Berkshire Hathaway 2011 Annual Report Download - page 23

At Nebraska Furniture Mart, located on a 77-acre site on 72nd Street between Dodge and Pacific, we
will again be having “Berkshire Weekend” discount pricing. Last year the store did $32.7 million of business
during its annual meeting sale, a volume that exceeds the yearly sales of most furniture stores. To obtain the
Berkshire discount, you must make your purchases between Tuesday, May 1st and Monday, May 7th 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 which, 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 6p.m. on Sunday. On Saturday this year, from 5:30 p.m.
to 8 p.m., NFM is having a picnic to which you are all invited.
At Borsheims, we will again have two shareholder-only events. The first will be a cocktail reception
from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 4th. The second, the main gala, will be held on Sunday, May 6th, from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Saturday, we will be open until 6 p.m. On Sunday, around 2 p.m., I will be clerking at
Borsheims, desperate to beat my sales figure from last year. So come take advantage of me. Ask me for my
“Crazy Warren” price.
We will have huge crowds at Borsheims throughout the weekend. For your convenience, therefore,
shareholder prices will be available from Monday, April 30th through Saturday, May 12th. During that period,
please identify yourself as a shareholder by presenting your meeting credentials or a brokerage statement that
shows you are a Berkshire holder.
On Sunday, in the mall outside of Borsheims, a blindfolded Patrick Wolff, twice U.S. chess champion,
will take on all comers – who will have their eyes wide open – in groups of six. Nearby, Norman Beck, a
remarkable magician from Dallas, will bewilder onlookers. Additionally, we will have Bob Hamman and Sharon
Osberg, two of the world’s top bridge experts, available to play bridge with our shareholders on Sunday
afternoon. Two non-experts – Charlie and I – will also be at the tables.
Gorat’s and Piccolo’s will again be open exclusively for Berkshire shareholders on Sunday, May 6th.
Both will be serving until 10 p.m., with Gorat’s opening at 1 p.m. and Piccolo’s opening at 4 p.m. These
restaurants are my favorites, and I will eat at both of them on Sunday evening. (Actuarial tables tell me that I can
consume another 12 million calories before my death. I’m terrified at the thought of leaving any of these behind,
so will be frontloading on Sunday.) Remember: To make a reservation at Gorat’s, call 402-551-3733 on April 1st
(but not before) and at Piccolo’s, call 402-342-9038. At Piccolo’s, show some class and order a giant root beer
float for dessert. Only sissies get the small one.
We will again have the same three financial journalists lead the question-and-answer period at the
meeting, asking Charlie and me questions that shareholders have submitted to them by e-mail. The journalists
and their e-mail addresses are: Carol Loomis, of Fortune, who may be e-mailed at [email protected];
Becky Quick, of CNBC, at [email protected], and Andrew Ross Sorkin, of The New York Times,
at [email protected].
From the questions submitted, each journalist will choose the dozen or so he or she decides are the
most interesting and important. The journalists have told me your question has the best chance of being selected
if you keep it concise, avoid sending it in at the last moment, make it Berkshire-related and include no more than
two questions in any e-mail you send them. (In your e-mail, let the journalist know if you would like your name
mentioned if your question is selected.)
This year we are adding a second panel of three financial analysts who follow Berkshire. They are Cliff
Gallant of KBW, Jay Gelb of Barclays Capital and Gary Ransom of Dowling and Partners. These analysts will
bring their own Berkshire-specific questions and alternate with the journalists and the audience.
Charlie and I believe that all shareholders should have access to new Berkshire information simultaneously
and should also have adequate time to analyze it, which is why we try to issue financial information after the market
close on a Friday. We do not talk one-on-one to large institutional investors or analysts. Our new panel will let
analysts ask questions – perhaps even a few technical ones – in a manner that may be helpful to many shareholders.
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