Build-A-Bear Workshop 2011 Annual Report Download - page 7

2001
BEAREMY’S KENNEL PALS®
Program started to raise money
for domestic pets in need of a
helping paw
2003
FIRST INTERNATIONAL STORE
The first Build-A-Bear Workshop
store outside North America
opened in Sheffield, England
2005
200TH STORE
We cele-bear-ated our 200th store
opening at the Mall of America in
Minneapolis, Minnesota
2007
ONLINE WORLD STUFFED
WITH FUN
Buildabearville.com® (now
Bearville.com™) started
and market presence. We will
also relocate select stores
within existing malls, reduce
their square footage and thereby
increase productivity. While our
store base in North America
will be “leaner,” operating stores
will have higher volumes and profitability.
2. INCREASE SHOPPING FREQUENCY.
In order to grow our business, we will drive Guest traffic to our
stores, specifically targeting families with children, convert the
traffic into transactions and then retain those Guests once they
have experienced our store, increasing shopping frequency
and household value.
Build-A-Bear Workshop offers a unique combination of product
and experience and it is important that we speak to both.
We will continue to promote our innovative product launches
while also developing new categories of business including
other toy and branded products that are in demand with our
core demographics yet consistent with our brand attributes of
creativity and imaginative play.
We will use our national multi-media marketing programs to
increase store traffic by promoting our interactive experience
and seasonal product launches. We will increase shopping
frequency with Guests that are members in our Stuff Fur Stuff®
club loyalty program. We believe our signature store
experience is a competitive advantage and the full integration
of product, marketing and operations enhances our Guests’
brand interaction. We will continue to grow our e-commerce
business leveraging ongoing changes in consumers’ shopping
channel preferences.
Build-A-Bear Workshop has a community of highly engaged
brand advocates, both adults (primarily Moms) and kids.
In 2011, we continued to expand our use of social media
to reach and market to these brand advocates. As of
March 12, 2012, over 2 million Facebook users have “liked”
the Build-A-Bear Workshop brand. We have over 25,000
Twitter followers, over 5.5 million views on YouTube and over
1 million downloads of our Build-A-Bear® App. Our virtual
world and entertainment destination website, bearville.com,
™
is targeted at kids, primarily ages 6 to 14 and continues to be
a tool to increase engagement, promote our brand and raise
awareness of in-store products and events. In 2012, the digital
space will continue to be an important component in our
marketing efforts.
3. ENHANCE OUR STORE EXPERIENCE WITH
A NEW STORE DESIGN.
Build-A-Bear Workshop stores are highly recognizable and our
teddy bear-themed environment encourages imagination and
exploration. While our products change and improve regularly,
our signature store experience has remained essentially
unchanged since our inception. When I started Build-A-Bear
Workshop, I wanted to re-define retail. My vision was to be
“a theme park in the mall.” Fifteen years and over 100 million
furry friends later, I think we can all truly take pride in the
impact Build-A-Bear Workshop has made on the retail industry.
With a new generation of kids, the
evolution in technology, our expanded
line of products and the growth in
our online business, our vision has
broadened and we will deliver an
updated store design in 2012.
We are investing in our company to build these newly
designed stores; they feature a bold new look that adds
elements which enhance our experience, while maintaining the
process and interaction that has made us who we are. While
many other retailers are trying to create an experience to draw
shoppers to their brands, we have always offered that and
we will continue to lead in the interactive experiential retail
3
2002
Over 10
million furry
friends sold
2004
Over 25
million furry
friends sold