Car Max Inc. is an automotive dealer headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. CarMax dealerships sells new cars, used car, purchase used cars and operates an auto finance group. A SWOT Analysis completed in April, 2015 by MarketLine, “The company operates through two business segments: CarMax sales operations and CarMax auto finance (CAF).” www.marketline.com . The company has niche as a used car dealership and was founded in 1993 as a used car dealership. The lifecycle CarMax currently find themselves in is Elaboration Stage, and the company is mature in its business processes. CarMax is the largest US retailer of used cars and operates 146 used superstores (Stock Report, 2015). The company has multiple product lines to include Nissan, Toyota brands under its dealership umbrella. They have the no hassle or haggling of customer car buying experience, according to CarMax Strategy report 2013, “The Company as the first to pioneer “no-haggle” prices in a used car sales environment, and it was among the earliest to rely heavily on Internet traffic to its website for selling cars.” (p3, Folan)

Just in observation of car companies, the company’s organizational design is flat or horizontal structure with a CEO and VPs. The company has regional four vice president and general managers. CarMax like other dealership level are organized horizontally with General Managers, finance, marketing, sales, and service departments. The company is also standardized and operates by standard operating procedures. Store general managers, sales, purchasing, business office and service operations, and finance make up the store staff. Functional areas are segregated, as an example, salesman do not deal with credit worthiness or checks, or servicing of the product. The CarMax culture according to their website “Our culture is defined by values like respect and transparency. We live these values every day. They drive how we treat our customers and our Associates.” The internal environment is other non-luxury brand automakers, and according to MarketLine Market analysis April 2015, AutoNation, Penske Automotive Group, and Sonic Automotive as their internal national rivalry. CarMax external environment consist of oil prices, current state of the US economy, the new car market which support their used car niche.

The organization strategy is to no haggle sales, internet marketing, auto sales app, acquisition and selling of used cars which dealership location in smaller “CarMax generates profits through its wholesale operations, which includes the selling of cars that do not make the cut for its used vehicle sales.” (MarketLine) Profit from its finance arm CarMax auto finance (CAF).

Reference

CarMax, Inc. (2015). CarMax, Inc. MarketLine Company Profile, 1-27.

Sawyers, A. (2003). CarMax shifts new-car sales strategy. Automotive News, (6048).

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