Press Release

ST. LOUIS (May 21, 2012) —Build-A-Bear Workshop, the leading and only international company providing a “make your own stuffed animal” interactive retail-entertainment experience, announced today that it will debut its first newly remodeled store to open in September in St. Louis at West County Center.

Over two years in the making, the store will have a fresh modern look and offer new experiences and innovative features that will take the company’s signature bear-making process to a whole new level. A group of “Cub Advisors”, area children and their parents, has also been actively involved in the design and testing for the new store. The company plans to open six of the newly designed stores across the country in 2012. Details and locations will be announced later in the year.

“I am very pleased to have our first newly designed store here in St. Louis, the very same city where our retail concept started 15 years ago,” said Maxine Clark, Founder and Chief Executive Bear. “Over 100 million furry friends have been made in our stores and our concept has truly redefined retail. We are excited to take this next step and continue our leadership in the interactive retail space.”

West County Center is owned and managed by CBL & Associates Properties. “We are very happy that Build-A-Bear Workshop has selected West County Center as the site of their first newly designed store. Build-A-Bear Workshop and CBL have had a tremendous relationship for many years. The September timing couldn’t be better as we will also be celebrating the tenth anniversary of West County’s expansion and grand re-opening,” said Howard Grody, Senior Vice President - Leasing for CBL.

Also working with Build-A-Bear Workshop on the project are Adrienne Weiss Corporation, specializing in brand development and store design, Oei Design, a retail entertainment design firm, and St. Louis based architects, Epoch Design Group.

The Build-A-Bear Workshop store at West County Center will close on June 3 for the remodel and will reopen with the new design in September. Guests are invited to visit other St. Louis area stores or the company’s award-winning websites, http://www.buildabear.com/ and http://www.bearville.com/, during the construction period. Other area stores include:

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. There are more than 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide, including company-owned stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, Mexico and South America. 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 and entertainment destination website at bearville.com™. The company was named to the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for the fourth year in a row in 2012. Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) posted total revenue of $394.4 million in fiscal 2011. For more information, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the company's award-winning website at buildabear.com®.

About the Build-A-Bear Workshop Friends Count Celebration

Throughout 2012, Build-A-Bear Workshop® is celebrating its 15th birthday and 100 million furry friends made. To thank Guests for helping the company reach these milestones, Build-A-Bear Workshop is hosting a year-long “Friends Count” celebration. The celebration includes in-store events and charitable activities. The company is also inviting Guests to share and read stories about others who have made furry friends at Build-A-Bear Workshop at the website buildabear.com/stories. For more information and updates on Build-A-Bear Workshop and the year-long “Friends Count” initiative visit buildabear.com®  .

TRADEMARKS
We would like to thank you for your interest in covering our business. As you write your story, we would ask that you use our full name: Build-A-Bear Workshop® and that when referencing the process of making stuffed animals you use the word “make” not “build.”

Build-A-Bear Workshop is our well-known trade name and our registered trademark of Build-A-Bear Retail Management, Inc.  Build-A-Bear Workshop® should only be used in capital letters to refer to our products and services and should not be used as a verb.

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