Build-A-Bear Workshop narrows loss in Q2; focused on new store design and global growth

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop reported Thursday a loss of $8.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a $10.7 million loss in the year-ago period.



Retail sales dipped 1.8% and same-store sales declined 1.7%.



CEO Maxine Clark said she is focused on the future. “In just over a month, we will open our first newly imagined store design in St. Louis with five additional stores opening in major U.S. markets in the following weeks.”



Clark reiterated the chain’s 2012 objectives – to introduce the new store design in six new stores starting in September; to close identified underperforming stores and transfer a percentage of the sales to other stores in the same markets; reduce square footage of some stores through mall relocations; and increase global presence with 10 to 12 net new international franchise locations in 2012.