Industry legend Rose “Mrs. B” Blumkin founded Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) in the basement of her husband’s store in 1937, selling home furnishings at rock-bottom prices. Over the course of the next 60-plus years, the innovative businesswoman shattered conventions to build one of the largest dollar-volume independent retail businesses, selling everything for the home—from furniture to flooring to electronics—in giant retail spaces.
She built and operated the business on the foundations of honesty and integrity, even to the point of selling a majority share in 1983 to another “big B” in Omaha, Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, on a simple handshake. The deal, based on a two-page written agreement, completed the sale without any audit of the books or inventory.