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.
