By Jonathan Stempel
OMAHA, May 2 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett, the CEO of
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) Inc BRKa.N , is known for his keen eye for a
bargain.
And there were plenty on offer for shareholders attending
Berkshire's annual meeting over the weekend, where goods from
some 50 Berkshire businesses were on show, often at big
discounts.
Shareholder Shelli Clausen thought a $5 kitchen spatula from
Berkshire's Pampered Chef business fit the bill.
"It's a good buy, and it's fun to get the good deals," she
said while waiting in a line a couple of hundred deep in
downtown Omaha's CenturyLink (NYSE:CTL) Center, where Buffett had addressed
shareholders and taken questions.
When not listening to the Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) of Omaha and his partner
Charlie Munger, shareholders had two days to browse and buy
Berkshire's products.
These included See's Candies peanut brittle that Buffett
and Munger chomped during the meeting.
Courtney Cohen, a sales director at See's Candies, estimated
that 19,000 of the 22,956 pounds of candy that the company
brought to the meeting were sold.
Dairy Queen events manager Dean Peters said those
shareholders needing an ice cream fix consumed about 28,000 of
its Dilly, Vanilla Orange and Fudge bars and its Mini Oreo
Blizzards.
Those with more to spend could buy a $9,277 pair of white
gold diamond stud earrings from Borsheim's jewelry.
Some vendors said numbers seemed down on in 2015, when
Buffett celebrated his 50th anniversary running Berkshire.
Official attendance was not immediately known, but this
year's meeting was the first to be streamed online.
This was widely cited as a reason Omaha may have attracted
fewer people to the weekend of events that Buffett calls
"Woodstock for Capitalists." Buffett said on CNBC on Monday that
he thought attendance was down by 10 percent.
Among the other Berkshire businesses on show were Kirby
vacuum cleaners sold through in-home demonstrations and Fruit of
the Loom clothing brand, which was among the more popular items.
Fruit of the Loom had to put up a barrier at one stage to
stop shareholders from overwhelming staff selling its $8 neon
green "Berky Boxer" shorts, or the bright yellow 2015 edition
for just $3.
"It's packed, incredibly packed," first-time attendee Steve
Peters, from nearby Papillion, Nebraska, said.
He and his wife Marlene had just bought a bed from Nebraska
Furniture Mart and jackets from Fechheimer Brothers.
"There are good deals," Marlene Peters said.
Just what Buffett would want his shareholders to say.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting http://www.reuters.tv/8KY/2016/05/01/buffett-says-berkshire-is-clinton-trump-proof
Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting http://www.reuters.tv/8vP/2016/04/30/insight-media-swarm-warren-buffetthttps://www.reuters.tv/8vV/2016/04/30/omaha-comes-alive-for-buffett-s-berkshire-blowout
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>