Category Killers: The Retail Revolution and Its Impact on Consumer Culture

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Summary: The Current Retailing Revolution, Not the First/Not the Last
Review: Recently I needed a set of tires. I made the rounds of the traditional tire chains in my small town. The quotes from the three stores were just about identical at $600. I went to WalMart -- $400. Same mileage guarantee, same 'we fix flats and rotate,' and a warranty that was truly nationwide. Please explain why I shouldn't have bought the tires I needed at WalMart.

Category Killers are those giant specialized stores that are wiping out the competition in the areas in which they have chosed to compete. Toy-R-Us for instance has basically wiped out the KB toy chain that had before done a lot to wipe out the mom & pop toy stores. Category Killers operate in many, if not most, of the traditional specialty marketing area. You know their names PetSmart, Barnes & Noble, Home Depot, and many more. This has created a change in the way we shop, the way taxes are collected, the way producers market and position their products.

Of late there is some backlash against the big stores, particularily WalMart as it's the biggest, some towns don't want them, some lawsuits have been files, the INS has raided a few stores for using illegal workers. But $600 over here, $400 over there.

Category killers are what's happening in retail, to the dismay of many, and to the benefit of consumers. In this book Mr. Spector uses his background in retailing to examine the current revolution in retail -- yes, it's just the current revolution, there have been many before such as the construction of malls, and to make some predictions about the future of retail and the consumer culture.

For what it's worth, I think he is dead right.