
The Home Depot	Home and construction
Lowe's
Builders Square		1999 (stores) 2009 (brand)
Home Quarters		1999
Circuit City	Electronics	2009 (stores) 2012 (brand)
Best Buy	Electronics
Toys "R" Us	Toys	2018 (US stores)
Barnes & Noble	Books
Borders	Books	2011
OfficeMax	Office supplies
Office Depot
Staples
Petco	Pet supplies
PetSmart	Pet supplies
Party City	Party supplies
The Gap^[4]^: 122	Clothing
Old Navy	Clothing

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Stone, Kenneth E. (1995). Competing With the Retail Giants: How to Survive in the New Retail Landscape. New York: Wiley. ISBN 0-471-05440-2. OCLC 31901604.
^ ^a ^b Kraft, Manfred; Mantrala, Murali K. (2010). Retailing in the 21st Century: Current and Future Trends (2nd ed.). Berlin: Springer-Verlag. pp. 127, 133. ISBN 978-3-540-72003-4. OCLC 567361303.
^ Lal, Rajiv; Alvarez, Jose B (10 October 2011). "Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink". Working Knowledge. Harvard Business School. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ ^a ^b Michman, Ronald D.; Greco, Alan James (1995). Retailing Triumphs and Blunders: Victims of Competition in the New Age of Marketing Management. Alan James Greco. Westport, Conn.: Quorum Books. ISBN 978-1-4294-7347-7. OCLC 232160862.

External links

The dictionary definition of category killer at Wiktionary

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[:0-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Stone, Kenneth E. (1995). Competing With the Retail Giants: How to Survive in the New Retail Landscape. New York: Wiley. ISBN 0-471-05440-2. OCLC 31901604.

[:1-2] Kraft, Manfred; Mantrala, Murali K. (2010). Retailing in the 21st Century: Current and Future Trends (2nd ed.). Berlin: Springer-Verlag. pp. 127, 133. ISBN 978-3-540-72003-4. OCLC 567361303.

[3] Lal, Rajiv; Alvarez, Jose B (10 October 2011). "Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink". Working Knowledge. Harvard Business School. Retrieved 16 November 2016.

[:2-4] Michman, Ronald D.; Greco, Alan James (1995). Retailing Triumphs and Blunders: Victims of Competition in the New Age of Marketing Management. Alan James Greco. Westport, Conn.: Quorum Books. ISBN 978-1-4294-7347-7. OCLC 232160862.

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