Build-A-Bear Workshop®
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is the only global company that offers an
interactive “make your own stuffed animal” retail-entertainment
experience. The Company currently operates more than 400
Build-A-Bear Workshop® stores worldwide, including company-owned
stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom,
Ireland and France, and franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia and
Africa. 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® store locations.
In 2007, the interactive experience was enhanced - all the way to
CyBEAR® space - with the launch of buildabearville.com™, the
company’s virtual world stuffed with fun.
Our Store Experience
Guests who visit a Build-A-Bear Workshop® store enter a recognizable and distinctive teddy bear themed
environment consisting of eight stuffed animal-making stations: Choose Me, Hear Me, Stuff Me, Stitch
Me, Fluff Me, Dress Me, Name Me and Take Me Home®. Store associates, known as master Bear
Builder® associates, share the experience with Guests at each phase of the bear-making process.
Regardless of age, Guests enjoy the highly visual environment, the sounds and the fantasy of this special
place while they create a memory with their friends and family.
At Choose Me, Guests are introduced to all the furry characters in the store and then select one, which
soon becomes their new friend. There are more than 30 varieties of stuffed animals including teddy
bears, bunnies, dogs, kitties and more. Build-A-Bear Workshop stuffed animals are very affordable,
ranging in price from $10 - $25.
At Hear Me, Guests may select from several sound choices to place inside their stuffed animal to further
personalize their new friend. The sound chip is inserted safely inside the new friend during the stuffing
process. Guests can record their own 10-second Build-A-Sound® message. Pre-recorded sounds include
giggles, growls, barks, meows and other animal sounds, as well as messages such as “I Love You” or
songs like “Take Me Out To The Ballgame™”.
At Stuff Me, with the help of master Bear Builder associates, Guests fill their new
friend with stuffing for just the right amount of huggability. A very special step that
is unique to Build-A-Bear Workshop also happens at this station. Each Guest
selects a small satin heart – a Build-A-Bear Workshop trademark, adds to it his
or her own love and wishes, and carefully places it inside their new furry friend.
This process brings the furry friendship to life.
At Stitch Me, the last seam is neatly pulled shut, nearly completing each new best friend. Before stitching
the furry friend, the master Bear Builder associate inserts a barcode, allowing it to hopefully be reunited
with its owner if ever lost and returned to Build-A-Bear Workshop. Thousands of furry friends have been
reunited through our exclusive Find-A-Bear® ID program. The barcode also generates a unique code on
the birth certificate so Guests can bring their new friend to life online for free at buildabearville.com to
continue their friendship adventure when they get home.
At Fluff Me, the Guest brushes the animal to make sure his or her new friend is well groomed and
pawfectly huggable!
At Dress Me, Guests may dress their new friend in the beary latest furry fashions. The bear apparel
boutique features clothes and accessories for all occasions. Build-A-Bear Workshop® even has its own
fashion expert mascot, Pawlette Coufur®, Fashion Advisor to the Furry Famous.
Guests then stop at the Name Me computer, where they answer several questions about their new furry
friend, including the birth date and of course, its name. The furry friend is then entered into the Find-ABear
ID program and this information is used to create a personalized birth certificate for the furry friend.
Finally, Guests conclude their in-store bear-making experience at the Take Me Home station, where they
receive their customized birth certificate and a special Stuff Fur Stuff® club membership, a rewards
program for our Guests. Each new furry friend is then placed in their very own Cub Condo® carrying
case, which is designed as a handy travel carrier and new home.
OUR NEW WORLD STUFFED WITH FUN
Guests can continue the fun with their furry friends when they get home! At
buildabearville.com™, our online world stuffed with fun, Guests can bring their
new furry friend to life online for free by using the code found on their birth
certificate. They create a unique online character and play games to earn Bear
Bills™, which can be used to purchase more clothes, furniture for their Cub
Condo® houses and other items. Guests can also trade items with other
citizens in the world. Membership to the site is free and does not expire.
Beyond bringing their new friend to life online for free, Guests are rewarded for in-store purchases. When
they make a clothing or accessory purchase in store or at www.buildabear.com, they receive a receipt
code. The code gives them virtual store credit to use at the Bear Boutique in Build-A-Bearville™, which is
the only place to find exclusive virtual fashions and furniture items for their virtual furry friends. Stuff Fur
Stuff® loyalty club members also receive virtual Bear Bills™ for their real world purchases.
OUR FURBULOUS FASHIONS
Guests are able to express the true personality of their new best friend by choosing from hundreds of
outfits and accessories. Build-A-Bear Workshop stays on the cutting edge of furry style by partnering with
fashion leaders. Guests can choose bear-sized Limited Too branded fashions like the styles sold in
Limited Too stores. An exclusive partnership with SKECHERS® shoes makes Build-A-Bear Workshop the
seller of more bear-sized shoes, sandals, boots and slippers than any other company worldwide! Further
enhancing our furry style, Build-A-Bear Workshop works with a variety of partners, including Hello Kitty®,
Disney and Harley-Davidson®.
Furry friends can also suit up in officially licensed sports stuff. Build-A-Bear Workshop® sells bear-sized
MLB®, NBA and WNBA, NFL, NHL® and NASCAR® gear. Team specific items are sold in select markets
and all merchandise is available at www.buildabear.com. Build-A-Bear Workshop also licenses a variety
of college and university logos which are sold on bear-sized Tiny Tees® shirts.
Just like their human counterparts, furry fashions change seasonally, so there is always something new in
store. Furry friends make personalized and affordable gifts for every occasion because Guests can make
a gift as unique as the recipient. Guests can also share the fun of making a new best friend by giving
Bear Buck$® gift cards.
BUILD-A-PARTY®
To provide the fun of making a furry friend to groups—birthday parties, scout troops, company outings
and family reunions—Build-A-Bear Workshop offers a Build-A-Party® program. This exclusive service
allows Guests to plan and customize their own party with pre-selected animals, clothes and accessories.
Every animal made at the party can be brought to life online for free at buildabearville.com to continue the
fun at home. In addition, for parties of six or more, the Guest of Honor and all party Guests receive free
gifts, including virtual gifts to play with at buildabearville.com. Guests with scout troops or class trips
receive a free Build-A-Bear Workshop® logo patch, in addition to their virtual gift. Party packages start at
only £8 per Guest.