Jordan’s Furniture Makes Bold Bet on UConn Huskies

Moreover, there was no limit to how much furniture someone could buy in the store or online as part of the promotion. 

Well, Jordan’s Furniture promotional tactic is close to being realized as the UConn women’s program secured a decisive 70–52 win against Notre Dame in the Elite Eight.

Not to forget, the last-second three-pointer from Braylon Mullins that sent the men’s program to the Final Four in one of the most bizarre endings to a game this season.

While Jordan’s Furniture faces a $50 million risk, it is actually in support of the deal to come through for the customers.

“People think, ‘Oh, Eliot doesn’t want them to win,’” former president Eliot Tatelman, who recently passed the major furniture retailer down to his sons, told Front Office Sports. “Of course I want them to win! We buy insurance!”

Apparently, the company has sold off some of the risk to other insurance companies as well, so it won’t be fully liable for all of it.

That being said, this is not the first time Jordan’s Furniture has run a deal like this, as they did a similar promotion back in 2007.

Jordan’s Connection With the Boston Red Sox

Jordan’s became the official furniture store of the Boston Red Sox in 2007 when Tatelman came up with the idea to wager on the team during a lunch with his colleagues.

Eight years before that, Tatelman’s family struck a deal to sell the company to Berkshire Hathaway, run by Warren Buffett, but retained operational control of the brand.

Jordan’s Furniture promised refunds should the Red Sox win the World Series, and the idea was signed off on by Buffett himself.

“We said, ‘Come into Jordan’s and buy a sofa, a bed, a mattress, a dining room table,’” Tatelman said. “And if the Red Sox win the World Series, it’ll all be free.’”

Sure enough, the Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies in the World Series, and Tatelman revealed Jordan’s returned $35 million to its customers without ending up in bankruptcy.

History may very well repeat itself this time around, with the UConn men’s team having all the momentum after coming back in the last second in the Elite Eight. Meanwhile, Geno Auriemma’s Huskies remain undefeated (38-0) heading to the Final Four.