RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CarMax, Inc. (NYSE: KMX)
announced today that its co-founder, president, and chief executive officer,
Austin Ligon, has informed the CarMax board of directors that he intends to
retire in 2006. The board has formed a search committee to seek a new CEO.
Ligon said that he intends to remain with the company until a new CEO has
taken office.
"September marked the beginning of my 15th year of work on the CarMax
business and my 11th year as the company's president," said Ligon. "Over this
period, we've grown from the germ of a new idea to become both the nation's
largest used car retailer and a Fortune 500 company with more than 11,000
associates. We've also been named one of the Fortune 2005 '100 Best Companies
to Work For.' I'm very proud of what the CarMax team has been able to
accomplish and of the very strong store operations and store support teams
that we've built. This fall, we are completing the fourth full year of new
store openings since restarting our growth pipeline in late 2001. By the fall
of next year, the store growth pipeline should be operating at 'steady state,'
with the percentage of immature stores -- those with less than 48 months in
operation -- having flattened out at just below 50%.
"As a result, I believe now is a great time to add a new world-class
leadership talent to our team," Ligon said. "I intend to work closely with
the board over the coming months to help identify, recruit, and successfully
integrate a new CEO. I have also informed the board that I will make myself
available as an advisor to the new CEO for two years at his or her discretion.
I believe this move will allow us to best position CarMax to successfully
achieve the company's enormous potential for growth over the coming decade."
Conference Call
CarMax will host a conference call for investors at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time
on Friday, October 7, 2005. Domestic investors may access the call at 1-888-
298-3261 (conference I.D.: 1305726). International investors should dial 1-
706-679-7457 (conference I.D.: 1305726). A live webcast of the call will be
available on the company's investor information home page at
http://investor.carmax.com or at http://www.streetevents.com.
A replay of the call will be available beginning at approximately noon
Eastern time on October 7, 2005, and will run through midnight, October 14,
2005. Domestic investors may access the recording at 1-800-642-1687
(conference I.D.: 1305726) and international investors at
1-706-645-9291 (conference I.D.: 1305726). A replay of the call also will be
available on the company's investor information home page or at
http://www.streetevents.com.
About CarMax
CarMax, a Fortune 500 company, and one of the Fortune 2005 "100 Best
Companies to Work For," is the nation's largest retailer of used cars.
Headquartered in Richmond, Va., CarMax currently operates 65 used car
superstores in 29 markets. CarMax also operates seven new car franchises, all
of which are integrated or co-located with its used car superstores. During
the twelve month period ended August 31, 2005, the company sold 278,178 used
cars, which is 93 percent of the total 299,138 vehicles the company retailed
during that period. For more information, access the CarMax website at
http://www.carmax.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
The company cautions readers that the statements in this release about the
company's future business plans, operations, opportunities, or prospects,
including without limitation any statements or factors regarding expected
sales, margins, or earnings, are forward-looking statements made pursuant to
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current
knowledge and assumptions about future events and involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
anticipated results. For more details on factors that could affect
expectations, see the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended February 28, 2005, and its quarterly or current reports as filed with or
furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE CarMax, Inc.
CONTACT:
Investors and Financial Media:
Dandy Barrett, Assistant Vice
President, Investor Relations, 1-804-935-4591,
or Celeste Gunter, Manager,
Investor Relations, 1-804-935-4597;
General Media:
Lisa Van Riper, Assistant
Vice President, Public Affairs, 1-804-935-4594,
or Trina Lee, Public
Relations Manager, 1-804-747-0422, ext. 4197,
all of Carmax
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