Build-A-Bear Workshop

Infobox_Company
company_name = Build-A-Bear Workshop
company_
company_type = Public (NYSE: [http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=BBW BBW] )
company_slogan = Where Best Friends Are Made.
foundation = 1997
key_people = Maxine Clark, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Bear
num_employees = ~7,200 (2007)
revenue = USD474.4 million (2007)
industry = Retail
products = Stuffed animals
homepage = http://www.buildabear.com/s. Build-A-Bear Workshop is the largest create-your-own animal service, with the other companies in the business consisting of regional and/or locally-owned operations. The company's motto is "Where Best Friends Are Made."

History

Build-A-Bear Workshop was founded by Maxine Clark in the year 1997. The first store opened in the Saint Louis Galleria. Ten years on, over 300 stores have been opened in countries worldwide: The United States (including Puerto Rico), Canada, Japan, Korea, Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Singapore,Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, Australia, France, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, Norway, and the United Kingdom. To celebrate the release of the 2006 film Happy Feet, plush toys featuring Mumble the penguin, the main character of the film, were created and sold. The toys were able to be fitted with a sound box that said four lines from the film. On March 7, 2006, Build-A-Bear Workshop announced that it had given $1 million (US) to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) through the sales of its WWF Collectibear stuffed animal series. For each plush animal sold, one dollar goes to the WWF to protect and conserve wildlife around the world. [ [http://ir.buildabear.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=182478&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=827820&highlight= Build-A-Bear Workshop(R) Donates $1 Million for World Wildlife Fund] , 7 March 2006] On May 10, 2006, Build-A-Bear Workshop announced a line of toys based on its store would be included in McDonald's Happy Meals. It became the first plush toy collection included with the Happy Meal to feature removable mix-and-match clothing. Sixteen bears were created. They were released during the four weeks between May 12 and June 8. Each of the 16 bears were released in one of two outfits, unique to each bear, making 32 toys in all. [ [http://ir.buildabear.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=182478&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=854693&highlight= Build-A-Bear Workshop(R) Featured in McDonald's(R) Happy Meal(R) and Mighty Kids Meals; "Summer of Happy Meal Fun" Series Includes First-Ever Plush Collection with Removable Clothing] , 10 May 2006] McDonald's ran a second Build-A-Bear Workshop Happy Meal in August, 2007.

In 2006, the company acquired "The Bear Factory" in the United Kingdom from Hamleys Toys Store.

In 2007 Build-A-Bear Workshop celebrated their 10th anniversary by declaring 2007 as "The Year of Friendship". The year culminated with the launch of the company'snew interactive virtual world [http://www.buildabearville.com Build-A-Bearville] . The company also announced that they had sold over 50 million stuffed animals in the last 10 years. As part of the 10th birthday celebration, the company built 10 playgrounds throughout the USA and Canada in partnership with KaBoom! and announced that they had donated over $10 million to various child and family causes since 1997. A new set of Beary Limited Edition Collectibears called the "Friends Fur All Seasons" arrived to help celebrate the event. Each bear included a Collectibear Pin. For Dr. Seuss's birthday, Build-A-Bear Workshop released a The Cat in the Hat.For the premiere of Shrek the Third, Build-A-Bear Workshop featured a make-your-own Shrek as well as Shrek-themed outfits and limited edition Shrek babies.For the premiere of Surf's Up (film), Build-A-Bear Workshop is featuring a Cody Maverick penguin.The Game Factory announced that it has signed a deal with Build a Bear to make a video game for the Nintendo DS that will come out in Christmas 2007.

In 2008, the new series of Beary Limited Edition Collectibears are the "Gem Of A Friend". The first bear was known as the [http://www.buildabear.com/shop/productdetail.aspx?ProductSKU=13126&Category=gemfriend&CallingPage=ProductSummary Precious Pink Teddy] , the second is [http://www.buildabear.com/shop/productdetail.aspx?ProductSKU=13378&Category=topaz&CallingPage=ProductSummary Treasured Topaz Teddy] , and the third is the Adorable Amethyst Teddy. All three bears feature a Collectibear Pin. As a new promotion for Build-A-Bearville, if a Gem Of A Friend is purchased and brought to life online, the user receives extra Bear Bills, and extra room and wallpaper for their Cub Condo house, and an animal adventure with an exclusive virtual reward.

In May, there is a weekend known as Stuffed For Hugs Weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, guests at Build-a-Bear are given the opportunity to stuff a preselected animal for charity. The entire process is free, and it attracts a lot of good Samaritans and good-hearted people. Some people even dress up the donated animal before sending it off with love to charity. This is an example of how Build-a-Bear donates to charity. There are also purple hearts that can be substituted for red ones when stuffing an animal. They cost one dollar, and go to a different charity each month.

Notable bears

* "Bearemy" is Build-A-Bear Workshop's primary and original mascot. This brown bear is dressed in a t-shirt and baseball cap. Guests can make their own Bearemy and/or buy his mascot outfit in stores.
* "Pawlette Coufur", a well-dressed bunny, is Build-A-Bear Workshop's "fashion adviser to the furry famous." Pawlette is a "Bunny Big Ears" plush. [ [http://www.buildabear.com/aboutUs/OurCompany/ourMascot.aspx Build A Bear's mascots] ]
* "Ted the Tailor" a hardworking but dapper bear, is Pawlette Coufur's fashion consultant having met while Pawlette was on a shopping trip to London. A Ted the Tailor bear and outfit was added to UK stores in Early-Mid 2008. [ [http://www.buildabear.co.uk/aboutUs/OurCompany/OurMascot.aspx Build A Bear UK's mascots] ]
* "Read Teddy": With Read Teddy, Build-A-Bear Workshop has partnered with First Book to put books into the hands of children who would otherwise not have them. Together, they have created a special new furry friend-Read Teddy [ [http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=182478&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=653327&highlight= Build-A-Bear Workshop Continues Year-Long Teddy Bear Centennial Celebration With Launch of New Literacy Initiatives] ] is used in some games as well.
* "Nikki's Bear" was a purple bear named after Nikki Giampolo. Nikki was an honor student, musician and competitive athlete from Hebron, Conn., who died New Year's Day 2002 after a six-month battle with bone cancer. During the final months of her life, her wish was to create a program to raise awareness and funds for children's cancer. [ [http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=182478&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=653481&highlight=nikki Giant teddy bear to tour America this spring -8-foot replica of Nikki’s Bear will raise awareness and funds for children’s cancer] ] . There were three different versions of Nikki's Bear.
* "Champ Bear" is a bear associated with children's charities. Champ embodies the Build-A-Bear Workshop philosophy of supporting children and their families who are working to overcome health obstacles and meet wellness challenges. For each Champ bear purchased ($18/£15), $1/£1 will go toward the support of children's health and wellness causes [ [http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=182478&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=898113&highlight=champ Build-A-Bear Workshop(R) Introduces Champ - A Champion Fur Kids; Children's Health and Wellness Initiatives Find Support From a Furbulous New Friend] ] . Champ Bear is most notable for being the inspiration behind 'Team Champ' - a record breaking team of bear builders from the Manchester Arndale store in the UK. The Champ Bear was recently redesigned slightly, with a different colour scheme and some adjusted details.
* "Pudsey Bear" is the official mascot of the BBC Television charity marathon Children In Need. In 2008 customers in the store will be able to make their own Pudsey Bear with £5 of the price going to the charity event. There is also be a special Pudsey Bear T-Shirt available for the companies bears to wear with £1 of the price also going to Children In Need. This is the first year that Build-A-Bear Workshop has done this and it is only be available in stores in stores in the United Kingdom. [ [http://www.buildabear.co.uk/events/?sc_hpan=BottomButtons&sc_hpdr=ev_Pudsey_1 Help BBC Children In Need with Pudsey Bear] ]

Online

In Winter 2007, Build-A-Bear opened their new online virtual town, currently in Beta 2.18. Dubbed "Build-A-Bearville" this online city allows users to play games and chat in a relatively safe community. Users who own Build-A-Bears bought after October 2007 can bring their stuffed animal to life online by entering their bear's special code, found on the bear's birth certificate. If a user has a furry friend from before October 2007, they can (for a limited time) pick up a "Welcome Pass" at any Build-A-Bear location. They can then use use the code on this "Welcome Pass" to bring up to 5 of their furry friends to life. Only accounts that have registered bears bought after October 2007 have the access to "quests" to get a special item, clothing piece, or emoticon.Build-A-Bearville has several locations for users to visit, most of which have games for them to play. Playing games earns players Bear Bills, which can then be used to buy clothes and furniture. Other activities include chat, decorating a home, listening to stories, embarking on quests, and downloading desktops. [ [http://www.buildabearville.com The Official Build-A-Bearville Website] ]

Other Build-A-Bear Workshop-owned stores

* "Make Your Own Mascot" at Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia), Progressive Field (Cleveland), Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati), AT&T Park (San Francisco), Nationals Park (Washington), and Busch Stadium (St. Louis) featuring the home team's respective mascots, as well as one for Boston Red Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster in the Faneuil Hall Marketplace store.
* [http://www.friends2Bmade.com Friends 2B Made] is an interactive store allowing customers to make dolls and purchase related accessories.
* [http://www.buildadino.com Build-A-Dino] allows customers to create a stuffed dinosaur and purchase related accessories. The first location was located inside the TREX Cafe in Kansas City in partnership with Landry's Restaurants. The first stand alone store was a temporary holiday test at Chesterfield Mall in Chesterfield, Missouri, which closed after the 2006 holidays to relocate to the St. Louis Science Center.

Controversy

Basic Brown Bear Factory lawsuit

In 1999, The owners of [http://basicbrownbear.com Basic Brown Bear Factory] of San Francisco, CA, Eric and Merrilee Woods, sued Build-A-Bear for misappropriating trade secrets, copyright infringement, unfair competition, and breach of confidence. A confidential settlement agreement was reached between the two parties.

According to legal filings, Maxine Clark approached Basic Brown Bear Factory in 1996 to negotiate a buyout offer. Eric and Merrilee Woods were interested in selling the business to Clark to expand it nationally, with the agreement that the Woods would remain as officers. The Woods assert that Clark was exposed to the inner workings of the business and signed a confidentiality agreement. She then gave a low-ball offer, which the Woods rejected, resulting in Clark quickly departing to organize Build-A-Bear Workshop with their trade secrets.

Maxine Clark has stated "We have never claimed that we were the first to have make-your-own stuffed animal businesses in the United States"Fact|date=September 2008. Regardless, Maxine Clark appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in February 2004, claiming to have invented the Build-A-Bear Workshop with the help of a ten year old named Katie who thought that Beanie Babies that were so hard to find, "were so easy that they could make them." This Oprah appearance has been rebroadcast in September 2004 and June 2005. Though Build-A-Bear has subsequently applied for or acquired many patents, copyrights, and trademarks related to the business of "create-your-own-animal", [cite web |url=http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/021111/archive_023257.htm |title=Teddy bear tussle - The fur is flying in the legal wars over who owns the rights to sell make-your-own toys |accessdate=2007-08-25 |last=Grose |first=Thomas |date=2002-11-03] controversy, contention, and litigation over the intellectual property abound.

See also

* Build-A-Bear Workshop (video game)

Other

*"Seventeen" magazine has named Build a Bear as the #3 Best Place to Work for teens. [cite web|title=Seventeen Special - 10 Best Companies: Apply for jobs at these great companies!|url=http://www.seventeen.com/college-career/special/699799]
*The "Hannah Montana" episode "Bad Moose Rising" mentions a 'Make-a-Moose' store, which is a parody of Build-A-Bear Workshop.
*The "iCarly" episode "iFence" mentions a 'Build-a-Bra' Store, a parody of Build-A-Bear Workshop.
* The June 30,2008 strip of the comic Rhymes With Orange has a parody of Build A Bear called "Build A Child".
* In the crossover episode between Cory in the House and Hannah Montana, a Secret Service agent says, "Tomorrow we go to Make-A-Moose. Whee"! Make a Moose is a parody of Build-A-Bear.

References

External links

* [http://www.buildabear.com Build-A-Bear Workshop corporate website]