Not a fun-filled holiday for Build-a-Bear

Build-A-Bear Workshop is still expecting a third consecutive year of positive same store sales despite a decline in traffic over the holiday period.

On a preliminary basis, for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 3, the company said it now expects:

• Total revenues of approximately $117.7 million compared to $131.5 million in the fiscal 2014 fourth quarter;

• Consolidated net retail sales of approximately $116.5 million compared to $130.0 million in the fiscal 2014 fourth quarter;

• Same store sales (Stores and E-commerce) to decrease 5.5% including a 4.1% decrease in North America and an 9.9% decrease in Europe;

• E-commerce sales to increase 16.5% compared to fiscal 2014 fourth quarter; and

• Pre-tax income in the range of $8.5 million to $10.0 million compared to pre-tax income of $12.6 million in the 2014 fourth quarter.



“By remaining focused on our long range objectives, we expect fiscal 2015 to deliver our third consecutive year of positive consolidated comparable sales and our third consecutive year of improved profit performance," saidSharon Price John, Build-A-Bear Workshop’s CEO. "We believe our key initiatives, including our new Discovery store format, the diversification of our real estate model and our balanced portfolio of both Build-A-Bear and licensed products are gaining traction. Additionally, our on-going efforts of process improvements, system upgrades, value engineering and strategic pricing are continuing to enhance our merchandise margins which is contributing to our sustained improvement in profitability.”

During the year, the company opened 26 stores, including 11 in its new Discovery format to end the year with 330 locations including 269 in North America and 61 outside of North America. In addition, the company repurchased approximately 1.7 million shares of its common stock for $25.9 million in fiscal 2015.

“Our fourth quarter sales materialized later than expected, building through late December, with the positive momentum continuing thus far into fiscal 2016. Looking forward, we expect to deliver continued profitability improvement as well as revenue growth in 2016 through the on-going disciplined execution of our stated strategy.”



For fiscal 2016, the company currently expects:

• Total revenue to increase in the low to mid-single digit range;

• Consolidated comparable sales to increase in the low single digits;

• Capital expenditures to be $25 million to $30 million and depreciation and amortization to be in the range of $17 million to $19 million;

There are approximately 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide, including company-owned stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, and Mexico.