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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Build-A-Bear Celebrates International Day of Play by Playing It Forward
Donates One Teddy Bear for Each Make-Your-Own Plush Animal Sold to Children in Need ST. LOUIS, June 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Build-A-Bear, the iconic experiential retail brand, announces its "Play It Forward" initiative, a national giveback effort taking place today in recognition of the International Day of Play. For every make-your-own plush sold, one furry friend will be donated to a child in need, up to 10,000 bears. Donations made through the Build-A-Bear Foundation will focus on kids and classrooms in Title I schools, helping spread the joy of play on this meaningful day. International Day of Play, backed by The Toy Association and other global organizations including Build-A-Bear, is recognized around the world as a day that champions every child's right to play, which supports overall learning, life skills, and psychosocial well-being. This annual, unifying moment includes events at the global, national and local levels. "Play It Forward" is part of Build-A-Bear's broader mission to add a little more heart to life including sharing comfort, connection and play with children, especially those who need it most. "As a brand rooted in play and a proud member of The Toy Association, we believe in both the purpose and the power of this day," said Sharon Price John, CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop and Chair of the Toy Association Board of Directors. "'Play It Forward' is our way of turning awareness into action, giving guests a simple, yet fun way to make a heartfelt impact on the life of a child." In addition to the "Play It Forward" initiative, Build-A-Bear Foundation is also partnering with First Book, a nonprofit that provides books and educational resources to children in need, committing more than $80,000 in funding to help educators access books focused on health and wellness, paired with playful activity ideas. As part of this effort, teachers who use the funding will also be randomly selected to receive a surprise plush animal "reading buddies" for their classrooms, reinforcing the connection between play and learning. This opportunity is available first-come, first-served while funding lasts or until July 31, 2025. Local Build-A-Bear Workshops will also feature special offers, Bearemy costumed character appearances, Build-A-Bear Mini Beans Toss games, and free activity sheets to inspire more ways to play. For more information or to participate, visit About Build-A-Bear Since its beginning in 1997, Build-A-Bear has evolved to become a beloved multi-generational brand focused on its mission to "add a little more heart to life," where guests of all ages make their own "furry friends" in celebration and commemoration of life moments. Guests create their own stuffed animals by participating in the stuffing, dressing, accessorizing, and naming of their own teddy bears and other plush toys based on the Company's own intellectual property and in conjunction with a variety of best-in-class licenses. The hands-on and interactive nature of our more than 600 company-owned, partner-operated and franchise experience locations around the world, combined with Build-A-Bear's pop-culture appeal, often fosters a lasting and emotional brand connection with consumers and has enabled the Company to expand beyond its retail stores to include e-commerce sales on and non-plush branded consumer categories via out-bound licensing agreements with leading manufacturers, as well as the creation of engaging content via Build-A-Bear Entertainment (a subsidiary of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.). The brand's newest communications campaign, "The Stuff You Love," commemorates more than a quarter-century of creating cherished memories worldwide. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW) posted consolidated total revenues of $496.0 million for fiscal 2024. For more information, visit the Investor Relations section of About Build-A-Bear Foundation Build-A-Bear Foundation adds a little more heart to life by sharing hugs, inspiring creativity, and supporting children and families in need. A 501(c)3 organization, Build-A-Bear Foundation's core focus is to support children's literacy programs as a path to social and educational equity. Build-A-Bear Foundation also provides financial and furry friend donations to organizations that support children's health and wellness, disaster relief, and families in need of essential supplies. Since 1997, Build-A-Bear has donated more than $25 million and 2 million furry friends to charitable causes around the world. For more information, please visit View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Build-A-Bear Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Toymaker says China tariff cut means "there's going to be a Christmas"
Small business owner David Mauro hopes an agreement by the U.S. and China to temporarily lower tariffs means there'll be toys for Christmas this holiday season. U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports of 145% that had previously been in place spelled serious trouble ahead for his company, which makes talking religious toys, he told CBS News. But with those levies now lowered to 30% for 90 days, Mauro said that "for us, it means there's going to be a Christmas this year." Over 80% of toys sold in the U.S. are made in China, according to The Toy Association trade group. Under the truce announced this weekend, China will impose 10% tariffs on American-made goods, down from 125%. Christmas is biggest retail season, and Mauro had feared not having products in stock to sell to U.S. customers this year. With sky-high tariffs in place, he had paused shipments from China, and had containers of goods waiting in limbo overseas. "We're a seasonal company and we make Christian toys and Christmas is a big season for us. So we're going to be able to have products to be able to sell this Christmas, and that's huge for us and it's huge for our retailers, who were on the verge of not having any product at all," he told CBS News. Although a 30% tariff on Chinese imports is still "painful," Mauro said, it at least won't prohibit him from doing business. He's importing about $100,000 worth of dolls, which he hopes will arrive within the 90-day period during which the tariff rate is slated to be reduced. "We are hightailing it over should make it before 90 days," he said, while conceding that the heightened uncertainty around U.S. trade policy makes it hard to plan. "It can change on a dime, and we've seen that," Mauro said. Had U.S. tariffs of up to 145% on China remained in effect, Mauro's plan was to ship his toy stock to Canada, the U.K. and Australia to avoid paying the steep levies. "Just based on the uncertainty of the situation, we're bringing it back here just so we have product for our domestic market," Mauro said. "Assuming these numbers hold up, we'll be able to afford to bring it back. Before, we couldn't. We were really locked out." Sneak peek: Fatal First Date Wisconsin judge detained in ICE obstruction case expected in court Dangerous weather expected in U.S. as flooding consumes whole Pennsylvania town
CBS News
14-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Toymaker says China tariff reprieve means "there's going to be a Christmas this year"
Small business owner David Mauro hopes an agreement by the U.S. and China to temporarily lower tariffs means there'll be toys for Christmas this holiday season. U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports of 145% that had previously been in place spelled serious trouble ahead for his company, which makes talking religious toys, he told CBS News. But with those levies now lowered to 30% for 90 days, Mauro said that "for us, it means there's going to be a Christmas this year." Over 80% of toys sold in the U.S. are made in China, according to The Toy Association trade group. Under the truce announced this weekend, China will impose 10% tariffs on American-made goods, down from 125%. Christmas is biggest retail season, and Mauro had feared not having products in stock to sell to U.S. customers this year. With sky-high tariffs in place, he had paused shipments from China, and had containers of goods waiting in limbo overseas. "We're a seasonal company and we make Christian toys and Christmas is a big season for us. So we're going to be able to have products to be able to sell this Christmas, and that's huge for us and it's huge for our retailers, who were on the verge of not having any product at all," he told CBS News. Although a 30% tariff on Chinese imports is still "painful," Mauro said, it at least won't prohibit him from doing business. He's importing about $100,000 worth of dolls, which he hopes will arrive within the 90-day period during which the tariff rate is slated to be reduced. "We are hightailing it over should make it before 90 days," he said, while conceding that the heightened uncertainty around U.S. trade policy makes it hard to plan. "It can change on a dime, and we've seen that," Mauro said. Had U.S. tariffs of up to 145% on China remained in effect, Mauro's plan was to ship his toy stock to Canada, the U.K. and Australia to avoid paying the steep levies. "Just based on the uncertainty of the situation, we're bringing it back here just so we have product for our domestic market," Mauro said. "Assuming these numbers hold up, we'll be able to afford to bring it back. Before, we couldn't. We were really locked out."
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mattel warns of price increases amid tariff pressure
This story was originally published on Retail Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Retail Dive newsletter. Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said the toy company will take 'pricing action in our U.S. business' where necessary in response to tariffs and global trade uncertainty. The company is further diversifying its supply chain and optimizing its product sourcing and mix, the chief executive said on a Monday call with analysts. The statements were made alongside Q1 earnings. For the quarter, net sales were up 2% year over year to $827 million, while net loss widened 42% to $40.3 million. Under the current tariff structure, Mattel expects price increases will first be seen in Q3, executives told analysts on a Q1 earnings call. The increases will be done in collaboration with Mattel's retail partners, but the toy company expects that between 40% to 50% of its U.S. product mix will be priced at $20 or less, according to Kreiz. 'We are taking a strategic approach to pricing across the portfolio and have [a] very flexible framework that can quickly adapt should the … tariffs change,' Chief Financial Officer Anthony DiSilvestro said. The company is in a position to gain shelf space if retailers experience shortages. 'Given our unique capabilities and advantages, there is potential upside if there is product shortages generally or opportunities to gain additional shelf space,' DiSilvestro said. By 2027, no one country will represent more than 25% of Mattel's total toy production. Mattel currently sources products from a combination of owned and third-party vendors in seven countries. The company is accelerating its pullback from China. For the U.S., less than 20% of Mattel's global production comes from the country. Mattel plans to reduce that further, to below 15% by next year and below 10% by 2027. This year, the company will relocate production of 500 toy SKUs from China to other locations, up from 280 SKUs that were relocated in 2024. This is different from most other players in the space — nearly 80% of toys imported into the United States overall come from China. Around 96% of American toy companies are small- and medium-sized businesses and nearly half could shutter due to U.S. tariff policies, according to The Toy Association. As Mattel is positioning itself to alleviate the impact of tariffs, executives said they support the Toy Association advocating for zero tariffs on toys and games globally. 'We are confident about the mitigating actions we are taking, which are designed to fully offset the potential incremental cost impact of tariffs on future performance,' Kreiz said. 'Our international business, which comprises roughly half of our overall revenue, is not expected to be materially impacted by tariffs.' Mattel is pausing its full-year guidance due to the evolving tariff environment and unpredictable consumer spending. The company also said that it is increasing its cost savings target for the year to $80 million versus its previous objective of $60 million. The company is on track to achieve total program savings of $200 million by 2026. 'Historically, the toy industry has proven to be resilient during uncertain times, and we believe Mattel is in a much better position than the industry to adapt efficiently to the changing market conditions,' Kreiz said. Sign in to access your portfolio
29-04-2025
- Business
'Nowhere to turn': Small businesses dependent on imports from China are feeling more desperate
NEW YORK -- Major orders canceled. Containers of products left stranded overseas. No roadmap for what comes next. The Trump administration raised tariffs on goods from China to 145% in early April. Since then, small business owners who depend on imports from China to survive have become increasingly desperate as they eye dwindling inventory and skyrocketing invoices. President Donald Trump seemed to back down somewhat last week when he said he expected the tariffs to come down 'substantially.' That helped set off a rally in the stock market. But for small businesses that operate on razor-thin margins, the back and forth is causing massive upheaval. Some say they could be just months from going out of business altogether. Game makers are particularly susceptible to the tariffs since the majority of games and toys sold in the U.S. are made in China, according to The Toy Association. WS Game Co., based in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, is a family-owned business that licenses Hasbro board games like Monopoly, Candy Land and Scrabble and creates deluxe versions of them. Its most popular line of games come in boxes that look like vintage books and sell for $40. The company's games were featured in Oprah's Favorite Things list in 2024 and sold in 14,000 stores in North America, from big national chains to mom-and-pop stores, said owner Jonathan Silva, whose father founded the company in 2000. All of WS Game's production is done in China. The tariffs have brought the past 25 years of healthy growth to a screeching halt. Over the past three weeks, WS Game has had three containers of finished games, worth $500,000, stranded in China. It lost orders from three of the largest U.S. retailers totaling $16 million in business. And there's not much Silva can do about it. 'As a small business, we don't have the runway or the capabilities to move manufacturing on a whim,' said Silva, who has 22 employees. He said the tariffs have 'disrupted our business and put us on the verge of insolvency' and estimates he has about a four-month runway to stay afloat if nothing changes. 'We're really hoping that cooler heads prevail,' he said. Jeremy Rice co-owns House, a home-décor shop in Lexington, Kentucky, that specializes in artificial flower arrangements for the home. About 90% of the flowers his business uses are made in China. Rice uses dozens of vendors. The largest are absorbing some of the cost of the tariffs and passing on the rest. One vendor is raising prices by 20% and another 25%. But Rice is expecting smaller vendors to increase prices by much higher percentages. House offers mid-range artificial flowers. A large hydrangea head will retail for $10 to $16, for example. China is the only place that manufacturers higher quality silk flowers. It would take a vendor years to open a factory in a different country or move production somewhere else, Rice said. Rice ordered his holiday décor early this year. But even after stocking up ahead of the tariffs, he only has enough everyday floral inventory in to last two to three months. 'After that, I don't know what we're going to do,' he said. Rice is concerned that the trade war will wipe out a bunch of mom-and-pop stores, similar to what happened in the Great Recession and the pandemic. 'There's nowhere to turn, there's nothing to do,' he said. A tea shop in a Michigan college town is also caught in the middle of the ongoing tariff fight. 'It's basically just put a big pit in my stomach,' said Lisa McDonald, owner of TeaHaus, located in Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan. McDonald has owned TeaHaus for nearly 18 years and sells tea to customers across the U.S. Americans drank about 86 billion servings of tea in 2024, according to the Tea Association of the U.S.A.. Almost all of that is imported since tea isn't grown in the U.S. at scale, due to factors ranging from climate to cost. McDonald imports loose-leaf tea from China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka and other countries. She says her customer base is 'from all over the U.S. and the world." But she worries there is a limit to what they'll spend. Her premium teas can cost up to $33 for a 50-gram bag. 'I don't think I can charge $75 for a 50-gram bag of tea, no matter how amazing that tea is,' she said. McDonald understands Trump's rationale for wanting to use tariffs to spur U.S. manufacturing but says it doesn't apply to the tea industry. 'We can't grow tea in the U.S. to the extent that we need. We can't just flip the industry and 'make tea great again' in America. It just can't happen,' she said. Jim Umlauf's business, 4Knines, based in Oklahoma City, makes vehicle seat covers and cargo liners for dog owners and others. To do so, he needs raw materials such as fabric, coatings and components from China. Umlauf has explored manufacturing in countries other than China since 2018, when Trump first instituted a 25% tariff on goods from China, but has run into complications. In the meantime, 4Knines absorbs the extra cost, which Umlauf says has limited its growth and squeezed its margins. Now, the new tariffs make it nearly impossible to do business. The demand is there, but the company can't afford to bring over more products. 'We only have a limited amount of inventory left, and without some relief, we'll run out soon,' Umlauf said. As a small business owner who has worked hard to develop a high-quality brand, create jobs and contribute to the community, Umlauf is frustrated. He has tried to contact the White House and other decision-makers to ask for small business support. But he's gotten zero response. 'It's time for policymakers to consider the full impact of trade policies not just on stock prices or global competitiveness, but on the real people running small businesses,' he said.
