Build-A-Bear Chief Maxine Clark Discusses Changing the Retail Industry

Maxine Clark (Photo by Claudia Burris)

TChief Executive Bear Maxine Clark, of Build-A-Bear Workshop fame, addressed the "packed den" at Webster University as part of the School of Business and Technology's Success to Significance Dean's Lecture Series.

One of the retail world's most innovative thinkers, she is known for taking a successful product and making it momentous.

"Since the turn of the century, the teddy bear has served as a child's favorite companion, it's a staple found in toy chests throughout the world," said Dean Benjamin Akande. "As popular as the teddy bear has been, it lacked the excitement and the interactivity of today's high tech toys.

"Maxine Clark saw a unique opportunity to transform the teddy bear as we know it—she brought the teddy bear to life. In the process, she empowered the very young, and even the young at heart, by giving them the creative power of giving birth to their own teddy. The creation of the Build-A-Bear Workshops, a personalized production line in a store setting, has revolutionized the shopping experience."

"I left corporate America with this mission," said Clark. "I was bored with retailing and decided it was time to put the fun back into it, and I missed being a creative person and interacting with the customer. I was looking to recreate the magic I felt when I was a child and went shopping." Clark explained that she   decided to leave traditional retail business after a defining moment when she heard the words, "Retailing is entertainment and the store is a stage—and when the customer is happy, they spend more money."

She was further inspired by her friend Katie, 10 years old at the time, who said they should start the store on their own instead of looking to partner with a company who already made teddy bears. "Ray Croft didn't invent hamburgers. Howard Schultz didn't invent coffee. And Oprah didn't invent talk shows. They just invented how to do it and how to do it better," explained Clark.

And in just eight years the franchise has grown from its first store in the St. Louis Galleria to 200 stores across the globe. Clark ensures her target market also feels part of the Build-A-Bear family with a "cub" board of children advisors who range in age from 8 to 19 years old, online conversations with customers and by personally answering more than 1,500 email a day.

One innovative idea that came out of the traumatic experience of losing her own teddy bear as a youngster, was the identification system. "Our Find-a-Bear I.D. system has a bar code that goes inside every bear, and you register your bear with us. I had a teddy bear that I lost as a child and I have looked for it ever since. It was very traumatic," explained Clark. "And over the last eight years, we found and returned about 2,000 animals to their owners. It is not a sophisticated computer chip, but at some point, I think we'll be into this Radio Frequency Identification System (RFID) and we'll know exactly what this bear is doing."

The company has expanded their merchandise assortments by establishing licensing agreements with professional baseball, basketball, hockey, and football and NASCAR. In fact, a new store opened April 10 at the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis, featuring a new item—the Build-A-Fredbird, in honor of the Major League Baseball Cardinals mascot by the same name.

Build-A-Bear's unique products and highly interactive environment, which is similar to a theme park in the mall were key components to the franchises rapid success. " There a number of differences between conventional retailing and Build-A-Bear Workshops. We sell the brand experience—not the product. Our guests say they pay for the experience and the stuffed animal is for free."

Clark's plans include expansion of 25 to 30 more stores per year so that 75 percent of the U.S. population will be within at least 30 miles of a Build-A-Bear Workshop.

"We measure our success the same way as traditional retailers. But the real advantage that we have over some traditional retailers is our brand leverage—the ability to take our brand to so many places beyond where a traditional store at the mall can go. We are in ballparks, the St. Louis Zoo, we have a mobile store and go all over the world. We even popped up a store right in a convention center in South Africa."

According to Clark, 80 percent of their customers are return guests who plan their visits in advance, and 90 percent rate the overall experience as the highest or second highest possible. "This kind of great experience creates loyal guests," added Clark. "Guests have a unique emotional attachment to the brand and stay connected. We have more than 11 million unique households in our proprietary database, and more than half of Build-A-Bear Workshop business is with returning guests."   Build-A-Bear also receives more than 500,000 new visitors per week to www.buildbear.com.

"Because we design and develop our own products, we are better able to control our own destiny," said Clark. "Our partnerships are based on the theory that '1 + 1 = 10'. We strategically leverage brand alliances through both company and marketing vehicles that we work with to create success—like Limited Too and Sketchers. We will sell over five million pairs of shoes for bears this year and that is a lot when you consider bears only have to wear them when it rains or snows."

She also recently introduced the Friends-2B-Made line and signed agreements for the introduction of luggage, backpacks, greeting cards and scrapbook supplies. "As a result of her drive and ambition, the business has experienced phenomenal growth," continued Akande. "In fact, if I stand here and quote numbers from last week, they would only be outdated today."

Build-A-Bear Workshop donated 70 bears to Webster University's Behavioral & Social Sciences Club to benefit the St. Louis County Police Department's Comfort Bear Program. Webster students collected the bears for officers to carry in their cars and distribute to children involved in car accidents and other traumatic events.

"We donate a portion of our proceeds from the sales of several of our animals to causes such as the World Wildlife Fund, which supports endangered animals, and our Read Teddy, which supports literacy. We love doing this," explained Clark.

"The future for Build-A-Bear is unlimited," said Akande. "It is a future that will transform the way we buy, what we buy and how we buy it. Yes, Maxine Clark is successful, but, more importantly, she is making a significant impact on today's youngsters, tomorrow's teenagers, future college students and the moms and dads that will own the 21st century."

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