Bildeber has been in business for 16 years and is still going strong. The company also runs a u pay your age programme to encourage people to buy bears on their birthdays. Bildeber gives the money made from its teddy bear sales to charity, such as Saint Louis Children's Hospital where heart transplants are carried out.
Stuff it, fluff it, stitch it, dress it: Build-a-Bear Founder and former CEO Maxine Clark built a retail-entertainment empire by letting people make their own furry friends. Two hundred million of them. What's the secret to her success? Listen as she tells EconTalk's Russ Roberts how she developed a customer-focused culture, why she sought to join (and not beat) her competition, and about some of the (seriously) strange things people have stuffed into their bears.