Build a Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Trying to make people smile is part of the credo at Build-A-Bear Workshop. The company was founded in 1997 by Maxine Clark who is the Chairman and Chief Executive. Maxine started Build-A-Bear Workshop or BBW, after working in corporate America for 20 years for the retailing industry. She wanted to create a retail environment that inspired the imagination, creativity, and memories for children and families.
Flash forward to 2012 and BBW has become the only global company that offers customers the opportunity to create their own stuffed animals in a retail environment. BBW offers an exciting in store experience, coupled with top notch customer service and high quality products. BBW is the dominant company in the industry and has cornered the market. The industry for stuffed animals is already saturated and there isn’t a demand to cause the market to experience any significant growth from where it is present day. The threat of competition is very low since BBW is so unique with it’s in store experience. The entire process of being able to choose, and create an original furry friend is something that’s difficult to replicate. BBW has 346 company owned stores and 62 franchised retail stores worldwide with a yearly revenue of $468 million. In the third quarter of 2011, BBW reported a net retail sales rise of 3.1% and their e-commerce sales increase a whopping 20.3%. Customers that visit the store enjoy a special atmosphere while walking through each phase of the specific Build-A-Bear Workshop process. There are eight animal making work stations to complete the stuffed animal making process. These work stations are all part of the BBW branding that provides customers their own personal experience to create an original stuffed animal. The process starts off with choosing your stuffed animal, then choosing a recording you want the bear to say, followed by the stuffing, stitching, and fluffing. The customer then
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Trying to make people smile is part of the credo at Build-A-Bear Workshop. The company was founded in 1997 by Maxine Clark who is the Chairman and Chief Executive. Maxine started Build-A-Bear Workshop or BBW, after working in corporate America for 20 years for the retailing industry. She wanted to create a retail environment that inspired the imagination, creativity, and memories for children and families.
Flash forward to 2012 and BBW has become the only global company that offers customers the opportunity to create their own stuffed animals in a retail environment. BBW offers an exciting in store experience, coupled with top notch customer service and high quality products. BBW is the dominant company in the industry and has cornered the market. The industry for stuffed animals is already saturated and there isn’t a demand to cause the market to experience any significant growth from where it is present day. The threat of competition is very low since BBW is so unique with it’s in store experience. The entire process of being able to choose, and create an original furry friend is something that’s difficult to replicate. BBW has 346 company owned stores and 62 franchised retail stores worldwide with a yearly revenue of $468 million. In the third quarter of 2011, BBW reported a net retail sales rise of 3.1% and their e-commerce sales increase a whopping 20.3%. Customers that visit the store enjoy a special atmosphere while walking through each phase of the specific Build-A-Bear Workshop process. There are eight animal making work stations to complete the stuffed animal making process. These work stations are all part of the BBW branding that provides customers their own personal experience to create an original stuffed animal. The process starts off with choosing your stuffed animal, then choosing a recording you want the bear to say, followed by the stuffing, stitching, and fluffing. The customer then
References: Axler, B. (2010, Feb. 25). In Build-A-Bear Workshop: Turning a Corner. (sect. 3). Retrieved Feb. 8, 2012, from http://seekingalpha.com/article/190625-build-a-bear-workshop-turning-a-corner Build-A-Bear Workshop. (2012, Jan.). Quarterly Earnings, Financial Information, & Company Profile St. Louis, MO: Build-A-Bear Workshop. Retrieved Feb. 8, 2012, from http://www.buildabear.com Griffin, R. (2010). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. In Organization Design (Vol. 9, p. 462-462). Boston, MA: South-Western College Publishing. Retrieved Feb. 8, 2012, from http://books.google.com/books?id=RidV6vh08xMC&pg=PA461&dq=angela+moore+build-a-bear+builds+on+the+basics+reuters&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y280T7_XEce4tweT953AAg&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=angela%20moore%20build-a-bear%20builds%20on%20the%20basics%20reuters&f=false Kumar, K. (2011, Dec. 24). In Build-A-Bear issues third toy recall this year. (sect. 5,6,&7). Retrieved Feb. 8, 2011, from http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/build-a-bear-issues-third-toy-recall-this-year/article_c752e2eb-668a-5c31-8130-4059a64355bc.html