CarMax 1999 Annual Report Download - page 10

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8CIRCUIT CITY STORES, INC. 1999 ANNUAL REPORT
Over the years, our Associates have committed themselves to extraordinary performance.
While delivering industry-leading customer service, they also are seeking new ways to
excel. They have brought us through the last 50 years and are now setting the stage
for the exciting years to come.
I am proud to be a part of this team, which reaches high and achieves much. I thank
our Associates for their energy, their enthusiasm, their ideas and their commitment.
They are the heart of our company’s success.
1949 A CONCEPT BECOMES
REAL From a barber’s chair,
Sam Wurtzel witnessed the
construction of the South’s first
television tower. Recognizing
the benefits that television could
bring to the consumer, he
began selling this exciting new
product door-to-door and
opened his first store, called
Wards, in Richmond, Va.
Abraham Hecht joined him
as a partner.
1959 THE FIRST MILESTONE
At the end of his first decade in
business, Sam operated four Wards
television and home appliance
stores. Annual sales now totaled
$1 million.
1960 NATIONWIDE EXPANSION Wards began a cost-effective nation-
wide expansion by opening departments licensed to sell consumer
electronics in mass merchandise discount stores. This expansion program
gave the company a presence from the East Coast to the West Coast.
1967 MAKING LIFE BETTER
Wards helped bring the first
microwave ovens to consumers.
Today, more than 94 million
households use this exciting
product to make life a little easier.
1969 HOT GROWTH IN
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
In 1969, Wards grew rapidly.
The acquisition of Custom
Electronics, a retailer of audio
and hi-fi equipment, gave the
company a strong presence
in the Washington, D.C.,
market and the Dixie Hi-Fi
mail order business.
1961 WARDS ISSUES STOCK
The first 110,000 shares of Ward’s stock were
issued in an over-the-counter offering at a split-
adjusted price of 4 cents per share. Throughout
the 1960s, Wards continued its growth, operat-
ing television and appliance stores and licensed
departments, hardware departments and even
a mass merchandising discount store. By 1968,
the stock was listed on the American Stock
Exchange.
50
50 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
—RICHARD L. SHARP
1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970