The CEO of Build-A-Bear has always been attracted to the toy industry, which it attributes to its “inner child”.
After obtaining her MBA from Columbia University, Sharon Price John took a job in Mattel in 1994. Then she moved to Hasbro. Now, she is the boss of one of the biggest toilet sellers, Build-A-Bear Workshop, which is worth nearly $ 500 million after its shares has climbed 35% in the last 12 months.
“Barbie was one of my favorite toys when I was a child,” Price John told Business Insider. “Barbie and in a plush. These are the things I played a lot with. And so my trip, it’s almost poetic. When people look at him, they think I planned it – but I didn’t do it.”
During his three decades in the world of toys, Price John witnessed many trends such as the rise in the “Kidult” market.
The stuffed animals are hot at the moment, especially among genres and millennials.
Toys on the theme of the NFL in a Build-A-Bear workshop store. Images Jamie Squire / Getty
The traditional Mintel toys and games report, published in October, found that toy sales have developed in young adults. Brian Benway, the author of the report, previously told Bi that this was partly because social media communities are more open to the sharing of their interests.
“Many people adopt the approach that, well, I don’t care that others think it’s stupid, it brings me a little happiness, a little joy, so I will continue to do it,” he said.
Build-a-Bear capitalized on this by collaborating with some millennial favorites, notably Harry Potter, Pokémon and Hello Kitty. They also conceded “with everything, from” Deadpool “to” the matrix “to” Ted Lasso “,” said John John.
“When you put Build-A-Bear with a Harry Potter, which released the same year that Build-A-Bear did in 1997, it was explosive,” she said. “You can choose the house in which you are by which scarf he carries.”
Income increased by 2.1% to $ 496.4 million for the year on February 1, while income before tax increased by $ 67.1 million. Build-A-Bear has nearly 600 locations around the world.
For its 25th anniversary in 2022, the campaign relied on nostalgia and reminded older consumers why they loved their stuffed animals in the first place.
“The whole campaign was focused on what was special in Build-A-Bear and to return to Build-A-Bear and celebrate these memories,” Price John said. “At the time, less than 20% of our total sales were adolescents and adults. Now, it’s 40% of our sales.”
A Build-A-Oarar workshop store in Park Meadows Mall, Denver. Joe Amon / Denver Post / Getty images
Targeted marketing has also helped because it is much easier to find micro-community now via social media.
“This is where this whole type of these subsets emerged, and it makes much more effective to communicate with groups sharing the same ideas,” said Price John. “It would have been really difficult for toy companies a long time ago, which should have wasted a lot of waste trying to find the overlap of the construction of Harry Potter.”
Price John never threw his own animals in stuffed animals or barbies. She said we release endorphins when we relive these good memories of childhood.
“We grant an extraordinary meaning,” she said. “There are things you look at, and the feeling that it evokes is really good.”
This is particularly strong for people who rediscover their old toys in adulthood. Children love their stuffed animals, then they become pre -adolescents and forget them for a while. Maybe they are a little embarrassed and consider them childish, and do not want to play with them in front of their peers.
Childhood development
Once this clumsy phase is finished, said Price John, people make how much the toys with whom they played helped to form their identity.
“Education toys teach you to be an attentive and given person. There are role toys who teach you that you practice being an adult. There are toys that teach you how things work together,” she said. “All this is an important part of childhood development.”
Price John has always seen the value of the toys. When his business school counterparts received signature bonuses to join large management and advice companies equal to his annual Mattel salary, they could not understand his reflection. “They laughed at me. They don’t do it anymore.”
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