A Beary Big Store

NEW YORK - Build-A-Bear Workshop, the global leader in the stuffed bear market, opened their biggest store ever on Friday at the corner of 5th Avenue and 46th Street. The Grand Opening was emceed by actor Marc John Jeffries, accompanied by gold medal Olympian gymnast Dominque Dawes.

The 22,000 square foot store is a kind of teddy bear making theme park, where guests can visit teddy bear making stations and create their own bear by choosing colors, stuffing it to their liking, and personalizing it with hundreds of choices in clothing and accessories.

Build-A-Bear and the city licensing department have reached an agreement whereby tiny FDNY and NYPD costumes can be sold to dress up the bears, with a percentage of the sales going to the police and fire departments.

New York City may do well by this agreement, as a percentage of Build-A-Bear sales is no small concern. The company opened it’s first store in St. Louis in 1997, and now operates over 180 stores in the US and Canada, as well as international stores in England, France, Japan, Denmark, Australia, and South Korea. Build-A-Bear Workshop reported a 2004 fiscal revenue of $302 million.