At a time when it seems like any business cutback can be easily excused with the mere mention of the recession, it's refreshing to see a company buck the trend, and conduct its business with no excuses. Build-a-Bear is one retail company that consciously chose a distinct path for itself from the beginning and is still traveling on that same path of creativity and heart without recessionary finger-pointing.
Like every other company in the retail industry, Build-A-Bear has cut back on labor hours, operating expenses, and inventory in response to consuming slowdowns. One thing it hasn't cut back is its community involvement. This week, the company has been releasing the names of the finalists for its annual Huggable Heroes awards. From the finalists, 12 children will be chosen to receive the award, which recognizes children for outstanding community service.
This year's finalists include a 10 year-old boy who collects stuffed animals for children who have suffered traumatic events, a 13 year-old girl who helps teach troubled children to control their anger, and a 17 year-old boy who created a program to help homeless students find part-time work.
The 2009 Huggable Heroes will receive a $7,500 educational scholarship, and $2,500 to donate to the charity of their choice. Altogether, Build-A-Bear will spend somewhere around $200,000 on Huggable Heroes, which is less than eBay spent on personal travel for its CEO last year. It's interesting how different results can be created with different priorities.
The Huggable Heroes is just one of the Build-A-Bear's uniquely themed and ongoing charitable activities. The build-it-yourself stuffed animal company also gives "Champ-A-Champion" grants to children's wellness programs, and "Bearemy's Kennel Pals" grants to pet rescue organizations. "Stuffed With Hugs" in-store events invite shoppers to build a stuffed animal to be donated to a charitable organization, and more than 325,000 stuffed critters have been distributed through these events so far.
With a 16.9% decline in same store sales in its fourth quarter of 2008, and an obvious decrease in discretionary fluffy stuff spending, Build-a-Bear has a lot of good reasons to slow down or abandon its many charitable activities. It's nice to see that the company is choosing to live out its values and continues its mission of "building a company with heart," despite economic excuses that would give it permission to do otherwise.
Build-A Bear hasn't abandoned its positive employee practices either. The company earned a spot on Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list in 2009." Creating a workplace that is engaging and supportive is apparently still one of their priorities too.
My niece and nephew both worked part-time for Build-A-Bear while they were in high school. I was impressed that they both liked their jobs, they had fun at work, and while no teenage job is perfect, it appeared to me that they both were having a really positive first employment experience.
When there was a death in the family, one of the flower arrangements that arrived was from Build-A-Bear. Sending personal condolences to part-time hourly high school workers? To me, that says everything that needs to be said about the heart of a company.
As the old saying goes, adversity (or recession) does not build the character of a company, it just reveals it in a beary big way.
Like every other company in the retail industry, Build-A-Bear has cut back on labor hours, operating expenses, and inventory in response to consuming slowdowns. One thing it hasn't cut back is its community involvement. This week, the company has been releasing the names of the finalists for its annual Huggable Heroes awards. From the finalists, 12 children will be chosen to receive the award, which recognizes children for outstanding community service.
This year's finalists include a 10 year-old boy who collects stuffed animals for children who have suffered traumatic events, a 13 year-old girl who helps teach troubled children to control their anger, and a 17 year-old boy who created a program to help homeless students find part-time work.
The 2009 Huggable Heroes will receive a $7,500 educational scholarship, and $2,500 to donate to the charity of their choice. Altogether, Build-A-Bear will spend somewhere around $200,000 on Huggable Heroes, which is less than eBay spent on personal travel for its CEO last year. It's interesting how different results can be created with different priorities.
The Huggable Heroes is just one of the Build-A-Bear's uniquely themed and ongoing charitable activities. The build-it-yourself stuffed animal company also gives "Champ-A-Champion" grants to children's wellness programs, and "Bearemy's Kennel Pals" grants to pet rescue organizations. "Stuffed With Hugs" in-store events invite shoppers to build a stuffed animal to be donated to a charitable organization, and more than 325,000 stuffed critters have been distributed through these events so far.
With a 16.9% decline in same store sales in its fourth quarter of 2008, and an obvious decrease in discretionary fluffy stuff spending, Build-a-Bear has a lot of good reasons to slow down or abandon its many charitable activities. It's nice to see that the company is choosing to live out its values and continues its mission of "building a company with heart," despite economic excuses that would give it permission to do otherwise.
Build-A Bear hasn't abandoned its positive employee practices either. The company earned a spot on Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list in 2009." Creating a workplace that is engaging and supportive is apparently still one of their priorities too.
My niece and nephew both worked part-time for Build-A-Bear while they were in high school. I was impressed that they both liked their jobs, they had fun at work, and while no teenage job is perfect, it appeared to me that they both were having a really positive first employment experience.
When there was a death in the family, one of the flower arrangements that arrived was from Build-A-Bear. Sending personal condolences to part-time hourly high school workers? To me, that says everything that needs to be said about the heart of a company.
As the old saying goes, adversity (or recession) does not build the character of a company, it just reveals it in a beary big way.
Comments
What a great article. My kids love stuffing their own animals and while we go less often we still do it once in a while for therapy and to have fun !
Build-A-Bear has cutback, majorly, in it’s hours for their hardworking bear builders(sales associates).