NFM Unveils Its New Kansas City CE Department

By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 2/22/2010

KANSAS CITY, KAN. — Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) took the wraps off its newly remodeled electronics department at the company’s Kansas City store last week.

The completely redesigned department now features more than 51,000 square feet of showroom space that accommodates more than 40,000 CE items, including 200 TVs, 100 computers, 200 cameras, 100 mobile phones, and 20,000 game and software titles.

The department also features five instore vendor shops, including an Apple Store, Bose Salon, HP Experience, Panasonic Technology Zone and Sony Store, and is the only U.S. retail outlet to do so, the company said.

Also on display are eight HD video projectors and screens, including Stewart Filmscreen’s 2.35:1 CineCurve screen that’s partnered with an HD projector and an anamorphic lens.

“Nebraska Furniture Mart’s quest is to provide its customers with a unique and engaging shopping experience,” said electronics division director Jay Buchanon. He said the state-of-the-art showroom “symbolizes the creative and collaborative ‘best’ from our team,” which includes industry-leading designers, architects, builders and merchants, in addition to NFM’s vendor partners.

Together they have taken a unique “outside-in” approach to design that “puts the customer in the middle of this experience,” Buchanon said. “Early customer feedback suggests that our team has exceeded our renovation goals and has hit this one out of the ballpark.”

A ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the official grand opening of the showroom will be held Thursday at 4:00 p.m.

The two-story Kansas City store was opened in 2003 and represents the company’s first and only out-of-state foray. The 1.2 million-square-foot retail complex features 450,000 square feet of selling space and sits on 80 acres.

The CE department reset follows a two-year, multimillion-dollar expansion of NFM’s 100,000-square-foot appliance, electronics and computer store at its Omaha, Neb., headquarters that was completed in 2007.

The home-furnishings retailer was founded in 1937 by Rose Blumkin in the basement of her husband’s jewelry store with a $500 investment. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett purchased a majority interest in the business in 1983.