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Comment by tea-flow | Hacker News Reader

Their site is great, does exactly what it needs to do.

Geico is a wholly owned subsidiary of BH

They probably have other companies too. Why just Geico and why not list other companies. It seems bit out of place and gives an impression that Geico is doing bad enough that they need to be advertised.

I can think of two good reasons:

  1. A Geico sale is worth a lot more than a fruit of the loom sale.
  2. Geico is something that almost anyone visiting the site might use. Most Berkeshire Hatheway visitors own cars and need insurance.

One of the main links is a message from Buffet recommending Geico and Borsheims Jewelry. Jewelry fits the same bill: expensive, and widely purchased.

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/message.html

Notably, Borsheim's also operates the type of business where you could conceivably pick up the phone and order immediately upon reading Buffett's recommendation.

(a) No reasonable investor believes GEICO is doing badly.

(b) GEICO is unique among BH companies in that consumers can purchase its offering immediately upon reading about it. The nearest Dairy Queen is a 30 minute drive away from me, for instance. Look at the list of BH subsidiaries and try to imagine what they'd sell on a 24/7 1-800 number.

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