STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES HIRED BY BUILD-A-BEAR
By Adnews Staff
Build-A-Bear Workshop has hired Toronto-based public relations agency Strategic Objectives to support its launch in Canada. Build-A-Bear, based in St. Louis, MO, is a mall-based retailer. Its customers construct their own stuffed animals. The company operates approximately 100 stores in the U.S. Three Canadian locations will open this summer; the chain's first international expansion. Strategic Objectives won the account in a confidential, competitive process. Maxine Clark, founder and chief executive of Build-A-Bear, said, "We were looking for an agency that thinks outside-the-box and could showcase our unique retail concept and provide insight into the Canadian marketplace." Strategic Objectives is now working on a public relations program intended to raise awareness of the brand. The first Canadian Build-A-Bear store will open in Edmonton on May 29. The second store will open in Calgary on June 20. The third store will be opened in Mississauga at a date yet to be determined.