A Website (Design) Oddity Options

[Respree]

I'm scratching my head over this website oddity.

The company is Berkshire Hathaway. The name may not be too familiar, but most likely, the CEO's name will ring a bell. His name is Warren Buffet, who recently overtook Bill Gates as the richest man in the world.

What I can't quite figure out is the 'why'. Why would a company that did over $118 billion in revenue last year have a website that looks likes he hired a kid to do it for $100 bucks.

I know Mr. Buffet enjoys investing in companies with low cost structures. Perhaps this is his personal statement of that investing philosophy.

I think if it were me, I'd splurge a little.

[A.N.Onym]

Not sure about design, more like information structure. Can't get head or tail there, really. Maybe the site is for Mr Buffet himself?

This post has been edited by A.N.Onym: May 8 2008, 02:17 AM

[fisicx]

Even worse, when I looked at the Berkshire Wear site I got a big flashing message telling me the site requires IE5 or higher!

Are you sure it cost as much as $100?

This post has been edited by fisicx: May 8 2008, 02:22 AM

[A.N.Onym]

The gem at Berkshire Wear that amazed me was the end of the phrase about IE: "or placing an order my produce unexpected results". Now that's a welcome message to 50% of the users.

There are plenty of people, whose free work will be much, much better, than that. I'd say the site was made in '97.

[EGOL]

minimalist design

[webdesignernew]

All I can say is shocking!

[eKstreme]

Why would he need a more elaborate design?

[cre8pc]

Guessing here...

The goal of the site may be to provide information only, in the fastest way possible, which is direct links. There may be no business decision to present a brand, or any elements that would slow down load time.

That said, it's sending all kinds of messages about the company and few of them are positive.

This cracked me up.

If you have any comments about our WEB page, you can either write us at the address shown above or e-mail us at berkshire@berkshirehathaway.com. However, due to the limited number of personnel in our corporate office, we are unable to provide a direct response.

yep. Nobody is home alright

[bwelford]

I agree with you, Pierre, that his basic webpage does not need to be more elaborate. Indeed, he perhaps wants to spread the message that KISS (Keep It Simple, Sweetheart ) is his watchword.

On the other hand, for his online Hathaway shop, that's another matter. One concept, I often use in situations like this is who are you losing by any decision you take. Perhaps most visitors overlook the shortcomings and will purchase anyway, given the Hathaway reputation. However there may be a small percentage 'on the edge' of purchasing who just drop out (click away). I think it's always wise to look at that percentage, who are on the edge. If you can keep them with you by small changes then that is very effective use of your effort. After all the hardest task is to get them to come to the website

[iamlost]

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is a conglomerate holding company that has never had a stock split.
* the price fluctuation for a single (BRK-A) share price (today): $128,300.00 - $129,099.99
* the price fluctuation for a single (BRK-A) share price (last year): $107,200.00 - $151,650.00
Yes, that is correct - one share for over a hundred thousand dollars.
Over 12.5 million dollars for a single block of a hundred shares.

Even their cheapie (30 shares = 1 ownership value, 200 shares = 1 vote) - (BRK-B.) - is currently valued at over $4200.00 a share. Or over $42,000.00 for a single hundred block.

They have nothing to prove, no need to develop, market, sell or service via the web. It needs only be a corporate placeholder with links to sufficient information to minimise office calls.

I suspect that perhaps 2% of web users are prospective BRK-B investors.
I doubt that 0.0001% of web users are prospective BRK-A investors.

Give me one good reason for going beyond a minimalist website?

This post has been edited by iamlost: May 8 2008, 12:39 PM

[iamlost]

Berkshirewear is, however, a giggle on many fronts.
My favourite (bolded emphasis mine) is:

In preparation for the upcoming 2008 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder's Meeting, some styles on this site may not be available for immediate shipment on orders placed from April 14th through May 15th. After merchandise is returned from the meeting, normal availability will resume. You may still place orders during this time however, they may not be filled until after May 15th. Please contact Customer Service to determine specific item availability for any order that must be shipped between 04/14/2008 and 05/15/2008.

What that tells me is that they:
* maintain minimal stock
* only sell to social climbers - and making them suffer on the journey just might be an in-joke.
* or to shareholders - and they can buy at the meeting just like at an SEO/M convention.

Which has the most caché - a BH t-shirt or a BOTW t-shirt?

[projectphp]

$2.5 million for 100 shares.... WoW!!!!

I like that site a lot. It screams "Fad be damned. This baby is UTILITARIAN!!!!"

[bwelford]

There is a good article in Forbes today, which may help explain how Buffett behaves. He is likened to a hedgehog rather than to a fox.

[Andrew.Williams]

I think it looks nice. It's very "clean" but maybe overwhelming

[paranoidandroid]

I get the impression that you need to work for the company to get any use out of the site, having scanned the home page and clicked on a few of the links I still don't have a clue what the company does and I have never heard of Warren E. Buffett.....

[projectphp]

And that is the way Buffet likes it

The richest man in teh world kinda gets away with not being known, unlike Gates et al.

[Respree]

I normally don't like to contemplate the "what if's" in life, but...

In 1957 (the year before I was born) and young married couple invested $30,000 in Berkshire Hathaway, half of her life savings at the time. Today, that initial investment has grown into $300 million.
Full story here.

If only...

This post has been edited by Respree: May 9 2008, 08:36 PM