Thinking beyond the retail world's big boxes : Store “Goliaths” hold the aces but the “Davids” continue to resist

Purpose – Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – The language of modern life, especially in the political arena, is full of euphemisms. Sometimes they are meant to soften a blow or to obscure darker truths. They exist in business, too, as anyone who has been told “We will have to let you go” will testify. But the corporate world can also be very blunt in its appraisal of a situation or practice. In the early 1990s, the USA witnessed an unprecedented growth in chains of retailers such as Best Buy, Home Depot and Toys R Us. Similar processes have been at work in the UK and in some cases, such as Toys R Us, the enterprises are the same. The Americans gave such stores the bleak and to‐the‐point name “category killers” because they offered almost every conceivable product related to their category under one roof. In other words, the goal of these retailers was to dominate the category and “kill” the competition. Practical implications – Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations. Social implications – Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that can have a broader social impact. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.