Berkshire Hathaway 2003 Annual Report Download - page 24

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At Nebraska Furniture Mart, located on a 77-acre site on 72nd Street between Dodge and Pacific,
we will again be having “Berkshire Weekend” pricing, which means we will be offering our shareholders a
discount that is customarily given only to employees. We initiated this special pricing at NFM seven years
ago, and sales during the “Weekend” grew from $5.3 million in 1997 to $17.3 million in 2003. Every year
has set a new record.
To get the discount, you must make your purchases between Thursday, April 29 and Monday,
May 3 inclusive, and also present your meeting credential. The period’ s special pricing will even apply to
the products of several prestigious manufacturers that normally have ironclad rules against discounting but
that, in the spirit of our shareholder weekend, have made an exception for you. We appreciate their
cooperation. NFM is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on
Sunday. On Saturday this year, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., we are having a special affair for shareholders
only. I’ ll be there, eating barbeque and drinking Coke.
Borsheim’ s ⎯ the largest jewelry store in the country except for Tiffany’ s Manhattan store ⎯ will
have two shareholder-only events. The first will be a cocktail reception from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday,
April 30. The second, the main gala, will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 2. Ask Charlie to
autograph your sales ticket.
Shareholder prices will be available Thursday through Monday, so if you wish to avoid the large
crowds that will assemble on Friday evening and Sunday, come at other times and identify yourself as a
shareholder. On Saturday, we will be open until 6 p.m. Borsheim’ s operates on a gross margin that is fully
twenty percentage points below that of its major rivals, so the more you buy, the more you save – at least
that’ s what my wife and daughter tell me. (Both were impressed early in life by the story of the boy who,
after missing a street car, walked home and proudly announced that he had saved 5¢ by doing so. His
father was irate: “Why didn’ t you miss a cab and save 85¢?”)
In the mall outside of Borsheim’ s, we will have Bob Hamman and Sharon Osberg, two of the
world’ s top bridge experts, available to play with our shareholders on Sunday afternoon. Additionally,
Patrick Wolff, twice U.S. chess champion, will be in the mall, taking on all comers ⎯ blindfolded! I’ ve
watched, and he doesn’ t peek.
Gorat’ s ⎯ my favorite steakhouse ⎯ will again be open exclusively for Berkshire shareholders on
Sunday, May 2, and will be serving from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m. Please remember that to come to Gorat’ s on
Sunday, you must have a reservation. To make one, call 402-551-3733 on April 1 (but not before). If
Sunday is sold out, try Gorat’ s on one of the other evenings you will be in town. Flaunt your mastery of
fine dining by ordering, as I do, a rare T-bone with a double order of hash browns.
We will have a special reception on Saturday afternoon from 4:00 to 5:00 for shareholders who
come from outside of North America. Every year our meeting draws many people from around the globe,
and Charlie and I want to be sure we personally meet those who have come so far. Any shareholder who
comes from other than the U.S. or Canada will be given special credentials and instructions for attending
this function.
Charlie and I have a great time at the annual meeting. And you will, too. So join us at the Qwest
for our annual Woodstock for Capitalists.
Warren E. Buffett
February 27, 2004 Chairman of the Board