MEGASTORE

noun (Lifestyle and Leisure) A very large store, usually situated on the outskirts of a town or city, provided with its own parking facilities, and often selling goods from its own factory direct to the customer. Etymology: Formed from the combining form mega- (as in the entry above) and store. History and Usage: The original idea of the warehouse-style megastore was that people could bring their own transport and buy furniture, do-it-yourself equipment, electrical goods, etc. direct from the manufacturer. This has been practised in the UK since the late sixties or seventies, but many such outlets were at first called warehouses. The name megastore was popularized throughout the world by Richard Branson's Virgin chain in the mid eighties, but this time it simply referred to a very large retail outlet. In the late eighties, the megastore in the US and the UK tended to be a large retail store bringing together many different kinds of goods under one roof. Walk into any of the new megastores now sprouting up--themselves a new way of consuming pop, a far cry from the listening booths or record counters of yesteryear--you will find an immense variety of music from the last forty years on offer. New Statesman 4 July 1986, p. 26 Richard Branson...will arrive in Sydney tomorrow to open his first Australian 'megastore' next week...The store, at Darling Harbour, is billed as Australia's biggest record shop. Sydney Morning Herald 28 Apr. 1988, p. 6