Nathan P. Morton

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Nathan P. Morton (September 25, 1948 – November 30, 2005) is best known as a pioneer of the "big box" retail method.

Born in Washington, DC, he grew up near Chicago, Illinois and attended the University of New York, graduating in 1970. His career in retail began with Two Guys, and later moved to Target, where he was instrumental in that chain's expansion to the West Coast.

He became Executive VP of Operations with The Home Depot, but was later recruited to join Soft Warehouse Inc. as its chief operating officer, CEO in 1988, oversaw changing the company's name to CompUSA and taking it public in 1991. He resigned as the company's Chairman and CEO in December 1993.

Morton became chairman of Communication Expo, a tech retailer started by Soft Warehouse (later CompUSA) founder Michael Henochowicz. He later became CEO of the Computer City chain of stores, sold to Tandy Corporation, and then purchased by CompUSA.

At the time of his death from pneumonia in Frisco, Texas, he was chairman and CEO of Central Lighting Co.based in Irvine, CA, Chairman of the Board of American Homestar Corp. in Houston, Texas, and Chairman of the Board of Starpower Home Entertainment Stores of Dallas, TX. He left behind his wife Patti A. Morton, mother Natalie who has since passed away, previous wife Geraldine and mother of his four sons, Jason, Ryan, Logan, and Chase, along with step-daughter Amy Richardson from a previous marriage of wife Patti and step-grandson Grant Richardson, as well as his niece Ashleigh, and nephew Kyle. Big-box store is a term of art in the retail trade that refers to a style of retail store, and by extension to the company behind the store. The terms superstore, megastore, and supercenter also refer to these retail establishments. Typical characteristics include the following:

"Big-Box" is descriptive of the physical characteristics of the building. A big box store is a large, free-standing, rectangular, generally single-floor store built on a concrete slab. The flat roof and ceiling trusses are generally made of steel, the walls are concrete block clad in metal or masonry siding. The interior can be either relatively luxurious, or starkly utilitarian, depending on the market niche of the firm and how it wishes to communicate that market position to its customers. Floor space several times greater than traditional retailers in the sector, in North America generally more than 50,000 square feet (4650 m²), sometimes approaching 200,000 square feet (18,600 m²), though varying by sector and market (in countries where space is at a premium, such as the UK, the relevant numbers are a fraction of that). Location in suburban or rural areas, often in proximity to freeways, as opposed to downtown shopping districts This design provides space for a large amount of merchandise and serves as an enormous billboard to attract customers. It is particularly favored by volume discount retailers.

Generally, big-box stores can be broken down into two categories: general merchandisers, such as Wal-Mart and Target, and so-called category killers, such as Home Depot, Barnes and Noble, or Circuit City which specialise in goods within a specific range, such as hardware, books, or electronics. In recent years, many traditional retailers such as Tesco and Praktiker have opened stores in the big box store format in an effort to compete with big box chains, which are expanding internationally as their home markets reach maturity.