When visiting Shrewd'm with a laptop, it can be pleasant to hold Command (or Ctrl with Windows) and '+' a few times. The site scales to allow any font size, and the larger font can be pleasant to read even for Shrewds with perfect sight! For luxury Shrewdness, you can combine that with setting the browser to full screen. You'll then find yourself Shrewding a lot.
- Manlobbi
Stocks A to Z / Stocks B / Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
No. of Recommendations: 11
Can't believe I've never seen this before. Fabulous! Buffett looks like the cat who caught the canary.
15 minutes of footage of the 1983 press conference between Buffett and Mrs. B, announcing the NFM purchase.
https://youtu.be/r0x3A1Ljh_8?si=73_ZI7Wce1LyCOr5
No. of Recommendations: 1
That's some great Mrs. B footage! Thanks for sharing
No. of Recommendations: 9
Unconditional trust. Mr Buffett trusted Mrs B in the same way the 3 million shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway trust him.
It’s a real shame for the people that spend their lives being unreliable and shady. No amount of money could compensate. We all have a moral duty to live up to the standards set by these great people.
No. of Recommendations: 12
Yes, Rose Blumkin, known as Mrs. B, did open a store called Mrs. B's Clearance and Factory Outlet directly across the street from Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1989, at the age of 95. This was after she retired from NFM, which she had founded in 1937 and sold a majority stake to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in 1983. Unhappy with retirement and unrestricted by a non-compete agreement from the 1983 sale, she started the rival store to compete with NFM, focusing on clearance furniture, mattresses, and flooring. By 1991, her new store was profitable and became the third-largest carpet outlet in Omaha. In 1992, Buffett acquired Mrs. B’s Clearance and Factory Outlet for $4.94 million and merged it with NFM, this time ensuring she signed a non-compete clause. The outlet continues to operate as part of NFM’s Omaha campus
No. of Recommendations: 14
The move was a real gift to Berkshire. Buffett’s response was pragmatic and respectful. Rather than fight her, Warren acquired her new store in 1992 for $5 million—a bargain compared to NFM’s $60 million price tag. This move not only neutralized the competition but also brought Mrs. B back into the fold. This being way cheaper than hiring a consulting firm. Mrs. B’s rival store served as a real-world stress test of NFM’s strategy, revealing inefficiencies and reinforcing the value of her low-cost, high-volume approach—all at a fraction of the cost of external consultants
Broaching NFM’s Moat
NFM’s competitive moat—built on massive inventory, low prices, and a single-location model generating over $100 million in annual sales by 1983—was formidable. Mrs. B’s new store challenged this by replicating her core strategy: sourcing products from alternative suppliers and undercutting prices. Her success showed that NFM’s moat, while strong, wasn’t impervious, especially when faced with her unparalleled reputation and operational efficiency. Customers flocked to her new store, some traveling from out of state, just as they had to NFM. This likely underscored for Buffett and Munger the importance of preserving Mrs. B’s founding principles, even as NFM modernized under Berkshire’s ownership
Mrs. B’s decision to start a competing store was a bold move driven by her frustration with NFM’s management and her unwavering belief in her business philosophy. Her success exposed gaps in NFM’s strategy while reinforcing her low-price model. Buffett’s $5 million acquisition of her store was a cost-effective way to learn from her “consulting” through competition, and it ensured her legacy endured within NFM. Charlie Munger likely saw this as a textbook example of competitive advantage in action, and both he and Buffett admired her for it. Mrs. B didn’t just challenge Berkshire—she showed them how to sharpen their edge.
No. of Recommendations: 3
>>Mrs. B’s decision to start a competing store was a bold move driven by her frustration with NFM’s management and her unwavering belief in her business philosophy.<,
In the context of her severely compromised mental state, yes.
No. of Recommendations: 4
Is that post AI generated?
If so, etiquette is to say so
Jim
No. of Recommendations: 4
Researched with AI but edited by me. Amassing what Grok 4 digs up.
In 1974 I started doing business with Mr. B directly when I lived about 300 miles from Omaha. At that time she was in a scooter with attendants all around her. She gave me a 60% discount on anything in the store. I asked if that meant anytime and she said yes. All of the assistants told her she couldn't do that. She said she could do anything she wanted to do. I'm assuming the discount was given knowing that I would go back home and tell family and friends about the great furniture store in Omaha, which I did. To this day I still do a lot of business with the NFM. For the record the discount was reduced to employees discount for shareholders around the annual meeting when BRK bought the business. The store culture has changed--- they are right and the customer is wrong, based on my current experience. Things change over time.
Another side note is that one of my sons was riding to lunch with Warren in Omaha when NFM came up in the discussion. My son wondered why they hadn't expanded to more locations. This was before Dallas, Kansas City and now Houston. Warren said that he was pushing for that but the Blumkin family was resistant.
No. of Recommendations: 1
Hi, Oscar,
Thank you for this. I wonder though, what was researched by AI, because it seems like personal anecdotes. You mean the mileage and expanded locations. I'm very literal.
Thanks,
Elizabeth
