We developed to take a number system, because the biggest hang up people the first time coming in was all the first time visitors. We had lines out the door every single day, monday through sunday. But they were very patient waiting in line. In saint louis, there was no other build a bear workshop. There was no build a seal workshop, no build a camel workshop. To me, your product wasn't a stuffed animal.
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.