Press Release
Build-A-Bear Workshop® Opening in Toledo, Ohio at Westfield Shoppingtown Franklin Park on May 6!
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 consisting of bear-making stations. Guests choose their furry friend to make, stuff it just right, and add personality with hundreds of outfits and accessories. The company is also known for the memorable heart ceremony that takes place during the bear-making process. This station allows Guests to choose a red satin heart, make a special wish and place it inside their stuffed animal.
Founder and Chief Executive Bear, Maxine Clark, knows what families want in a shopping experience, and the store 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 the exciting atmosphere and fun of shopping the way it used to be. "When I was young, it was exciting for me to see all the decorations in the stores, and I loved every minute of it," says Clark. "That excitement was something I wanted to re-create for children and families today."
As Guests enter a Build-A-Bear Workshop® store they are introduced to a variety of stuffed animals including bears, dogs, cats, bunnies, monkeys and a series of Beary Limited™ edition Collectibear® animals. Build-A-Bear Workshop stuffed animals are very affordable, ranging in price from $10-$25. Hundreds of coordinating outfits and accessories are also available to further personalize new furry friends. Guests in Toledo have the chance to show their team spirit by purchasing special bear-sized Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers uniforms, Tiny Tees® and accessories. In addition, Cleveland Cavalier and Detroit Pistons jerseys are available for all basketball fanatics!
Clark is looking forward to opening in Toledo. She notes, "Our plan is always to open in the premier malls across the country, and we will continue this approach as we open at Westfield Shoppingtown Franklin Park. We have many Guests who have visited our stores and personally written to me requesting a Build-A-Bear Workshop store at Westfield Shoppingtown Franklin Park. Now we will be able to reach even more of our friends in Toledo continuing our strategy to bring our stores to wherever families go to have fun," says Clark.
Community Partners
A major focus of the company is its continued commitment to causes that support
children and animals. When Guests purchase any of the Build-A-Bear Workshop
cause animals, which include Nikki's Bear II, Read Teddy®, Bearemy Kennel
Pals® dogs, and World Wildlife Fund Collectibear® friends, a portion
of the proceeds go directly to charitable organizations. In addition to the
cause-related animals, Build-A-Bear Workshop launched the Huggable Heroes™
program in 2004 as a way to recognize and honor young people that have impacted
their own neighborhoods, schools and communities by giving of themselves to
others. It is a program that empowers and inspires children to get involved
as Build-A-Bear Workshop believes that young people can affect change. More
information about the Huggable Heroes program is available online at http://huggableheroes.buildabear.com.
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW), with fiscal 2004 total revenue of $302
million, is the only national company that offers Guests an interactive make-your-own-stuffed
animal retail-entertainment experience. The first store opened in St. Louis
in 1997; at the end of 2004 the company operated 170 stores in 40 states and
Canada. With the opening of its store in Sheffield, England, in the fall of
2003 and the addition of international stores in Japan, Denmark and Australia
in 2004, Build-A-Bear Workshop has become the global leader in the teddy bear
business. In November 2004, the company opened two friends 2B made® stores,
the newest concept based on the doll-making experience. For more information
about the company and its products, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the company's
award-winning Web site at www.buildabear.com.
TRADEMARKS
We would like to thank you for your interest in covering our business. As you
write your story we would like to 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 Workshop, 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: Jennifer Mansell
314.423.8000 Ext. 5402
414.801.1146 cell
jenniferm@buildabear.com
Shawn Bertani
314.423.8000 Ext. 5366
314.452.6391 cell
shawnb@buildabear.com