How I Built This with Guy Raz
Guy Raz | Wondery
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Build-A-Bear: Maxine Clark. A Former Shoe Executive Launches a Stuffed Animal Empire
When Maxine Clark left a top job in retail to start a make-your-own stuffed animal store, people thought she’d lost her mind. Investors doubted it. Friends questioned it. Retail experts couldn't understand how it would scale. But drawing on more than 20 years as a retail executive, Maxine built a massively successful shopping “experience,” where kids could stuff, dress and personalize their own stuffed animals. Today, Build-A-Bear has generated billions in sales, survived the decline of malls, weathered the financial crisis, and become a global brand. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN How a failed errand—and an offhand comment by a kid–inspired a business plan How Maxine leveraged two decades of retail experience to launch Build-a-Bear How Willy Wonka and Walt Disney were early inspirations How she built a wedge against competitors How she got through the financial crisis How she knew when to step down as CEO– and how to collaborate with her successor TIMESTAMPS: 05:52 - A mom Who Worked for Eleanor Roosevelt 09:18 - The Impromptu Interview That Changed Maxine’s Career16:00 - Becoming One of the Few Female Fortune 500 Executives18:43 - Why She Walked Away From Payless21:27 - The Beanie Baby Disappointment That Sparked Build-A-Bear26:14 - Designing the First Store: “Make it Like Willy Wonka.”37:53 - Opening Day — and a Line Out the Door39:53 - Defending the Brand Against Copycats and Lawsuits45:53 - Scaling to Hundreds of Stores and Going Public58:25 - Letting Go: Stepping Down as CEO and Building a Legacy This episode was researched by Rommel Wood and produced by Kerry Thompson, with music by Ramtin Arablouei, and edited by Neva Grant. Follow How I Built This: Instagram → @howibuiltthis X → @HowIBuiltThis Facebook → How I Built This Follow Guy Raz: Instagram → @guy.raz Youtube → guy_raz X → @guyraz Substack → guyraz.substack.com Website → guyraz.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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