This morning TC and I were invited guests at the grand opening of the new Build-A-Bear Workshop store at Orland Square!
The new store heightens the traditional bear-making experience with a bold new design that incorporates modern technology. The Orland Square store is enhanced to provide a richer, more interactive experience for Guests. The new design received rave reviews when it was introduced in six U.S. markets in the fall of 2012. Overall sales in these locations have exceeded expectations. Based on these results, Build-A-Bear Workshop plans to open 20-25 newly designed locations in North America in 2013.
“At Build-A-Bear Workshop, we are continually innovating to provide breakthrough experiences and products for today’s generation of tech-savvy Guests,” said Maxine Clark, founder and chief executive bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop. “We are thrilled to bring our newly imagined store to Orland Square and look forward to having fun and making memories with our Guests.”
“Build-A-Bear Workshop’s newly designed store concept will be the perfect complement to Orland Square’s family friendly shopping and dining mix,” said Gayle Gleespen, Director of Marketing & Business Development at Orland Square. “As a leader in the interactive retail space, Build-A-Bear Workshop is providing a special destination to Orland Square that we know our families will enjoy for years to come.”
Guests who visit the new store will see a noticeable change to the company’s trademarked stuffed animal-making experience including:
• An interactive storefront that is enabled by Microsoft’s Kinect technology and interactive touch elements. Guests can play games and view the latest product offerings as they enter the store.
• The Love Me station allows Guests to customize their furry friends with special personality attributes displayed as emoticons on an interactive table. Using Samsung’s SUR40 with Microsoft® PixelSense™ technology, Guests add unique traits - like brave, silly, and smart - to their red satin heart, which is added to their stuffed animal during the Stuff Me process.
• The Hear Me station features an assortment of high quality sounds that can be added to stuffed animals. Using an interactive touch screen, Guests can select and load popular hits from current music, sounds, or their own voice onto a chip to further personalize their stuffed animal.
• The Fluff Me station features a digital bath tub enabled by Samsung’s SUR40 with Microsoft® PixelSense™ technology. The tub magically recognizes the items as they are placed on it and reacts with sensory effects such as virtual bubbles that appear when play soap is placed on the “water surface.”
• The Name Me station, where Guests use a viewfinder or “Bear-O-Scope” to reveal the special attributes they added to their stuffed animal. At Name Me, Guests also create a one-of-a-kind birth certificate that includes a photo of their new furry friend. Through these interactive elements, Guests can personalize the bear-making process and have a different experience each time they visit. The store includes a number of technology platforms that enable Build-A-Bear Workshop to continue to update the store experience. Similar to how one might download a new app to a mobile device, the company is able to update the stations inside the store with interactive experiences that are relevant to certain product launches and seasons.
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| Only Build-A-Bear Workshop can put a smile this big on TC's face! |
To take a virtual tour of the new store visit: http://bit.ly/QAoJqJ
Disclaimer: We received free products for attending the Grand Opening, all opinions are my own.
1 comment:
I'm so sad we couldn't make it to that event. It sounds like such a cool new concept store! LOVE the Blackhawks bear - we have a camo bear, too, and it's a favorite. Build-A-Bear is always a winner in our book!
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