Category Killer

What Is a Category Killer?

A category killer is a large retail chain superstore that dominates its product category and puts less productive and highly specialized merchants out of business. The original category killers proliferated during the 1980s and 1990s and generally excelled until the arrival of e-commerce, which paved the way for a new breed of online category killers that not only focus on price but also on convenience and after-sales support.

Understanding a Category Killer

Category killers mainly attain their massive competitive advantage by having a bigger and deeper selection of merchandise as compared to small and independent stores. Those merchandise numbers enable category killers to become cost-efficient and sell their products at prices so low that other stores are unable to compete with them.

An example of a category killer superstore is Home Depot, which has significantly more square footage and inventory than a local hardware store and offers more choice in product variety. Charlie Lazarus, the founder of Toys R Us, is generally credited with inventing the concept of a category killer. Bookseller Barnes & Noble, electronics retailer Best Buy and home products and furnishings store Bed Bath & Beyond are other examples of this type of superstore.

While they may seem insurmountable, category killers are not invincible. This can especially be the case if they are mismanaged or fail to keep up with the times. Toys R Us, which pioneered the concept and filed for bankruptcy in September 2017, is an example.

History of Category Killers

While Toys R Us was founded in 1948, the heyday of category killers was during the 1980s and 1990s. That was when category killers proliferated across the country.

In 1997, Borders, a bookstore that is now no longer operational, Barnes & Noble, and Home Depot opened new stores every nine, four or five, and two to three days, respectively.

Within the next decade, however, the fortunes of these category killers unraveled. Some declared bankruptcies, others shut down, and others began reporting steep losses.

Several factors were responsible for their gloomy condition. One of them was the continued dominance of Walmart as a vast national discount retailer. The Arkansas-based behemoth not only ate into the market share of independent stores but also that of retailers like Toys R Us.

Another notable challenge was the rise of e-commerce companies like Amazon. These companies offered low prices, and the convenience of one-stop shopping from the comfort of the consumer's home, destroying the high-expense economics of many big-box retailers.

New Category Killers

Some big-box category killers may yet be able to defend their category economics, if they can create a compelling shopping experience. To do that, they will need to combine instant gratification, personalized selling, unique assortments, and a sensory showroom experience that borders on entertainment. They may also need to downsize their stores to maintain maximum flexibility, as well as combining clicks with their bricks, as Walmart is now doing.

A new type of category killer has also emerged online. Such sites typically specialize in offering a specific product category at different price points. For example, Warby Parker specializes in retailing prescription glasses and sunglasses. Casper, another online startup, specializes in selling different kinds of mattresses, while Harry's and Dollar Shave Club offer shaving products.

These companies are built on a different business model compared to the earlier category killers, which mainly competed on price. The new breed of online businesses not only compete on price but also on convenience of purchase and after-sales support.