Nebraska Furniture Mart
Encyclopedia
Nebraska Furniture Mart is the largest home furnishing store in North America selling Furniture, Flooring, Appliances and Electronics. NFM was founded in 1937 by Mrs. B (Rose Blumkin) in Omaha, Nebraska
. She worked in the business until age 103. In 1983, Mrs. B sold a majority interest to Berkshire Hathaway
with the famous handshake deal with Warren Buffett
. NFM now has three stores. The Omaha store is over 420000 square feet (39,019.3 m²) of retail space and is on 77 acres (311,608.2 m²) of land. The Kansas City, Kansas
store is also 420000 square feet (39,019.3 m²) of retail space and is on 88 acres (356,123.7 m²) of land and sits across from the Kansas Speedway
. The third store is in Des Moines, Iowa
and is 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²) and sells appliances, flooring and televisions.
In the early 1990s, NFM opened a state of the art electronics and appliance store NFM Mega Mart which sells computers, software, music, videos and personal electronics items as well as TVs and appliances. In the early 2000s, the Mega Mart was branded like the other NFM buildings on campus as the Nebraska Furniture Mart Appliance and Electronics Store. In the Fall of 2007, The state-of-the art store was completely revamped from the inside out and includes a 200 feet (61 m) overhead warehouse connector and over 600 active video displays. Over 30 new jobs were added plus more cashiering stations and 12 new fully operational dream kitchens. The overhead connector connects the Appliance, Electronics and Computer Store to the 651000 square feet (60,479.9 m²) Distribution Center. Four exclusive shops were added including Sony
, Bose, Apple and HP
. Cox
(Omaha only) has its own full service customer service area. Nebraska Furniture Mart also owns Homemakers Furniture in Urbandale, Iowa
, a suburb of Des Moines.
, Belarus
. She moved to the United States in 1917. She started Nebraska Furniture Mart in the basement of her husband's pawn shop in 1937. She continued to be involved in day-to-day operations until shortly before her death at the age of 104. Although gifted at mental arithmetic
, she was unable to read, write or even sign her name.
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. She worked in the business until age 103. In 1983, Mrs. B sold a majority interest to Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. The company averaged an annual growth in book value of 20.3% to its shareholders for the last 44 years,...
with the famous handshake deal with Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
. NFM now has three stores. The Omaha store is over 420000 square feet (39,019.3 m²) of retail space and is on 77 acres (311,608.2 m²) of land. The Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
store is also 420000 square feet (39,019.3 m²) of retail space and is on 88 acres (356,123.7 m²) of land and sits across from the Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. The speedway was built in 2001 and currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also raced at the speedway until 2011...
. The third store is in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
and is 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²) and sells appliances, flooring and televisions.
In the early 1990s, NFM opened a state of the art electronics and appliance store NFM Mega Mart which sells computers, software, music, videos and personal electronics items as well as TVs and appliances. In the early 2000s, the Mega Mart was branded like the other NFM buildings on campus as the Nebraska Furniture Mart Appliance and Electronics Store. In the Fall of 2007, The state-of-the art store was completely revamped from the inside out and includes a 200 feet (61 m) overhead warehouse connector and over 600 active video displays. Over 30 new jobs were added plus more cashiering stations and 12 new fully operational dream kitchens. The overhead connector connects the Appliance, Electronics and Computer Store to the 651000 square feet (60,479.9 m²) Distribution Center. Four exclusive shops were added including Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Bose, Apple and HP
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
. Cox
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
(Omaha only) has its own full service customer service area. Nebraska Furniture Mart also owns Homemakers Furniture in Urbandale, Iowa
Urbandale, Iowa
Urbandale is a city in Polk and Dallas counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 29,072; a special census taken by the city in 2005 counted 35,904 residents and the United States Census Bureau estimated that 38,369 residents lived there in 2008...
, a suburb of Des Moines.
"Mrs. B"
Rose Blumkin (b. 1893, d. 1998) was born Rose Gorelick outside MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. She moved to the United States in 1917. She started Nebraska Furniture Mart in the basement of her husband's pawn shop in 1937. She continued to be involved in day-to-day operations until shortly before her death at the age of 104. Although gifted at mental arithmetic
Arithmetic
Arithmetic or arithmetics is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple day-to-day counting to advanced science and business calculations. It involves the study of quantity, especially as the result of combining numbers...
, she was unable to read, write or even sign her name.