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CarMax(R) Roars Past $1 Billion Annual Sales Mark

20 January 1999

CarMax(R) Roars Past $1 Billion Annual Sales Mark As One of America's Fastest Growing Retailers

   Consumers' Love of Low-Price, No-Hassle Buying Experience Fuels Used-Car
     Superstore Pioneer to Sales Milestone in Record-Breaking Five Years

    RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 19 -- CarMax announced today that it has
sprinted beyond the $1 billion mark in annual sales at an unprecedented rate
of speed compared with other revolutionary consumer concepts like Home Depot,
Wal-Mart, McDonalds and Southwest Airlines.
    CarMax, like these innovators of highly consumer-focused, service-oriented
buying experiences, has pioneered a unique low-price, high-quality offer
consumers love and in the process revolutionized its industry.  With the
opening of the first used-car superstore of its kind in 1993, the auto
retailer dramatically changed the way consumers buy cars, just as Home Depot,
Wal-Mart, McDonalds and Southwest Airlines profoundly changed the way
consumers shop, eat and travel by air.
    The used-car superstore pioneer, however, has accelerated its
accomplishments beyond its counterparts by zooming to more than $1 billion in
annual sales at warp speed.  While Home Depot took eight years; Wal-Mart and
McDonalds, 17 years; and Southwest Airlines, 18 years to hit this highly
elusive mark, CarMax has blown past it in an unrivaled five years, selling $1
billion worth of top-quality used and new cars in 1998.
    "We're extremely excited that consumers and our Associates have enabled
CarMax to reach $1 billion in annual sales at this unparalleled pace," said W.
Austin Ligon, president of CarMax.   "We're particularly proud of this
accomplishment because, like all truly revolutionary concepts, CarMax is being
grown organically, one store at a time.  It's taken new people, new systems,
and new processes to really give the customer a radically improved experience.
You can't just acquire a bunch of traditional auto dealerships and slap a new
name on them."
    Ligon said,  "We're building CarMax from the ground up, employing
innovative people with diverse work experiences specifically trained in 'The
CarMax Way' and dedicated to executing our revolutionary offer.  CarMax is
privileged to have their support and the support of consumers who have shown a
desire to buy cars the way we sell cars."
    CarMax, a subsidiary of Circuit City Stores, Inc., began development of
the auto superstore concept in 1991.  CarMax revolutionized the car-buying
experience by offering:

    * Low, fixed prices on used cars; and no-haggle prices on new cars that
      are marked well below available market prices.
    * Low-mileage used cars and trucks that pass a rigorous CarMax Certified
      Quality Inspection(SM).
    * Market-leading selection of new cars and top-quality used vehicles (five
      to 10 times the selection of typical auto retailers).
    * Consumer shopping convenience that includes computerized access to every
      vehicle through our AutoMation(R) inventory selection system; supervised
      "For Kids Only(R)" play areas; no-hassle, pressure-free sales processes;
      and convenient, on-line financing.

    To celebrate the $1 billion annual sales milestone, CarMax is offering
consumers special promotions from now through the end of January 1999.  "We
want to thank consumers for propelling our growth and invite all car buyers to
try the CarMax experience," said Ligon.
    CarMax pioneered the auto superstore concept and is today the nation's
leading used-car superstore retailer.  The company currently operates 25 used-
car superstores, and 13 new-car franchises serving major markets nationwide
including Richmond, Va.; Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C.; Atlanta, Ga.; Orlando
and Tampa, Fla.; South Florida; Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, Texas;
Washington, D.C./Baltimore, Md.; and Chicago, Ill.
    CarMax also operates two Chrysler-Plymouth-Jeep franchises in Atlanta;
two Mitsubishi franchises and a Toyota franchise in Washington/Baltimore; and
nine franchises at the CarMax Kenosha Auto Mall between Chicago and Milwaukee.
Its two Chrysler Corporation franchises at the superstores in Norcross and
Stockbridge, Ga., carry the prestigious Five Star rating, Chrysler's highest
award for customer service.  The Norcross superstore also won Chrysler's
Pacesetters Club award as the top volume Five Star dealer in America in 1997.
For more information, access the CarMax Web site at http://www.carmax.com(SM).