The company’s summer trend merchandise didn’t resonate with customers and wholesale progressed slower than expected.

While Build-A-Bear had predicted a tougher first half of the fiscal year, Q2’s results were still a surprise to executives.

The summer of 2025 was a success that set up tougher comps after this year’s summer trend collection didn’t resonate as well with shoppers, CEO Chris Hurt said on a call with analysts.

“Summer is when we traditionally push that innovation,” Hurt said of the summer’s merchandise. “The reality is, you know, we pushed it too far. That product did not resonate as well with our consumers. It wasn't as dressable. It didn't go through the full customization experience, and as a result, we saw weaker results from that product line.”

Build-A-Bear’s commercial and international franchise revenues were a combined $8.8 million in the period, marking a 9% decrease.

While wholesale continues to be a focus for the brand’s growth, the channel experienced some setbacks in the quarter, Hurt added.

“We were unable to repeat the multimillion-dollar Walmart program, and other wholesale opportunities have progressed more slowly than expected,” he said. “However, our experience with Walmart, namely the successful sell-through of our Build-A-Bear branded nonlicensed products, demonstrated that a brand can extend into large-scale third-party distribution and reach consumers beyond our traditional channel.”

Build-A-Bear added five global experience locations and six franchise locations in Q2. That store growth was offset partly by a net decline of four partner-operated locations. The retailer had 674 locations globally at the end of the period.

Source link