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A Good Car at a Good Price
0586 days
by M. Fletcher
in Richmond Business
In the early 1990s, seeking to find a new retail opportunity, Circuit City CEO Richard Sharp and Vice President of Corporate Planning Austin Ligon developed the concept for CarMax. In December of 1991 the Circuit City made a wise investment of $50 million to fund the concept.
The first CarMax store was opened in Richmond in September of 1993. The first sale was a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee. By 1996 Car Max announces plans to open 80 to 90 stores nationwide. Adding to that was the launch of CarMax.com which allows customers to search through the entire Car Max inventory.
The company lives and operates by five basic principles:
- We offer tens of thousands of used cars across the country
- Every car we sell has a low, no-haggle price
- Our vehicles are superior in quality. Only the best cars meet our high standards
- We’ll buy your car whether you buy from us or not
- You’ll get friendly customer service
And it works. Ten years after Sharp and Ligon first dreamed of the concept, the company posted their first annual profit of $1.1 million. CarMax owes much of its success to simply providing customers what they want: an easy shopping experience to get a good car at a good price.
CarMax says they are the smart choice for buying a car, offering thousands of vehicles for under $12,000. Key to their selling method is posting the price right the car. No negotiating, no hidden charges. And they’re willing to work with a number of financial institutions to get the best option for prospective buyers.
Car Max invests back into the community. They recently announced a $45,000 grant to the Enrichmond Foundation for the fourth season of the CarMax Summer Basketball League.
Even with a struggling economy, Car Max reported that this spring they sold more cars and at higher prices. According to the Richmond Times Dispatch, “CarMax CEO Tom Folliard attributed the spike in wholesale sales to fewer cars on the market.”
Still at a meeting earlier this week Folliard told shareholders. “I still think we’re in for a little bit of a rough road. Although we see some positive signs in the economy, I personally feel it’s going to be a slow burn.”
Today, CarMax has 100 stores across the country. They’re ranked as a FORTUNE® 500 company and and have been named one of FORTUNE® magazine’s “Best Companies to Work For” six years in a row. Since that first sale in 1993 they’ve sold more than 2 million cars.
It seems that at least 2 million buyers agree that this is a better way to buy a car.
And, while the parent company of Circuit City declared bankruptcy and closed their doors last year, CarMax appears poised to remain strong and even rebound when the economy recovers.
But perhaps they’ve made enough of a name for themselves now that they’ll be even stronger in the future. It might just be that this downturn in the economy has convinced consumers that the shiny new car they want doesn’t have to brand new.
When they make that decision, CarMax has a good car, at a good price.
Thousands of them in fact.
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Luck Stone Corporation: Building Community Foundations
0598 days
by M. Fletcher
in Richmond Business
Luck Stone Corporation has been a family owned and business for three generations. Charles S. Luck, Jr. purchased the Sunnyside Granite Company in 1923 founded Richmond headquartered Luck Stone Corporation. He led the company for the next forty years. He passed away in 1972.
One of the largest producers of crushed stone in the county, Luck Stone is also a prominent supplier of architectural stone and tennis courts in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. In the 1940s Luck Stone was a major supplier in the war effort, producing and shipping much-needed stone to military bases in Hampton Roads, Virginia. The company moved their corporate headquarters to Goochland County in the 1970s.
Luck Stone Corporation consists of four business enterprises. For Construction Aggregates, Luck Stone has 15 sites in Virginia and North Carolina. These sites supply crushed stone, gravel and other products in the Mid-Atlantic region. Charles Luck Stone Center offers homeowners, builders, contractors, architects and landowners stone products for homes, businesses and landscaping Lee Tennis Court Products features one of the best-selling surface materials for tennis courts in the United States. HAR-TRU® is the company’s most well-known brand. And finally, the real estate development section of Luck Stone is known as Luck Development Partners. This division handles the sales and leasing of corporate real estate assets.
Luck Stone takes pride in being a community and environmental leader. In the fall of 2009, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality recognized the Spotsylvania and Powhatan quarries for achieving E3 status, the only quarries to do so. This is recognition from the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program and E3 is the highest status awarded meaning that the facility has been named an Exemplary Environmental Enterprise.
In addition, Luck Stone sponsors community events and programs supporting local non-profit organizations. Annually the participate in the James River Clean Up and provide lunch for all volunteers at two locations for the clean-up; Maidens Landing in Powhatan and Robious Landing in Chesterfield. Luck Stone provides scholarships, provides assistance to Habitat for Humanity and has partnered with HGTVs Curb Appeal for a project in Tacoma, Maryland.
The company established the Luck Stone Foundation which provides grants to non-profit groups working to build stronger communities, to improve the quality of life and to provided services to youth in need. Grants of $250 and higher are made to non-profit groups that share the company goals and values.
Luck Stone seeks to be environmentally responsible through their Environmental Management System. This system seeks to keep the company in compliance with environmental standards. In addition they have developed an environmental bank as compensation for the impact to wetlands and have begun stream restoration projects. The company takes the preservation of natural resources and the reclamation of land seriously.
Earlier this year Luck Stone offered their support to the Virginia Sturgeon Restoration Team. This team is a partnership between Virginia Commonwealth University, the James River Association, Luck Stone, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and others. Working together, this group recently created a 300-foot-long artificial reef along the James River.
For nearly 90 years, Luck Stone corporation has been a good Richmond neighbor, providing economic benefits, including employment, while at the same time being a responsible and active member of the greater Richmond community.
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