Can Build-A-Bear Workshop continue its bear-sized success? Founder Maxine Clark was a retailing executive for twenty-five years before she became an entrepreneur in 1997. Thinking back to her much-loved teddy bear and the magic she remembered in special shopping trips as a child, Clark wanted her new business to combine entertainment and retailing to please children of all ages. The retail company she founded, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., has now blossomed into an international chain of more than 200 stores ringing up $375 million in annual sales.

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a corporation such as Build-A-Bear Workshop going public and selling stock?

2. Now, with new stores funded by the money obtained from selling stock, Build-A-Bear has more than 200 stores that generate annual sales revenues of $375 million. Would you buy stock in this company? Explain your answer.

3. What specific information would you want to have before deciding to buy Build-a-Bear stock, and where would you obtain this information?

4. If you were attending Build-A-Bear’s annual meeting, what questions would you ask top management—and why?