 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1915, in Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Founder | Morris Helzberg |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 200+ stores (2017) [1] [2] |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Brad Hampton (CEO) [3] |
| Products | Jewelry |
| Parent | Berkshire Hathaway |
| Website | www |
Helzberg Diamonds is a jewelry retailer founded in 1915 by Morris Helzberg that has 210 stores in 36 US states. [1]
In April 2009, Beryl Raff, former executive vice president and general merchandise manager of fine jewelry at JCPenney, was named chairman and chief executive officer of Helzberg. [2] Raff was succeeded at CEO in 2022 by Brad Hampton. [4]
Soon after Helzberg's founding, Morris Helzberg became ill and the company was taken over by his son, Barnett Helzberg Sr., at the age of 14. In 1963, Barnett Sr. became Chairman of the Board and his son, Barnett Helzberg Jr., took over company operations. [5] Barnett replaced his father in the Chairman position in 1988. Barnett Jr. sold the company to Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffett, in 1995, and authored the book What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett [6]
In 2017, Helzberg closed several stores, though customers who purchased Lifetime Care warranties are still able to utilize other stores for regular cleanings and inspections, or mail the jewelry to the company's service center.
Warren Edward Buffett is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who currently serves as the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his immense investment success, Buffett is one of the best-known investors in the world. As of January 2024, he had a net worth of $122 billion, making him the tenth-richest person in the world.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1839 as a textile manufacturer, it underwent a drastic restructuring into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the leadership of chairman and CEO Warren Buffett and vice chairman Charlie Munger. The company's main business and source of capital is insurance, from which it invests the float in a broad portfolio of subsidiaries, equity positions and other securities. Buffett and Munger are known for their advocacy of value investing principles and under their direction, the company's book value has grown at an average rate of 20%, compared to about 10% from the S&P 500 index with dividends included over the same period, while employing large amounts of capital and minimal debt.
Fruit of the Loom is an American company that manufactures clothing, particularly casual wear and underwear. The company's world headquarters is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Since 2002, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
Pampered Chef is a multinational multi-level marketing company that offers a line of kitchen tools, food products, and cookbooks for preparing food in the home. They also offer some products to help transport some of their products and gardening tools.
See's Candies is an American manufacturer and distributor of candy, particularly chocolates. It was founded by Charles See, his wife Florence, and his mother Mary in Los Angeles, California in 1921. The company is now headquartered in South San Francisco, California. See's kitchens are located at its headquarters and maintained at its original factory in Los Angeles, where there are also retail shops. It also has an office in Carson, California. The company has been owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Corporation since 1972.
Wesco Financial Corporation was an American diversified financial corporation headquartered in Pasadena, California. Wesco was originally the holding company for Mutual Savings, a savings and loan association. Mutual Savings' thrift operations were sold to CenFed Bank in 1993. It was for a long time 80.1% owned by Blue Chip Stamps, which is now completely and fully owned by Berkshire Hathaway, which is controlled by legendary investor Warren Buffett. Charlie Munger, the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Buffett's business partner, served as CEO and Chairman of Wesco from 1984 to 2011. Munger, formerly a practicing attorney, is known for his straight-shooting style and his conduct at the now discontinued Wesco shareholder meetings in Pasadena, where he used to interact with the outside investors at considerable length. In June 2011, Berkshire Hathaway acquired the approximately 20% of Wesco that it did not already own, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of that company.
Borsheims is a luxury jewelry store that sells fine jewelry, timepieces, engagement rings and home decór in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1870, Norwegian immigrant and silversmith Louis Borsheims founded his independent jewelry business that would later become known as Borsheims. The luxury jewelry retailer began as Brown and Borsheim. In 1907, Louis A. Borsheim sold his interests in Brown and Borsheim, thus began the Omaha staple, Borsheims. The business was sold to Louis Friedman and Simon Gorelick in 1947. In 1950, Louis bought out his brother in law, Simon Gorelick and his son Ike joined the business, who both retained the Borsheims name. In 1980, Ike Friedman bought out his father, Louis. Ike's son Alan and son in law joined the business. In 1985, his other son in law, Donald Yale joined the business. His two daughters, Janis Yale and Susie Cohn also worked in the business.
Pilot Travel Centers LLC, doing business as Pilot Flying J, is a North American chain of truck stops in the United States and Canada. The company is based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The company is owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
Blue Chip Stamps started as a trading stamps company called "Blue Chip Stamp Company." They were a competitor of S&H Green Stamps. Blue Chip stamps were a loyalty program for customers, similar to discount cards issued by pharmacies and grocery stores in the digital era. A customer making a purchase at a participating store would be given stamps in proportion to the dollar amount of the purchase. The stamps were dispensed by machines adjacent to the cash register. The customer would paste the stamps into books. The books could then be taken to a redemption center and redeemed for merchandise, such as lawn furniture, dining tables, tableware, and many other items. The redemption centers did not maintain a full inventory of items but would order from a catalog on behalf of the customer.
Shaw Industries Group, Inc. is one of the world's largest carpet manufacturers with more than $6 billion in annual revenue and approximately 22,000 employees worldwide. It is headquartered in Dalton, Georgia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
Ajit Jain is an Indian-American executive who is the Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations for Berkshire Hathaway as of January 10, 2018. Ajit Jain is an older cousin of Anshu Jain, who was the former Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank.
ISCAR Ltd. is an Israeli multinational metal cutting tools company affiliated with one of the world's largest metalworking conglomerates, the IMC Group. ISCAR and the IMC Group were acquired by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in 2007, becoming one of its largest non-insurance companies.
RC Willey Home Furnishings is an American home furnishings company in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and California. It was founded in 1932 by Rufus Call Willey in Syracuse, Utah, RC. He began selling Hotpoint-brand appliances door-to-door out of the back of his pickup truck. RC Willey has 10 locations across the Western United States and specializes in furniture, electronics, home appliances, mattresses, and flooring. In 1995, the holding company Berkshire Hathaway bought RC Willey in a deal with Warren Buffett.
Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates was an American textile company, founded in 1889 as Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company in Adams, Massachusetts in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
David L. Sokol is an American business executive. He is a Chairman of Teton Capital LLC, headquartered in Wilson, Wyoming. He served as chairman, president, and CEO of NetJets, as well as a chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, of which Berkshire Hathaway holds a 100% and 89.8% stake respectively.
Seabury Stanton was an American businessman from New Bedford, Massachusetts who ran Berkshire Hathaway prior to its takeover by Warren Buffett in 1964.
Tungaloy Corporation is a company that specializes in production and sales of metal cutting tools as well as industrial products. Headquartered in Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan, it was the first company in the country to succeed in developing superhard alloy. Tungaloy is a member of the International Metalworking Companies (IMC), which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway. In November 2011, the company celebrated the opening of its new production facility in Japan; as the Chairman, President, and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett took part in the ceremony.
Ben Bridge Jeweler is a high-end American jewelry retailer that sells engagement rings, diamonds and watches, including Rolex, among other luxury product and is currently owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. It was established in Seattle, Washington, in 1912 and currently operates over 80 stores in the United States.
Gregory Edward Abel is a Canadian businessman, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and vice-chairman of non-insurance operations of Berkshire Hathaway since January 2018.
 | This United States retail business article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |