Build-a-bear Workshop Inc

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., a Delaware corporation, was formed in 1997 as a mall-based, experiential specialty retailer for children. Build A Bear has evolved to become a leading global "retailtainment" brand on a mission to add a little more heart to life. At Build-A-Bear, guests are invited to create personalized furry friends through a unique stuffing, dressing, accessorizing and naming process, accentuated by a memorable Heart Ceremony that creates moments of connection for people of all ages. Over the years, Build A Bear has grown into a multi generational phenomenon, positioned at the intersection of pop culture trends. Beyond its signature retail experience, our brand also offers pre stuffed plush, gifting, partnerships with best in class licensed and collectible characters, and original storytelling through Build A Bear Entertainment, LLC. Build A Bear’s current brand platform and message, "The Stuff You Love," crosses ages and cultures while celebrating nearly 30 years of helping people mark life’s meaningful moments.

The Build-A-Bear brand has high consumer awareness and positive affinity, and we leverage our brand strength to expand the footprint of our retail experience locations through a range of store sizes, formats, and locations, including tourist destinations. In addition to growing our corporately-managed store footprint, we are also growing through partner-operated and franchise locations, particularly for our international expansion. Our ongoing digital transformation, which touches our e-commerce business, consumer loyalty program, and digital content, has led to omnichannel growth over the past several years. Build-A-Bear's pop-culture appeal plays a key role in expanding our total addressable market beyond children to teens and adults with sports licensing, collectible and gifting offerings, as well as to categories beyond plush.

As of January 31, 2026, the Company had 662 global locations through a combination of its corporately-managed, partner-operated, and franchise models. This reflects 375 corporately-managed locations, including 333 stores in the United States ("U.S.") and Canada and 42 stores in the United Kingdom ("U.K.") and the Republic of Ireland, 178 partner-operated locations in which we sell our products on a wholesale basis to other companies that then, in turn, execute our retail experience, and 109 franchise locations operating internationally, all under the Build-A-Bear Workshop brand. In addition to these stores, we sell products on our company-owned e-commerce sites and third-party marketplace sites, our franchisees sell products through sites that they manage as well as other third-party marketplace sites. Additionally, other parties sell our products on their sites under wholesale agreements. For the 2025 fiscal year, the Company had net new unit growth of 64 experience locations, comprised of seven corporately managed locations, 40 partner-operated locations, and 17 international franchise locations.

Our business is conducted through three reportable segments consisting of direct-to-consumer ("DTC"), commercial, and international franchising. Our reportable segments are primarily determined by the types of customers they serve and the types of products and services that they offer. Each reportable segment may operate in many geographic areas. Financial information related to our segments and the geographic areas in which we operate is contained in "Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." See Not e 15 — "S egment Information" to the consolidated financial statements for information regarding sales, results of operations and identifiable assets of the Company by business segment and by geographic area.