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Nebraska Furniture Mart

Berkshire Hathaway’s Grandscape Unveils Interactive Great Big Game Show

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In North Dallas, Berkshire Hathaway’s Grandscape is transforming into a hub of entertainment, and its latest addition, the Great Big Game Show, promises an immersive experience that will have its participants feeling like TV game show stars.

Located in the Dallas-Fort Worth development that includes Berkshire’s Nebraska Furniture Mart, on the sprawling 433-acre Grandscape, this real-life, interactive game show invites participants to become contestants in a thrilling competition.

Picture two teams battling it out on a fully decked-out sound stage adorned with dazzling lights, energizing music, and a colossal wheel reminiscent of beloved game shows. The lively atmosphere is further enhanced by the presence of a live host, guiding participants through rounds of trivia, chance, and challenges. What sets Great Big Game Show apart is that it offers all the excitement of a televised game show without the pressure of a global audience; it’s an exclusive experience shared only with your family, friends, or co-workers.

Grandscape’s commitment to providing unparalleled entertainment experiences doesn’t stop there. The 433-acre property continues to evolve with the addition of entertainment and resort-like venues. It already includes Galaxy Theatres, Andretti Indoor Karting & Games, Sixes Social Cricket, The Escape Game, Immersive Gamebox, and the 200-foot observation wheel, the Grandscape Wheel.

Additional entertainment venues planned for 2024, include golf-themed PopStroke, an experiential golf and casual dining concept, and Fritz’s Adventure, an indoor and outdoor family attraction where visitors of all ages and abilities can climb, tunnel, jump, run, slide, rappel, and zip through more than 100,000 square feet of explorable space.

If meditative relaxation is more your style, WorldSprings, a nine-acre haven is currently under construction. This ambitious venture aims to blur the lines between a wellness spa and an amusement park, promising visitors an extraordinary blend of relaxation and excitement. Scheduled to open its doors in spring 2024, WorldSprings is set to redefine the concept of leisure, offering a unique and refreshing escape for all who venture into its boundaries.

As Grandscape evolves into a multifaceted destination, the combination of the Great Big Game Show and the upcoming WorldSprings project underscores its commitment to delivering diverse and unforgettable experiences for visitors of all ages. With these additions, Grandscape solidifies its position as a must-visit destination, providing a perfect blend of entertainment, leisure, and innovation.

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Nebraska Furniture Mart

Berkshire’s Austin Development Receives Zoning Approval

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Berkshire Hathaway’s Nebraska Furniture Mart has won key zoning approval for its new Austin development. NFM is set to build a retail, hotel, and convention center in Cedar Park, a town located 16 miles north-west of Austin.

The Cedar Park City Council unanimously approved the rezoning of the 118-acre parcel, with construction anticipated to begin in 2024.

The development will comprise a 250-room hotel with a 30,000-square-foot convention center, 250,000 square feet of commercial space, a 500,000-square-foot NFM store, and a 700,000-square-foot warehouse servicing NFM.

The city of Cedar Park has offered $45 million in performance-based rebates if Berkshire invests $400 million and creates 725 jobs in the first year of operation. NFM’s CEO Tony Bolt chose Cedar Park after searching for a second Texas location, and it will complement NFM’s Grandscape development in Dallas-Fort Worth.

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Nebraska Furniture Mart

Berkshire to Build Second NFM Store in Texas

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Berkshire Hathaway is doubling-down on its mega-store strategy in Texas. Berkshire’s NFM (formerly Nebraska Furniture Mart) will build a second store located 200 miles from its Grandscape development located in The Colony in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The new store will be located in Cedar Park, a town that is 16 miles to the north-west of Austin.

While Berkshire’s plans are big, they are not the scale of its 433 acre Grandscape development.

The Cedar Park Development will feature a 250-room, full-service hotel that includes a 30,000-square-foot, city-owned convention center; a 250,000 square feet of commercial development; a 500,000-square-foot NFM store; and a 700,000-square-foot warehouse servicing NFM.

NFM’s CEO Tony Bolt began searching for a second Texas location in 2019, and finally settled on Cedar Park, which at roughly 200 miles from its Grandscape development in The Colony in Dallas-Fort Worth as to not pull away any business, but close enough to benefit from NFM’s strong name recognition that it established when it built not only the largest furniture and appliance retail store in the U.S., but also a retail and mixed-use development that includes hotels, offices, entertainment.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Nebraska Furniture Mart

Nebraska Furniture Mart Boosts Pay for Warehouse Workers

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With new employees hard to come by, and the need to retain current employees critical, Berkshire Hathaway’s Nebraska Furniture Mart is raising its pay for its warehouse workers.

Current warehouse workers at its Dallas-Ft. Worth location at The Colony will receive a pay raise of at least 9 percent, and new hires will be paid between $18.58 to $23.13 an hour, depending on experience and qualifications.

“Nebraska Furniture Mart’s goal is to be the employer of choice in each of our markets,” said Megan Berry Barlow, Human Resources Director, in a statement. “Our new higher wages will help us achieve this goal, along with a 7% annual raise potential, a great benefits package and a unique, fun work culture.”

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Nebraska Furniture Mart

Berkshire Hathaway’s Grandscape Adds Immersive Entertainment Concept

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Electric Gamebox, a British entertainment concept centered on interactive gaming, has opened a 4,000-square-foot venue at Berkshire Hathaway’s Grandscape, the 433-acre mixed-use destination in the northern Dallas suburb of The Colony.

The venue is Electric Gamebox’s first in the United States.

Founded by Will Dean, the man behind Tough Mudder, and David Spindler, who conceived and launched the Tough Mudder Bootcamp franchise, Electric Gamebox is founded on the belief that technology should bring people together versus driving them apart.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Nebraska Furniture Mart is leading the development of the retail components of Grandscape. The furniture, appliances and home furnishings retailer opened in 2015, and anchors the development with 560,000 square feet of showroom space divided between two floors and covering 100 acres in total.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Nebraska Furniture Mart

Berkshire Hathaway Goes Big on Commercial Office Space for Grandscape

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While some question the fate of both retail and commercial office space, Berkshire is continuing to go all in on its ambitious commercial real estate development, Grandscape.

The 433 acre Grandscape, which is home to its Dallas-Fort Worth Nebraska Furniture Mart, will be teaming with Dallas-based developer Cawley Partners to add a multi-phase office development totaling more than 1.5 million square feet.

The new Class AA office development joins the sprawling Grandscape mixed-use development, anchored by Nebraska Furniture Mart and Scheels. The planned office development includes three, 500,000 square foot 17-story buildings.

Grandscape is a master-planned lifestyle center featuring more dining, retail, and entertainment venues than anywhere in the DFW metroplex.

“Our team has traveled all over the world to bring in the best mix of experiences to Grandscape, and we are very excited that corporate America will now have the opportunity to enjoy it on a daily basis,” says Jeff Lind, President of Grandscape.

“Grandscape has already raised the bar for engaging dining, entertainment, and family experiences, and corporate users are going to gravitate to this dynamic project,” says Bill Cawley, CEO of Cawley Partners.

Designed by Steven Janeway, Principal at Hoefer Wysocki, the offices are thoughtfully configured in relation to the larger mixed-use development and the post-Covid work environment. “Our team put considerable energy into designing a destination that would continue to elevate the landscape while being a timeless icon.” says Rob Welker, President and National Commercial Practice Leader at Hoefer Wysocki.

© 2020 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Nebraska Furniture Mart

Berkshire’s Grandscape Adding Multi-Attraction Entertainment Center

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A 1770-foot, multi-level kart racing circuit is coming to Berkshire Hathaway’s Grandscape, The Colony, North Dallas as a part of the opening of the newest location of Andretti Indoor Karting & Games.

At the heart of the experience is kart racing. A large, professionally-designed track, will run over three levels and feature banked semi-ovals, dive under, fly over, spiral ramps, exhilaratingly long straights any many more. The three-elevation change with the highest point on 42,65 ft will guarantee an ultimate driving experience.

The Grandscape location will include other attractions such as arcade games, ropes course, racing simulators with VR technology, a two-level laser tag arena, and boutique bowling.

The attraction is scheduled to open in March 2020.

Andretti Indoor Karting and Games was founded in 2001 in Orlando, Florida, and has four locations: one in Orlando, Florida, two in Georgia in Marietta and Roswell, and one in San Antonio, Texas.

© 2019 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Nebraska Furniture Mart

Nebraska Furniture Mart Updates Branding with Streamlined Logo

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When your highest volume store is a 9-hour drive from Omaha, Nebraska, it makes sense that Nebraska Furniture Mart would look at its branding.

Much like how Kentucky Fried Chicken evolved into KFC, in order to reflect that it had more than fried chicken, Berkshire Hathaway’s Nebraska Furniture Mart is streamlining its logo branding to NFM.

After all, it’s 658 miles from Omaha, Nebraska to Dallas, Texas, and a store named for a faraway state may not resonate as much in Texas.

“It’s not an official name change, just a logo update, Nebraska Furniture Mart spokesman Andy Shefsky told the Dallas Morning News. “We sell a lot more than just furniture, and we’re in a lot more than just Nebraska,” he said. “It’s simply modernizing, reflective of who we are as a company, but not forgetting that Nebraska is our everything.”

The Dallas store will see its Nebraska Furniture Mart exterior signage replaced with NFM sometime in the spring of 2020.

© 2019 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Nebraska Furniture Mart

Grandscape to Get First Sony Digital Theater in Texas

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Sony Electronics Inc. has announced the expansion of its Sony Digital Cinema™ premium large-format (PLF) movie theater auditorium to its first location in Texas, at Galaxy Theatres in The Colony.

Sony Digital Cinema is a heightened experience for PLF theaters that features Sony’s industry-leading, dual-laser projection system, along with powerful sound and luxury reclining seats.

The contemporary cinema is planned to open in spring 2020 at Galaxy Theatres’ newest venue at Grandscape – a one-of-a-kind, mixed-use real estate development featuring shopping, dining and attractions.

Grandscape is developed by Nebraska Furniture Mart Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company, and affiliates. The 85,000+ square-foot luxury dine-in theater, located in the Dallas/Fort Worth vicinity, will feature 15 screens and serve as the anchor of Grandscape’s entertainment district.

Building on the success of Sony’s first PLF auditorium at Galaxy Theatres’ Las Vegas location, Galaxy Grandscape will be the ultimate movie-going experience in Texas. To further enhance presentation quality and audience enjoyment, each of the theater’s 15 screens will incorporate Sony’s latest 4K laser digital cinema projectors, which combine clarity with brightness, color and contrast for the ultimate in picture quality. The immersive Sony Digital Cinema PLF space, which will also offer more than 250 stadium-style reclining seats and dynamic sound, will serve as the heart of the new theater and engage attendees by bringing movies to life in the manner they were meant to be seen.

“On the heels of our mutual success launching the world’s first Sony Digital Cinema PLF together, we are pleased to work with Galaxy Theatres to bring this exceptional and unforgettable experience to movie lovers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area,” said Theresa Alesso, pro division president, Sony Electronics. “The Sony Digital Cinema auditorium combines Sony’s stunning visual technologies with innovative theater design and powerful audio to create a unique and truly immersive sensory experience.”

“Galaxy Theatres’ Grandscape location is being thoughtfully designed and outfitted with the movie-goer in mind, from the décor and the food, to the state-of-the-art technology,” explained Rafe Cohen, president of Galaxy Theatres. “After collaborating on a Sony Digital Cinema auditorium in Las Vegas, we experienced the immense appetite for luxury entertainment experiences first-hand. Having our premier new theater as the lynchpin of Grandscape’s innovative lifestyle complex will enhance our exposure among an audience who already values a premium offering.”

© 2019 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Commentary Nebraska Furniture Mart

Commentary: Buffett’s Got the Inside Numbers on Softening Consumer Demand

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Warren Buffett probably knows the current state of the economy better than anyone else in the United States. After all, at any moment he knows how cars are selling at Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, how homes are selling at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, and how much goods and commodities are shipping at BNSF Railway.

BNSF Railway’s total carloads for 2019 are in a downward trend as compared to 2018 due to a major decrease in intermodal shipping, which is down 5.53% from 2018.

And we already know from Ford’s and General Motors’ earning reports that car sales fell in the second quarter.

Buffett also knows that consumer demand for furniture and home goods continues to soften, as the numbers at his retailers: Nebraska Furniture Mart, Jordan’s Furniture, RC Willey, and Star Furniture show.

In its latest SEC filing, Berkshire Hathaway reported that its sales and earnings from its furniture business were down 3% from the same period in 2018.

“Soft consumer demand,” along with poor weather in parts of the country, were the reasons cited.

Berkshire’s pre-tax earnings for home furnishings for the first six months fell a dramatic 23%, due to higher operating costs and lower sales.

Home furnishings, which include furniture, appliances, rugs, table and chairs, and other home décor, decline in sales when consumers cut back on discretionary spending, delay upgrading, and avoid adding large purchases, as their consumer debt grows.

Berkshire’s Jordan’s Furniture, which is the leading furniture retailer in New England, is already offering 72-month interest free financing in order to prop up sales.

Strong consumer demand, which has long propped up the economy, and kept the longest economic expansion in U.S. history chugging along, may finally be weakening. And Warren Buffett certainly knows it better than anyone.

© 2019 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.