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Press Release

Newly Imagined Build-A-Bear Workshop Store Coming Soon to Westfield Valley Fair Shopping Center

Award-winning store design with integrated technology provides new interactive experiences for Guests

ST. LOUIS (June 19, 2013) — Build-A-Bear Workshop®, the interactive entertainment retailer of customized stuffed animals, announced today that it will open a highly anticipated newly imagined store in Santa Clara, Calif. at Westfield Valley Fair shopping center on Friday, June 28. The store is enhanced with innovative technology to provide a richer, more interactive experience for Guests. The new design received rave reviews when it was introduced in six U.S. markets in the fall of 2012. Overall sales in these locations have exceeded expectations. Based on these results, Build-A-Bear Workshop plans to open 20-25 newly designed locations in North America in 2013.

“At Build-A-Bear Workshop, we are continually innovating to provide breakthrough experiences and products for today’s generation of tech-savvy Guests,” said Maxine Clark, founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop. “We are thrilled to bring our newly imagined store to Westfield Valley Fair and look forward to having fun and making memories with our Guests.”

“We are excited for Build-A-Bear Workshop to open its newly designed store and further enhance the shopping experience available for families here at Westfield Valley Fair,” said Matt Ehrie, District Vice President and General Manager of Westfield Valley Fair. “As a leader in the interactive retail space, Build-A-Bear Workshop will be a special destination that we know our families will enjoy for years to come.”

Guests who visit the new store will see a noticeable change to the company’s trademarked stuffed animal-making experience including:

  • An interactive storefront that is enabled by Microsoft’s Kinect technology and interactive touch elements. Guests can play games and view the latest product offerings as they enter the store.
  • The Love Me station allows Guests to customize their stuffed animals with special personality attributes displayed as emoticons on an interactive table. Using Samsung’s SUR40 with Microsoft® PixelSense™ technology, Guests add unique traits - like brave, silly, and smart - to their red satin heart, which is added to their stuffed animal during the Stuff Me process.
  • The Hear Me station features an assortment of high quality sounds that can be added to stuffed animals. Using an interactive touch screen, Guests can select and load popular hits from current music, sounds, or their own voice onto a chip to further personalize their stuffed animal.
  • The Fluff Me station features a digital bath tub enabled by Samsung’s SUR40 with Microsoft® PixelSense™ technology. The tub magically recognizes the items as they are placed on it and reacts with sensory effects such as virtual bubbles that appear when play soap is placed on the “water surface.”
  • The Name Me station, where Guests use a viewfinder or “Bear-O-Scope” to reveal the special attributes they added to their stuffed animal. At Name Me, Guests also create a one-of-a-kind birth certificate that includes a photo of their new furry friend.

Through these interactive elements, Guests can personalize the bear-making process and have a different experience each time they visit. The store includes a number of technology platforms that enable Build-A-Bear Workshop to continue to update the store experience. Similar to how one might download a new app to a mobile device, the company is able to update the stations inside the store with interactive experiences that are relevant to certain product launches and seasons.
For more information, visit the company’s award-winning website, buildabear.com® and take a virtual tour of the new store at http://bit.ly/QAoJqJ .

About the Newly Imagined Build-A-Bear Workshop Stores
Build-A-Bear Workshop, the interactive entertainment retailer of customized stuffed animals, has created a newly imagined store design that merges the love of a teddy bear with the best of technology. In 2013, the store received the DSA Excellence Award for Best Retail Deployment in Digital Signage, the Digital Signage Expo Award of the Year, and a Gold Apex Award in Retail. In 2012, the store received Retail TouchPoints Customer Engagement Award for in-store experience and was the first brick and mortar store to receive the WiredTrust Socially Safe Seal. By 2014, the company expects to refresh 40 to 50 locations with either full or partial elements of the new design format. To learn more about the newly imagined Build-A-Bear Workshop store, take a virtual tour at http://bit.ly/QAoJqJ.

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 website at bearville.com™. The company was named to the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for the fifth year in a row in 2013. Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) posted total revenue of $380.9 million in fiscal 2012. For more information, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the company's award-winning website at buildabear.com ®.

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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.About Westfield Valley Fair
Just south of the Peninsula, attracting discerning shoppers from Burlingame to Palo Alto, Westfield Valley Fair is conveniently located in the heart of Silicon Valley. The shopping center is an influential style resource for individuals who pride themselves on being on the cutting edge of all things new. Westfield Valley Fair is home to nearly 200 retailers, including Cartier, Tory Burch, CH Premier, Michael Kors, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Macy’s Men’s and Home, Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn. Westfield Valley Fair is located at 2855 Stevens Creek Boulevard in Santa Clara, California and can be found online at www.westfield.com/valleyfair.

Westfield Valley Fair is conveniently located near the intersection of highways 101, 280, 880 and 87. Public transit is available to Westfield Valley Fair via The Valley Transportation Authority, including bus routes 23, 36, 60 and 87. The Westfield Concierge will also gladly arrange for taxi service. Valet parking is also available.

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

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