MBA students write their own lessons

Sometimes you just have to leap into the deep end.

As university students across the country go back to school, 43 MBA students at the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business spent two weekends on lock-down — including a full weekend at the Jefferson Hotel — learning as much as they could about a local Fortune 500 company and writing up a case study.

One group recommended that locally based medical supplier Owens & Minor buy a smaller X-ray supply business in Michigan. That purchase should be paid for in five to seven years, the group said. And maybe Owens & Minor could outsource sales. Read more

CarMax tests ads on Hulu

Earlier this month, locally based used car retailer CarMax started advertising with TV shows that stream online. Read more

Most searched car: Still a Honda

CarMax released a list of the 10 most-searched vehicles on its website for 2008. The Honda Accord was No. 1 for the third year in a row, followed by the Honda Civic.

Three vehicles made by U.S. companies made the list: the Ford Mustang at No. 4, the Chevrolet Tahoe at No. 6 and the Ford F-150 at No. 7. Toyota and Nissan models fill out the list.

According to CarMax, their website averages 5 million hits a month.

The Top 10:
1. Honda Accord
2. Honda Civic
3. Toyota Camry
4. Ford Mustang
5. Nissan Altima
6. Chevrolet Tahoe
7. Ford F-150
8. Toyota Corolla
9. Toyota Tacoma
10. Nissan Maxima

CarMax using gas card to encourage car reviews.

CarMax is giving away a $250 gas card every week for eight weeks to people who review cars at CarMax.com.

Spokesman Chris Wilmore said the reviews are a valuable resource to web users, and so CarMax is putting a little cash on the line to help get the website’s users interacting.

BizSense reported earlier in the summer about a gas card promotion at area golf courses.The big question: do these sorts of promotions work?

CarMax laying off 600; 15 in Richmond

Goochland-based CarMax announced Wednesday it is laying of 600 service workers at dealerships and reconditioning shops all over the map. Fifteen workers in Richmond will be laid off, according to a company spokesperson.

The company employs 1,150 workers at the Goochland headquarters and two local dealerships. Read more

Searches for Hybrids increase at Carmax.com

Carmax is reporting that from March to July, searches for hybrids on carmax.com have risen 43 percent.

You can read the company’s press release here.

Small cars hit puberty…and get popular

CarMax, reported that searches for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles on the company’s website continue rising. The Mazda3 moved up from the 39th most popular search in March to the 16th most popular search in June. The VW Beetle (shudder) rose from 71 to 40.

Meanwhile, Cars.com reported that sales for the Honda Fit were up 73.8% in 2008, and sales for the Kia Spectra were up 41.3%. Numbers also increased for the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Toyota Prius, which were up 44.3% and 16%, respectively. Sales for bigger cars like the Chevy Tahoe, Dodge Durango, and Ford F-Series saw significant drops, down 34.2%, 38%, and 23.8%, respectively. Read more

CarMax and Circuit City: Sniffles and Pneumonia:

It was a rough week for CarMax and Circuit City. CarMax stock shed $2 a share, or about 11%, on news that profits at the company dropped 55%. Meanwhile, Circuit City – the company from which CarMax was spawned – is on life support and looking for a transfusion. Or is it an organ transplant? Read more

Slow economy and shifting tastes hammer CarMax

CarMax Inc.’s quarterly profit fell 55%, hit by a slowing economy and weaker consumer sentiment, and the used-car retailer said Wednesday it would suspend its guidance for the rest of the fiscal year.

Fuel-hungry light trucks and sports utility vehicles brought lower than expected sales, while

Gross profit per car fell 8.5% to $2,564.

RBC characterized the outlook suspension as CarMax “simply throwing up their hands as they can no longer read the business with any level of certainty.”

Read more at MaketWatch.

Computer meltdown at CarMax

A source at CarMax said employees were faxing documents and writing down sales to be processed later.

It’s unclear how this might have affected sales.

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