The CEO of a furniture store lost $7 million on a promotion which promised his customers their money back if the Seahawks won.
You would be expecting the man in quaetion to be more than a little upset, right?
Well, when contacted on Monday, Jim McIngvale was actually thrilled!
In the week run-up to the Super Bowl, the gallery owners flipped a coin and decided that customers would be Seahawks fans and the storee would back the Denver Broncos. Anyone who spent more than $6000 in his store would get their money back if the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. Around 1000 people bought enough to be eligible, with one customer getting back his $31,000.
McIngvale didn't even take out insurance, as he said the gambler in him prevented him from doing that. He says he values the increased media attention much more than the money he lost.
"Doing a promotion like this creates affinity, creates trust with the customer, makes you relevant," he said. "We already have people sending us videos of them jumping up and down celebrating, so I have no doubt that what we will lose is already worth it to our business."
McIngvale is known as "Matress Mack" in his local community, and is well known for his previous renegade promotions. His stores have been in business for 32 years and, according to McIngvale, the loss equates to around 5% of his yearly profit. The company plans to have two 'refund parties' in February.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
