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Build-A-Bear Workshop history
Build-A-Bear Workshop company history timeline
On that October Sunday in 1997 when she opened the first Build-A-Bear Workshop in the Saint Louis Galleria Mall, Guests lined up outside the door.
With each animal toy priced at $10 to $25 and clothing at $3 to $10, sales of $377,600 exceeded projections for 1997.
Clark founded Build-A-Bear in 1997.
Build-A-Bear continued to impress investors, with Walnut Capital Partners investing in 1999 $5 million for expansion.
While the company included Columbus in its long-term growth plan, the strong response from residents prompted the company to open a store in that area earlier, in April 2000.
Accelerating Expansion in 2000-01
The store opened in fall 2001, the company's 32nd store opening that year, for a total of 72 stores in 30 states.
With additional investment funds Build-A-Bear accelerated expansion, as Clark aimed to meet her goal of operating 100 stores in 2002.
Although Clark intended to take the company global from its inception, concrete plans did not begin to take shape until late 2002.
2002: Build-A-Bear Workshop celebrates the 100th anniversary of the teddy bear along with the opening of its 100th store.
In October 2003 the company signed a franchise agreement with Amsbra Limited for exclusive rights to open and operate Build-A-Bear Workshops in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The excellence with which Build-A-Bear executed its retail formula attracted the attention of children's product marketers and authors of four books published in 2003 dedicated whole chapters to the company.
2003: International expansion begins with new locations in Canada and England.
In November 2004, Clark opened the first Friends 2B Made store with this concept in Robinson near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania followed by a location in Columbus, Ohio on November 19, 2004.
These products would extend Build-A-Bear sales to mass market retailers beginning in late 2004.
Expansion in the United States for 2004 involved new stores in Franklin, Tennessee; Wichita, Kansas; Hobart, Indiana; Dublin, Ohio; Sugarland, Texas; West Des Moines, Iowa; Poughkeepsie, New York; Little Rock, Arkansas; and its first store in Hawaii, in Honolulu.
Maxine was named one of the Wonder Women of Toys by Playthings magazine and Women in Toys, and was also one of the National Finalists in Retail for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2004.
A few Build-A-Bear Workshop locations began testing the "make-your-own-doll" concept in early 2004.
The Game Factory developed and released a Build-A-Bear Workshop video game for the Nintendo DS platform for Christmas 2007.
A Build-A-Bear game for the Nintendo Wii, subtitled A Friend Fur All Seasons, was released in fall 2008.
By October 1, 2009, they were all either shuttered or converted into expanded Build-A-Bear outlets, with their staff being offered jobs at Bear locations.
Build-A-Bear released a feature film, available on the iPad through MoPix, in December 2011.
Also in 2013, founder Maxine Clark retired as CEO, and Sharon Price John took over the position around June.
Launched in 2015, is her first product, Blueprint4SummerSTL, a free and easy-to-use mobile app designed to help ALL families navigate the best summer activities for their children.
In 2015, a lawsuit sought damages for discriminating against blind people and lack of blind-accessible point-of-sale machines in Build-a-Bear shops.
In November 2017, the company expanded on its pop up shop locations with the opening of Build-A-Bear Bakeshop temporarily for the holidays in the West County Center near a Workshop location.
In 2017 Build-A-Bear Workshop was named to the FORTUNE Best Companies to Work For® list for the ninth year in a row.
The company launched a streaming radio station in October 2018.
During the 2018 holiday season, Build-A-Bear opened six pop-up pilot shops in Walmart stores.
Build-A-Bear Workshop teamed up with Warner Music Group's Arts Music and Warner Chappell Music in July 2019 to partner on a Build-A-Bear music label.
With an announcement of having secured a deal with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions in an August 2019 Q2 earnings report, Build-A-Bear was starting up an in-house production entity, Build-A-Bear Entertainment.
The success of the pilot led to the expansion of Build-A-Bear into a further 25 Walmart locations in 2019.
CEO Price John also indicated two Christmas movies are in development for the Hallmark Channel with the first to be broadcast in winter 2019.
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Build-A-Bear Workshop competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Eagle Outfitters | 1977 | $5.3B | 37,000 | 1,153 |
| Vudu | 2004 | - | 180 | - |
| The Children's Place | 1969 | $1.6B | 2,100 | 289 |
| Foot Locker | 1974 | $8.0B | 32,175 | 868 |
| Levi Strauss & Co. | 1853 | $6.4B | 15,100 | 728 |
| Neiman Marcus Group | 1907 | $4.9B | 13,500 | 333 |
| Gap Inc. | 1969 | $15.1B | 117,000 | 47 |
| Buckle | 1948 | $1.2B | 9,000 | 3,101 |
| Hallmark Cards | 1910 | $5.0B | 30,000 | - |
| Kohl's | 1962 | $16.2B | 110,000 | 1,537 |
Build-A-Bear Workshop history FAQs
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Build-A-Bear Workshop may also be known as or be related to Build A Bear Workshop Inc., Build-A-Bear Workshop, Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc and Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.