OMAHA, Neb (KMTV) — “I always knew that one day I wanted to work here, for all my previous relatives to try and carry on this legacy that they built,” said AJ Shefsky.
Since its inception 86 years ago Nebraska Furniture Mart, now known as NFM, has been a family-run and family-focused business, where even the youngest members pitch in to help.
“I remember waking up very early and getting to greet the customers and just seeing the expression in their face and their eyes light up, the excitement and what it meant to them it was a very cool experience,” said AJ.
AJ was just eight years old when we first hit the sales floor for Black Friday 2014 and now, in 2023, he is back to join the family business.
AJ will be the fifth generation of the family to help run Nebraska Furniture Mart going all the way back to the store’s founder Rose Blumkin, who is AJ’s great-great-grandmother.
“It’s a pretty surreal experience and I couldn’t be prouder or more excited for what the future holds for him and NFM,” said Andy Shefsky, AJ’s father and community and public relations manager for NFM.
For the folks at NFM, AJ joining the team isn’t just a neat piece of trivia, it’s also a sign that the values that helped build NFM’s legacy still live on.
“It tells you that the mission, the vision and the core values haven’t changed so the things that Mrs. B thought were important in 1937 are still important today,” said Megan Berry Barlow, chief human resources officer for NFM.
AJ will be building his part of the NFM legacy from the ground up, this week he is wrapping up his sales training and you will soon see him helping customers on the sales floor.
“When I go out there it’s like ‘OK, this is go time.’ It’s like when the athlete comes out of the tunnel now it’s a different mode of focus it’s very exciting,” said AJ.
While AJ is the latest member of the family to join NFM his father, and the other NFM legacies hope he won’t be the last.
“Hopefully this is the start of many of the fifth-generation family members to join us here at NFM,” said Andy.
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