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Build-A-Bear Workshop to Open Pop-Up Stores In Time for the 2010 Holiday Season

By: Build-A-Bear Workshop |  15 Shares     243 Reads

ST. LOUIS, Sep 17, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Build-A-Bear Workshop(R), the interactive retailer of customized stuffed animals, announced it is planning to open approximately 10 pop-up stores in time for the Christmas season. Store openings will begin in October. This expansion makes the experience of Build-A-Bear Workshop available to many more holiday shoppers this season and gives consumers the chance to discover the fun of making their own stuffed animals and great personalized gifts. The pop-up stores provide the company with a great opportunity given that the stores will be open during the company's busiest seasons when there is a natural increase in mall traffic and when consumers are focused on gift spending. The company will look for opportunities to keep select stores open following the holiday season.

The Build-A-Bear Workshop pop-up stores will offer an extensive assortment of the latest holiday animals, fashions and accessories as well as an edited assortment of the signature stuffed animals and fashions found in its more than 400 existing stores worldwide. Build-A-Bear Workshop is based on the premise that nearly everyone, regardless of age, has a special fondness for stuffed animals. At Build-A-Bear Workshop, visitors, or Guests, create their own stuffed animals as they "choose, stuff, stitch, fluff, name and dress" their way through a series of bear-making stations.

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. The company currently operates more than 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide, including company-owned stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and France, and franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, and Mexico. Founded in St. Louis in 1997, Build-A-Bear Workshop is the leader in interactive retail. Brands include make-your-own Major League Baseball(R) mascot in-stadium locations, and Build-A-Dino(R) stores. Build-A-Bear Workshop extends its in-store interactive experience online with its award winning virtual world Web site at buildabearville.com(R). The company was named to the 2009 and 2010 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For(R) lists. Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) posted total revenue of $394.4 million in fiscal 2009

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Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" (within the meaning of the federal securities laws) which represent Build-A-Bear Workshop expectations or beliefs with respect to future events. Our actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those detailed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2010, as filed with the SEC, and the following: general economic conditions may continue to deteriorate, which could lead to disproportionately reduced consumer demand for our products, which represent relatively discretionary spending; customer traffic may continue to decrease in the shopping malls where we are located, on which we depend to attract guests to our stores; we may be unable to generate interest in and demand for our interactive retail experience, or to identify and respond to consumer preferences in a timely fashion; our marketing and on-line initiatives may not be effective in generating sufficient levels of brand awareness and guest traffic; we may be unable to generate comparable store sales growth; we may be unable to renew or replace our store leases, or enter into leases for new stores on favorable terms or in favorable locations, or may violate the terms of our current leases; we may be unable to effectively manage the operations and growth of our company-owned stores; we may be unable to effectively manage our international franchises or laws relating to those franchises may change; the availability and costs of our products could be adversely affected by risks associated with international manufacturing and trade, including foreign currency fluctuation; we are susceptible to disruption in our inventory flow due to our reliance on a few vendors; high petroleum products prices could increase our inventory transportation costs and adversely affect our profitability; we may be unable to operate our European company-owned stores profitably; fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations could cause the price of our common stock to substantially decline; we may be unable to repurchase shares at all or at the times or in the amounts we currently anticipate or the results of the share repurchase program may not be as beneficial as we currently anticipate; we may improperly obtain or be unable to protect information from our guests in violation of privacy or security laws or expectations; we may suffer negative publicity or be sued due to violations of labor laws or unethical practices by manufacturers of our merchandise; we may suffer negative publicity or negative sales if the non-proprietary toy products we sell in our stores do not meet our quality or sales expectations; our products could become subject to recalls or product liability claims that could adversely impact our financial performance and harm our reputation among consumers; we may lose key personnel, be unable to hire qualified additional personnel, or experience turnover of our management team; we may be unable operate our company-owned distribution center efficiently or our third-party distribution center providers may perform poorly; our market share could be adversely affected by a significant, or increased, number of competitors; we may fail to renew, register or otherwise protect our trademarks or other intellectual property; we may have disputes with, or be sued by, third parties for infringement or misappropriation of their proprietary rights; poor global economic conditions could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and capital resources; and we may be unable to recover amounts due to us from our affiliate, Ridemakerz LLC. These risks, uncertainties and other factors may adversely affect our business, growth, financial condition or profitability, or subject us to potential liability, and cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

SOURCE: Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.

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