...Build-A-Bear: Build-A-Memory In the late 1990s, it was all about the dot-com. While venture capital poured into the high-tech sector and the stock prices of dot-com startups rose rapidly, the performance of traditional companies paled in comparison. This era seemed like a very bad time to start a chain of brick-and mortar mall stores selling stuffed animals. Indeed, when Maxine Clark founded Build-A-Bear Workshop in 1996, many critics thought that she was making a very poor business decision. But as the company nears the end of its first decade, it has more cheerleaders than naysayers. In 2005, one retail consultancy named Build-A-Bear one of the five hottest retailers. The company hit number 25 on BusinessWeek’s Hot Growth list of fast-expanding small companies. And founder and CEO Maxine Clark won Fast Company’s Customer-Centered Leader Award. How does a small startup company achieve such accolades? THE PRODUCT On paper, it all looks simple. Maxine Clark opened the first company store in 1996. Since then, the company has opened more than 370 stores and has custom-made tens of millions of teddy bears and other stuffed animals. Annual revenues reached $474 million for 2007 and are growing at a steady and predictable 15 percent annually. After going public November of 2004, the company stock price soared 56 percent in just two years. Annual sales per square foot are $600, roughly double the average for U.S. mall stores. In fact, Build-A-Bear...
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...Build-A-Bear: Build-A-Memory In the late 1990s, it was all about the dot-com. While venture capital poured into the high-tech sector and the stock prices of dot-com startups rose rapidly, the performance of traditional companies paled in comparison. This era seemed like a very bad time to start a chain of brick-and mortar mall stores selling stuffed animals. Indeed, when Maxine Clark founded Build-A-Bear Workshop in 1996, many critics thought that she was making a very poor business decision. But as the company nears the end of its first decade, it has more cheerleaders than naysayers. In 2005, one retail consultancy named Build-A-Bear one of the five hottest retailers. The company hit number 25 on BusinessWeek’s Hot Growth list of fast-expanding small companies. And founder and CEO Maxine Clark won Fast Company’s Customer-Centered Leader Award. How does a small startup company achieve such accolades? THE PRODUCT On paper, it all looks simple. Maxine Clark opened the first company store in 1996. Since then, the company has opened more than 370 stores and has custom-made tens of millions of teddy bears and other stuffed animals. Annual revenues reached $474 million for 2007 and are growing at a steady and predictable 15 percent annually. After going public November of 2004, the company stock price soared 56 percent in just two years. Annual sales per square foot are $600, roughly double the average for U.S. mall stores. In fact, Build-A-Bear Workshops typically earns back almost...
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...The customers of Build-A-Bear Workshop are preteens from all over the world. The customers demonstrate a social need and the need to learn. In fulfilling a social need, this company offers entertainment to its customers and it also allows them to learn to follow instructions and how to assemble a bear. Everyone needs to be entertained, without fun our world will be a place filled with miserable minds and corruption. Being entertained helps children to have a more cheerful spirit and learning helps them to feel successful and to grow. The customers need to be entertained but wants to have fun with and create an experience with the people at build-a-bear workshop. In addition, they need to learn, but want to learn how to build a bear. They find the Build-A-Bear workshop and experience to be appealing and interesting and wish to be a part of it. Because the customers are able to afford what they want, they are able to satisfy their demand for the entire build-a-bear experience. Build a bear actions are certainly satisfying the needs, wants, and demands of the customers. This company has assessed the needs of the customers and has created their products around those needs. 2. In detail, describe all facets of Build-A-Bear’s product. What is being exchanged in a Build-A-Bear transaction? In order to assemble a bear, the customer can visit a total of seven work stations. First of all, the customer chooses an animal that he or she prefers. Afterwards, the child has the opportunity...
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...1. Give examples of needs, wants, demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. Needs: Need is defined as a state of felt of deprivation or lacking something. According to this case study, we can say that the children needs are entertainment, fun and creativity. We know that every child want to play with something whether the child belongs to a rich or a poorer family. The second thing is we can notice that the new born babies love to play with technology means they want creativity. They want to do something that is new and unique. Build-A-Bear customers are children, who have needs of belonging (joining the Build-A-Bear "club."), affection (creating and caring for another being), and self-expression (the ability to create a product that reflects elements of the self). Wants: Wants are basically “needs, that are fulfilled according to the costumer’s personality and culture.” In this case study, we can observe that the target customers are children and children love to play with animals. Due to the advancements in technology, the children are being something which they really want and know to be the only source of delightfulness. Hence, the company has added different assembly lines and clearly labeled work stations. Children want a place where they can get a toy of their choice where they have freedom to make a toy like bear of their own choice by choosing, stuffing, stitching, and naming the toy (bear). Demands: Demands...
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...project turned out to be one of my proudest accomplishments of 2010. If you've cracked open your PC before to install a new hard drive or TV capture card, but you've never built a whole new system from the ground up, it's not as difficult as you might think. Here are my notes for first-timers who want to build instead of buy their next computer. Why Build Instead of Buy "But computers are so cheap these days," you say. "Why waste the time and energy building your own system when you can get a great machine fully assembled and shipped to your door?" That's a great question. Building your own PC will not save you time. It might save you money, but that's not even the best reason to do it. For me, it was a fantastic hands-on educational experience. It gives me a deep sense of satisfaction every single day when I press the power button on my tower, watch it light up, and know that I plugged in the wire that goes from that light to the motherboard. Building your PC takes the mystery out of what's going on inside that black box you spend hours on per day. There are other good reasons to build instead of buy, too. With your own build you can customize your system just how you like and make your perfect media center or gaming machine. You can save money if...
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...special tail and webbed hind feet act like a rudder and fins to help me swim, and my soft, glossy brown fur is waterproof so I never get chilly, even in really cold water. And that’s important, because I need freshwater to survive. If I find a lake, pond, or river that looks like a nice place to live, I’ll just burrow into a side bank to make my...
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...themselves; if not possible then become an authorized user on their parents’ credit cards. Fourth, teens need to be aware that the more inquires they make for credit cards; the more that it can hurt their credit. Fifth, teens need to understand that they need to pay their bills on time or suffer the consequences. Finally, teens need to use their credit card wisely and responsible in order to build their credit. It is wise for parents to encourage their teens to withhold a job. When teens are working for their own money they tend to be more cautious towards spending it. Without their own income, they will expect their parents to continue paying for everything” (Todorova). Law requires credit card issuers to check income for applicants under age 21.” Credit card issuers do such things to assure themselves that the teen will be able to repay their credit card balances. The next step in guiding teens to build up their credit is for parents to have a mature talk about money saving techniques and opening up their own bank account. “Establishing a good banking history can help your child build a strong financial foundation, which is a stepping stone for building a good credit score” (Todorova). Once teens have the chance to manage their own money they will soon realize how fast it goes and will now learn that they need to save their money in order to get what they want. Parents also need to discuss how to avoid overdrafts and declined debit charges. Applying for a credit card is...
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...Maxine Clark is the founder and former CEO of Build-A-Bear. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 1971, and moved to Washington D.C. shortly after (Carr, 2016). In Washington D.C. she initially worked for Macy’s ultimately becoming the President of Payless, where she was able to gain superior business experience within multinational companies. In 1976 Clark moved to Saint Louis, and then in 1997 she founded founded Build-A-Bear. Her inspiration stemmed from her friend named Katie who was 10 years old at the time (Clark, M., 2012, pg. XYZ). Katie wanted to build her own Beanie Babies as a primitive craft, when she couldn’t find any that she liked. Maxine Clark took this simple phase very literally and used it as the inspiration for...
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...Question 1) Give examples of needs, wants and demand that build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. The needs that customers are that they want to feel like they belong and buying that special friend that is just like them, or that created gives them that sense of belonging. The wants are that the customer wants to be involved in the process giving them that feel good feeling. The demands are that the customer has some say in what the store offers as they have the opportunity to be a voice through the “virtual advisory board”; as well they are buying the product which puts demands on what the marketplace offers. Question 2) In detail, describe all facets of Build-A-Bear’s product. What is being exchanged in a Build-A-Bear transaction? There are many facets to the Build-A-Bear product. The customer gets the opportunity to be involved in the whole process “choose me”- picking out what animal or bear they want. “Hear me” – deciding what goes in the animal, song, animal noise etc. “Stuff me “– stuffing the animal. Stitch me” – stitching the animal closed. “Fluff me” “Dress me” “Name me” – fluffing picking out the outfit to dress and naming the animal. Finally the “take me home” phase where the customer has a finished product. They are deciding every step what they want and are a part of it all. It is very customer orientated and involves the customer help them feel like they are getting a great experience. Question 3) Which...
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...BACKGROUND & UPDATING Build a bear was founded in 1996, in a really hard context for companies in United States, even more for new companies that were trying to come up with something new or in this case for something creative. It was hard at the beginning, but three years later it was recognized as one of the hottest retailers in United States, people also got proud of how a small company could grow up so fast and also to get in the bests companies for customers. Build a Bear was opened by first time in 1996, having after that over more than 200 companies around United States; right now it has even more than 400 companies around the world in four different countries (United States, UK (United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, and Canada), they also give the chance to make it possible for creating a store by starting at least with 5 million dollars (it depends of the country, but that is the minimum capital people have to start with), it doesn’t mean it will be a sub franchising or something similar, they still be the total owners of the store making the country as a new point of the brand. The idea came up in a really particular situation between Maxine Clark and her friend. She was only 10 years old when she was trying to get a bear toy from the store with her friend, but her friend couldn’t find the one she liked it, and then she said it should be a great idea about making her own teddy bear, it was the moment when Maxine went even deeper, and she got a creative and also a pretty...
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...describes Build-A-Bear Workshop? Of the four marketing management orientations, market orientation is the one the best describes the Build-A-Bear Workshop. The Build-A-Bear Workshop has achieved vast success and great performance mainly due to their knowing and understanding of customer needs and wants. Clark takes every opportunity she gets to interact with the customers and to get to know them personally by assisting frontline associates with customer interactions. She even puts customer ideas into action to retain and grow her customer base. Clark herself believes her success comes from her mentality of “never forgetting what it’s like to be a customer.” 5. Discuss in detail the value that Build-A-Bear creates for its customers. Build-A-Bear offers more to customers than just a toy, they offer an experience that seems to fill the wants and needs of the customer very well. They involve the customer in every aspect of production, which doesn’t only empower the customer through choosing their own designs, but also adds another level of entertainment value. The multi-staged process of creating the bear is essential to the value of Build-A-Bear. While there is always the actual cost of the bear, cost of waiting in line, et cetera; the experience is their focus for creating value. 6. Is Build-A-Bear likely to be successful in continuing to build customer relationships? Why or why not? Yes, I believe Build-A-Bear is likely to be successful in continuing to build customer relationships...
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...oupon Groupon: Decisions! Decisions! Decisions! Saint Leo University MBA 530 Introduction The owner and creator of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Maxine Clark, worked for large retailers before she became an entrepreneur. The CEO of one of the companies she worked for, Stanley Goodman, once made a comment that changed the way Maxine viewed the retail business, “Retailing is entertainment, and when customers have fun, they spend more money” (Quick & Nelson, 2013). She took this outlook and created a company geared towards children, because she knew children knew how to enjoy themselves. Her company, Build-A-Bear Workshop, is “the only make your own stuffed animal’ retail-entertainment experience” (Quick & Nelson, 2013). The concept allows children to choose their own bear, or other stuffed animal have it filled with stuffing, choosing a heart to place inside, stitch it up and choose from a wide array of clothing to dress it in. (Make Your Own Stuffed Animal). The process even allows you to add a recording to the bear that can be replayed and receiving a birth certificate (Make Your Own Stuffed Animal). When Maxine started Build-A-Bear many people did not believe in her idea and did not think it would last, but her business it reaching children and has opened stores all over the world (Quick & Nelson, 2013). Now there are 254 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores in the United States and more franchises overseas. The company has 3360 employees and its’ annual revenue is...
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...Why Build an Awesome Professional Network? People do business with people they know, like and trust. Companies don’t make decisions, people do. Your professional network can open doors for you that otherwise could not be opened. For better or for worse, it’s not just what you know or are capable of doing, it’s who you know, that’s important for career advancement and business development. You can also learn a tremendous amount from people in your network who have experience and expertise. How to Learn How to Build Your Professional Network After realizing the incredible importance of professional networking, I began scouring the web, Amazon, and bookstores for resources. I found there were resources on related topics, such as interpersonal communication, but not many great resources on business networking specifically. I began asking everyone I know who has had a successful career, built a successful business, or simply knows a lot of people for their advice on how to build a professional network. After compiling the best advice I received, studying every relevant book and resource I could find, experimenting, and practicing, I learned a lot about how to effectively make new contacts and build relationships. After years spent practicing and testing new techniques and strategies, making a lot of avoidable mistakes, and meeting and building relationships with lots awesome people, I’ve learned a lot and decided to write a book on it to share my knowledge. Here’s just 10...
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...TNReady Argumentation Turtles and tortoises are becoming roadkill everyday. We need build wildlife crossings to protect them. It is our job to come up with a very effective way to protect them. In ““If you build it they will come” fails for turtle crossings” by Sarah Zelinski, it talks about how they tried to build fences to keep the turtles off the road. They failed because they managed to get through the fence due to “rips, holes, and washouts.” “The number of reptiles on the roadway near the ecopassages actually increased after they were put in place, resulting in lots of dead snakes and turtles.” They need to build better quality fences to have a more effective approach. In “Tortoise Underpass” from the U.S. Department of Transportation...
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...1. Give examples of needs, wants and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. We understand a need as a basic part of the human design resulting in the state of felt deprivation. So from the article, it can be said that the Build-A-Bear consumers have a basic need of self-expression or creation. Each child that comes into a store has a distinct need to construct a bear, fueled by their own imagination. The article touches on the notion that each kid leaves, “[with] a product that they have created”. In addition, other needs that emerge are choice, playtime, free-will, individuality, stimulation, and bonding. I believe that bonding is more for the parents than the child. It fulfills a need to connect with their child by creating an experience which they can all share: “Parents love Build-A-Bear just as much as the kids do”. These needs lean into the wants, which is finding that specific place where their imaginations can run wild, i.e. make the end product. They choose what style of animal, stitch them, pick the clothes, name them, and when everything is finished, receive a birth certificate. These wants begin to take shape and ultimately form into the demands of the consumer. Build-A-Bear patrons now seek a very specific product that delivers value and satisfaction. And how Maxine Clark meets their expectations successfully is by introducing a trendy line of accessories, new store locations and popularized characters...
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