CarMax 2001 Annual Report Download - page 14

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“WE’RE CHANGING OUR STORES
TO MATCH CHANGED CONSUMER
SHOPPING PREFERENCES. WE MUST
ALSO CHANGE OUR ADVERTISING
TO REACH TODAY’S CONSUMER,
GIVING IT THE SAME FRESH
APPROACH WE’RE INTRODUCING
IN OUR STORES.”
FIONA DIAS
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
MARKETING
customers trust
At Circuit City, we believe that for today’s con-
sumer, value is critical to an outstanding shopping
experience. Value includes not only extensive
product information and a vast product array, but
also low prices and satisfaction after the sale.
As a primary shopping destination, our stores
must offer competitive pricing with all major
retailers in our categories. Our Web pricing must
be competitive with available product from other
major e-tailers and with our stores. We actively
shop the competition and continuously enhance
our inventory management systems to improve
forecasting and reduce inventory carrying and
distribution costs, all as part of our efforts to
keep prices low. Finally, we offer a low price
guarantee at all stores, and customers buying
online and picking up products at the store
automatically receive the lower of the Web
price or the in-store price.
But to maintain our relationship with the con-
sumer, we also must continue our commitment to
service and satisfaction after the sale is complete.
That commitment includes competitive return
policies, home delivery for larger items, installa-
tion for items such as DIRECTV, and in-shop and
in-home product repair. For in-shop repair, cus-
tomers simply bring a product to the most conve-
nient Circuit City Superstore, and we send it to
one of our 23 regional repair centers.
CircuitCity.com customers also receive superior
after-the-sale service. Products purchased online
for home delivery are shipped the same day if the
order is received before 1:00 p.m. Eastern time
or the following day if after 1:00 p.m. Customer
e-mails are responded to within 24 hours of
receipt. We now have operated the site through
two peak selling seasons and have set the stan-
dard, meeting our shipping and e-mail response
criteria more than 99 percent of the time. And
finally, unlike pure-play e-tailers or brick-and-
mortar retailers without fully integrated sites, any
products, whether they are picked up at the store
or delivered to the home, may be returned or
exchanged at any Circuit City Superstore.
During fiscal 2001, we made significant
changes to the Circuit City consumer offer, exiting
the appliance business to focus on the more
promising consumer electronics and home office
categories, adding more “take-with” selection to
all stores and introducing a store environment
that is more contemporary and more conducive to
browsing as well as to finding and learning about
new technologies. And yet, we kept the underly-
ing principles of our value equation—exceptional
customer service, a broad product selection, low
prices and satisfaction after the sale. In fiscal
2002, we will maintain our focus on customers
while we continue refining the store design as
well as the operating and management informa-
tion systems that support our consumer offer. Our
objective, as always, remains to achieve the best
returns we can for Circuit City shareholders.
value