Nebraska Furniture Mart
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1937 |
| Founder | Rose Blumkin |
| Headquarters | Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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4 |
| Parent | Berkshire Hathaway |
| Website | Official website |
Nebraska Furniture Mart is the largest home furnishing store in North America selling furniture, flooring, appliances and electronics. NFM was founded in 1937 by Belarus-born Rose Blumkin, universally known as Mrs. B., in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Under the motto "sell cheap and tell the truth," she worked in the business until age 103. In 1983, Mrs. B. sold a majority interest to Berkshire Hathaway in a handshake deal with Warren Buffett.
Nebraska Furniture Mart was founded in 1937 by Rose Blumkin (born December 3, 1893-1998), universally known as "Mrs. B.", in Omaha, Nebraska. Blumkin, borrowed the initial $500 investment from her brother, while her husband Isadore continued to run their second hand clothing store. At one point early on, the Blumkins had to sell their own home furnishings to pay off a debt. Mrs. B set the Mart apart by selling products cheaper than the other furniture store around. The bigger competitors were able to successfully get the furniture suppliers to stop selling to the Mart because of the prices. Rather than give up and raise prices, Mrs. B went to other suppliers around the country while still underselling her competitors.
In 1983, at age 89, Mrs. B sold 80% of Nebraska Furniture Mart to Warren Buffett in a one-page handshake deal. Buffett bought the company without auditing her inventory or books, instead basing the deal on his own shopping experience at the Mart and his respect for the Blumkin family. Mrs. B sold the business due to her belief that if she sold before her death, her children wouldn't fight over the company. She continued to work at the store, putting in her normal 70 hour work week, using an electric scooter to get around. Soon after the sale, Buffett would say, “Put her up against the top graduates of the top business schools or chief executives of the Fortune 500 and, assuming an even start with the same resources, she’d run rings around them.”
In 1989, at age 95, Mrs. B's family forced her into retirement. Unhappy with this and realizing that Buffett had not made her sign a non-compete agreement, Mrs. B started "Mrs. B’s Clearance and Factory Outlet" across the street from Nebraska Furniture Mart three months later. Two years later, "Mrs. B’s Clearance and Factory Outlet" was profitable and the third largest carpet outlet in Omaha. The following year, Buffett purchased the new store and merged it with the Mart. In 1994, the Mart added an electronics and appliance store.
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Wikipedia