CarMax 2001 Annual Report Download - page 12

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“IN FISCAL 2002, WE WILL FOCUS
ON BUILDING MARKET SHARE IN
THE PROFITABLE TECHNOLOGIES
THAT WE BELIEVE WILL DRIVE
INDUSTRY GROWTH DURING THIS
DIGITAL DECADE.”
JOHN FROMAN
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
MERCHANDISING
“ADVANCES IN SUPPLY CHAIN
MANAGEMENT CAN HELP REDUCE
INVENTORY IN WAREHOUSES WHILE
MAINTAINING OR EVEN IMPROVING
THE STORES’ ALREADY SOLID
IN-STOCK LEVELS. WE ARE TARGETING
IMPROVED RETURNS WITH REDUCED
INVENTORY INVESTMENT AND
DISTRIBUTION COSTS.”
GARY MIERENFELD
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
DISTRIBUTION AND NATIONAL SERVICE
We recognize that consumers purchasing big-ticket
items often shop multiple retailers. Nevertheless,
we strive to provide an experience that enables
them to shop only at Circuit City for a broad,
feature-rich selection of name-brand consumer
electronics and home office products.
Our merchandising team provides a selection
that includes a variety of brands, features and
price points. The selection extends from the basic
entry-level products to the highest-quality tele-
vision available for your family or media room.
You can grab a replacement VCR or learn about
new digital television products. We were one of
the first national retailers to introduce DIRECTV
and one of the first to introduce CableLabs-
certified DOCSIS modems. In fiscal 2001, we
helped introduce new ways to access the Internet—
from your wireless phone, your handheld computer
or even your television. And, we expanded our
wireless communications selection to include
options from four major carriers in most markets.
We are careful, however, to not offer selection
that provides no distinguishing value for the con-
sumer. As products become similar in the features
offered, we adjust our selection to help simplify
the customer’s purchase decision. Today, for
example, we carry only about 15 VCR models
versus approximately 50 five years ago. These
reductions free space for other products that have
a greater variety of features across models.
Our new store design and our exit from the
appliance business allowed us to dramatically
expand our selections in many categories during
fiscal 2001. Now, our typical Superstore displays
approximately 1,000 computer software titles
compared with only about 50 previously. We
increased the selling square footage for computer
peripherals and accessories by 70 percent. We
extended our digital camera and accessories selec-
tion, allowing us to meet high demand over the
holidays, and added 35mm cameras. We doubled
our DVD movie offering, expanding from an aver-
age of 2,500 titles to an average of 5,000 titles in
all stores. And, we added a full assortment of
video game platforms, including hardware and
software. We will continue to expand our video
game selection as developing platforms are
introduced in the new year.
Finally, our e-commerce team mirrors the
store’s focus on selection. More than 2,400
products are available for purchase on the Web
site, including approximately 115 televisions,
45 digital cameras and 20 notebook PCs. Circuit
City Web customers can purchase products online
for delivery to their home or check inventory at
up to three stores, purchase the products online
and pick them up from the store at their conve-
nience. In addition, the Web site enables us to offer
special selections of product line extensions only
available in limited supply. It further expands the
stores’ inventories by providing access to these
more limited quantities as well as to the full Web
store warehouse inventory. And, CircuitCity.com
customers now have access to more than 250,000
music and movie titles through our agreement
with Alliance Entertainment.
selection
optimal