Lots of Build-A-Bears under the tree in Q4

Build-A-Bear Workshop was busy building a lot of bears this holiday season, if the retailer’s same store sales are any indication.

The company reported that same store sales were up 9.9% for the quarter, with a 8.5 percent increase in North America and 14 percent increase in Europe. Build-A-Bear also saw an $11.8 million profit for the fourth quarter, more than double the $5.4 million profit it reported in the prior-year quarter.

"The fourth quarter marked a strong finish to the year for Build-A-Bear Workshop," said company CEO Sharon Price John. "During the year, we made steady progress toward our stated long term sales productivity and profitability goals with sales growth across geographies, increased sales per square foot and expanded four-wall contribution margin."

The company reported revenue of $131.5 million for the quarter, up from $108.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Consolidated net retail sales for the quarter were $130 million, up from $106.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. Total revenue for fiscal 2014 was $392.4 million, up from $379.1 million in 2013. Net income for the year was $14.4 million, as compared with a loss of $2.1 million in 2013.

“We are leveraging our momentum from the fourth quarter and are off to a positive start in 2015,”John added. “Our priorities in the year ahead are focused on continuing the disciplined execution of our strategy while capitalizing on our powerful brand to generate incremental revenue and profit streams for our Company. During the year, we expect to see additional progress toward our goal to drive continuous improvement and sustained profitable growth.”

To increase shareholder value, the company said it will begin to evolve in 2015 from its stated goal of “sustained profitability” to “sustained profitable growth.” Through a combination of continuous improvement of current efforts and strategic expansion into additive opportunities for each of the key initiatives outlined below, the company expects to deliver both incremental revenue and profit.

During the year, the company closed 15 stores and opened 16 new locations to end the year with 324 company-owned stores.