Subject: Zenith reference
Date: Thu, Feb 5, 1998 11:35 EST
From: Ruth702
Message-id: <19980205163501.LAA21065@ladder02.news.aol.com>
I have bold faced the referernce to Zenith-----
Subj: Circuit City Stores, Inc. Reports Record January Sales...
Date: 98-02-05 08:31:29 EST
From: AOL News
BCC: Ruth702
Circuit City Stores, Inc. Reports Record January Sales For the Circuit City Group and the Carmax Group
RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Circuit City Stores, Inc. today reported January 1998 sales for the company, the Circuit City Group (NYSE: CC) and the CarMax Group (NYSE: KMX).
For the month, total sales for Circuit City Stores, Inc. rose 28 percent to $807.1 million from $630.2 million in January 1997.
The Circuit City Group
Total sales for the Circuit City Group were $710.7 million, which represents a 21 percent increase from January 1997 sales of $587.1 million and an 8 percent increase in comparable store sales.
"January results for the Circuit City Group reflect a better sales pace across a broad range of categories," said Richard L. Sharp, Circuit City's chairman and chief executive officer. "January's strong performance included a dramatic improvement in personal computer sales, driven by attractive prices for the consumer and our successful inventory management during another model transition period.
"Our total sales reflect Circuit City's ongoing Superstore expansion," Sharp said. "By the end of the fiscal year, we expect to have opened 56 new Superstores and replaced 11. Next fiscal year, we will continue our geographic growth as we open approximately 50 Superstores, including the continuation of our entry into the New York metropolitan market.
"We also continue to make progress with Digital Video Express," Sharp said. "Since the first of the year, Divx has demonstrated the first pre- production Zenith-brand model. In addition, JVC Company of America and Pioneer Electronics Corporation have joined Zenith, Thomson Consumer Electronics and Matsushita Electric with plans to manufacture DVD players with the Divx capability."
(Is this where Zenith makes money on patent rights?-rb)
The CarMax Group
Total sales for the CarMax Group were $96.4 million, which represents a 124 percent increase from January 1997 sales of $43.1 million and an 11 percent increase in comparable store sales.
"We are especially pleased with the double-digit increase in comparable store sales at CarMax," Sharp said. "January results reflect the re- establishment of the competitive spread between late-model-year used cars and lower-priced new-model vehicles, the pickup of some sales lost to bad weather during the final week of December, and the continuation of strong new-car sales at our Chrysler franchises.
"Although we were pleased with the performance of the CarMax comparable stores in January, we expect that the disappointment in gross profit margins and comparable store sales in December and lower-than-anticipated new-store sales in both months will produce a net loss from operations of approximately 16 cents per share for the fourth quarter," Sharp said. "As we have previously noted, total sales are affected by the high proportion of new stores in
the total store base. These new stores continue to make progress with advertising programs that increase customer traffic and consumer awareness of the CarMax offer. We are also actively engaged in a variety of programs that we believe will enhance sales and gross margins and fine tune our operating efficiency, thereby lowering the break-even point for all stores. As a result, we continue to believe that CarMax can earn its first profit in the
coming fiscal year. As previously noted, all comparable stores have already reached profitability.
"For the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year, we also expect to incur a one-time expense that primarily reflects the closure and eventual disposal of our centralized reconditioning facilities and costs associated with excess property at some locations," Sharp said. "The centralized reconditioning facilities were closed earlier this year when our experience proved that in-store reconditioning was more efficient and produced a higher quality
vehicle for the consumer. This one-time expense will increase the CarMax loss by approximately $7 million, reducing expected earnings per share for the Circuit City Group by approximately 6 cents and increasing the anticipated CarMax Group loss per share by an estimated 7 cents."
Circuit City Stores, Inc. is the nation's largest retailer of brand-name consumer electronics and major appliances and a leading retailer of personal computers and music software. With headquarters in Richmond, Va., Circuit City operates 493 Superstores, four consumer electronics-only stores, 52 mall- based Circuit City Express stores and 16 CarMax Superstores. For more information, access the Circuit City web site at circuitcity.com,
the CarMax web site at carmax.com and the Divx web site at divx.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, risks associated with the development of a new retail concept. Additional discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from management's projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations is contained in the company's SEC filings.
~Ruthless |
