Press Release

Company launches NEW store design at this location

ST. LOUIS (May 26, 2010) — Build-A-Bear Workshop®, the interactive entertainment retailer of customized stuffed animals, is opening a store location in Hampton, Va. at Peninsula Town Center on Friday, June 18. The company currently operates more than 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide and the Peninsula Town Center location will be the first with a modernized store design. The store update gives a fresh look to Build-A-Bear Workshop, where children and families can still find a fun shopping experience.

“We have many Guests from this area who have visited our stores and requested that we bring our magical bear making experience to Peninsula Town Center,” said Maxine Clark, Build-A-Bear Workshop founder and chief executive bear. “We are very excited about opening this new location and continuing to spread teddy bear hugs!”

The store location features a modified entry that includes unique signage with a new bear logo. The entryway graphics welcome Guests into the store to participate in the Build-A-Bear Workshop experience. Brushed metal fixtures accent a fresh color pallet including white, along with our iconic red, blue and yellow finishes.

To enhance the interactivity of the store experience, a new monitor above the Name Me station will allow Guests to engage in buildabearville.com®, the company’s virtual world. The store will feature more lifestyle photography, merchandise organized by theme or story as well as a special section called Furbulous Finds that will highlight special value merchandise and hot fashion trends as they occur.

“We are refreshing the traditional look of Build-A-Bear Workshop to showcase our products and further engage our Guests with events and in store activities,” said Clark.

Build-A-Bear Workshop is based on the premise that nearly everyone, regardless of age, has a special fondness for stuffed animals. When Guests visit a Build-A-Bear Workshop store, they enter a lighthearted teddy-bear-themed environment. Guests choose from over 30 stuffed animals to make, including bears, dogs, cats, bunnies, monkeys and a series of Beary Limited® edition Collectibear® animals. They stuff their new friend, give it a heart filled with wishes – a Build-A-Bear Workshop trademark – and make a personalized birth certificate. Guests can further personalize their new friend by recording their own message to add inside the animal and choosing from a wide selection of unique fashions and accessories.

The fun doesn’t stop when a Guest leaves the store! Each stuffed animal’s birth certificate contains a code that allows Guests to bring their new best friend to life for free online at Build-A-Bearville®. Guests can create their own unique character, play games and quests to earn Bear Bills (the virtual world currency), purchase clothing and furniture for their Cub Condo® and even trade items they have created or acquired with other citizens in the virtual world. Membership to the site is free and does not expire.

Clark knows what families want in a shopping experience, and Build-A-Bear Workshop is her response to happy memories of shopping as a child. The Build-A-Bear Workshop innovative store concept takes children’s interactive entertainment retailing to a new level, combining the process of making your own stuffed animal with an exciting atmosphere and providing excellent customer service.

“We truly listen to our Guests’ ideas and requests,” said Clark. “We've created a unique retail experience by putting the heart back into retailing and putting our Guests at the center of every aspect of our business.”

Community Partners
Throughout the company’s13 year history, Build-A-Bear Workshop has shared the hug of a teddy bear wherever needed in local communities and abroad. The company has given Guests a voice in supporting the causes that are important to them and through its corporate donations and foundation grant programs, has given more than $25 million to children's health and wellness, animals, literacy and other important causes.

“At Build-A-Bear Workshop, we live by the teddy bear philosophy of being good people and good bears. We look forward to partnering with local charities and making a difference in the community when we open in Hampton,” added Clark.

About Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is the only global company that offers an interactive make-your-own stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience. The company currently operates more than 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide, including company-owned stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and France, and franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Middle East. Founded in St. Louis in 1997, Build-A-Bear Workshop is the leader in interactive retail. Brands include make-your-own Major League Baseball® mascot in-stadium locations, and Build-A-Dino® stores. Build-A-Bear Workshop extends its in-store interactive experience online with its award winning virtual world Web site at buildabearville.com®. The company was named to the 2009 and 2010 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® lists. Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) posted total revenue of $394.4 million in fiscal 2009. For more information, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the company's award-winning Web site at buildabear.com®.

Parental permission may be required to access buildabearville.com. Visit buildabearville.com for details.

Contact:
Jill Saunders
314-423-8000 ext. 5293
314-422-4523 (cell)
jills@buildabear.com

Shannon Lammert
314-423-8000 ext. 5379
314-556-8841 (cell)
shannonl@buildabear.com