BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain statements that are, or may be considered to be, “forward-looking statements” for the purpose of federal securities laws, including, but not limited to, statements that reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. We generally identify these statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “might,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “predict,” “future,” “potential,” “will,” “could,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” or “continue,” the negative or any derivative of these terms and other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may include, among other things, projections or statements regarding:

These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. For example, the novel strain of coronavirus that was first identified in China has become a global pandemic and has resulted in significant uncertainty. We have experienced a deterioration in our financial results as a result of the temporary closure of our retail stores in late March 2020, and may experience further deterioration depending on the duration or severity of the pandemic. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including those factors discussed under the caption entitled “Risk Factors” as well as other places in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We operate in a competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all the risk factors, nor can it assess the impact of all the risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, as a prediction of actual results.

You should read this Annual Report on Form 10-K completely and with the understanding that our actual results may be materially different from what we expect. Except as required by law, we undertake no duty to update these forward-looking statements, even though our situation may change in the future. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. and, where appropriate, its subsidiaries.

The following discussion contains references to fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2018, which represent our fiscal years ending February 1, 2020 and February 2, 2019, respectively.

PART I

Overview

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., a Delaware corporation, was formed in 1997 and is primarily a specialty retailer offering a “make your own stuffed animal” interactive retail-entertainment experience. As of February 1, 2020, we operated 372 corporately-managed locations, including 316 stores in the United States (“U.S.”) and Canada, 56 stores in the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), Ireland, Denmark, and China and had 92 franchised stores operating internationally under the Build-A-Bear Workshop brand. In addition to our stores, we sold product on our company-owned e-commerce sites, third-party marketplaces and franchisee sites and through retailer’s wholesale agreements. There were also 60 locations operating through our "third-party retail" model in which we sell our products on a wholesale basis to other companies that then in turn execute our retail experience.

Recent Developments

As described elsewhere in this Report, the COVID-19 pandemic has recently had far-reaching adverse impacts on many aspects of our operation, directly and indirectly, including our people, consumer behavior, distribution, our suppliers, and the market generally. The scope and nature of these impacts continue to evolve each day.  For a discussion of remedial measures and other key trends and uncertainties that have affected our business, see Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, including the “Recent Developments,” “Revenues,” “Costs and Expenses” and “Stores” subsections of the Overview, along with “Results of Operations” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources”, and Item 9B "Other Information" as well as Item 1A “Risk Factors”, below.

Segments and Geographic Areas

Business is conducted through three reportable segments consisting of direct-to-consumer (“DTC”), commercial, and international franchising. Our reportable segments are primarily determined by the types of customers they serve and the types of products and services that they offer. Each reportable segment may operate in many geographic areas. Financial information related to our segments and the geographic areas in which we operate is contained in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” See Note 15 — Segment Information to the consolidated financial statements for information regarding sales, results of operations and identifiable assets of the Company by business segment and geographic area.

Description of Operations

Currently, we primarily operate specialty stores that provide a “make your own stuffed animal” interactive entertainment experience in which guests, with the help of our associates, visit a variety of stations to “assemble” and customize a stuffed animal. Our concept is a unique combination of experience and product and we are focused on enhancing our brand equity while meeting the needs of consumers by offering a relevant selection of premium products that meet high quality standards and are on trend. In addition, products are sold through e-commerce sites, third-party retail locations, and franchise sites. Our store experience appeals to a broad range of age groups and demographics, including children, as well as their parents and grandparents, teens, adult collectors and gift givers as well as affinity consumers. We seek to provide outstanding guest service and experiences across all channels and touch points including our stores, our e-commerce site, our mobile sites and apps as well as traditional and social media. Guests visit our stores for multiple reasons including interactive family experiences, birthdays, parties and other milestone occasions as well as to purchase gifts including the “gift of experience” that comes with a gift card. We believe the hands-on and interactive nature of our store and high touch service model result in guests forming an emotional connection with our brand.  

We believe there are opportunities to leverage the strength of the Build-A-Bear brand to generate incremental revenue and profits given the high consumer recognition and strong positioning as a trusted, high quality brand that is emotionally connected with both kids and their parents through expanded programs including outbound branded licensing and entertainment, which may positively impact other channels of distribution.

Operating Strategies

In fiscal 2019, we continued to evolve and execute our strategic plan with key initiatives in the areas outlined below, which are intended to drive long-term shareholder value:

Channel Evolution through diversifying retail locations to broaden consumer accessibility to our brand

We continued to diversify our real estate portfolio beyond traditional malls to locations where families are increasingly going to shop and for entertainment, such as tourist destinations, seasonal pop-up shops and mass merchandising locations in order to reach a broader consumer base. We continue to strategically manage the traditional mall portfolio and renegotiate leases to optimize the cash flow to fund investments needed to achieve our desired future state. Therefore, we have strategically used favorable short-term extensions to maintain flexibility and optionality within our corporately-managed portfolio with over 70% of our leases across geographies having a natural lease event in the next three years.

In 2019, we expanded locations through our third-party retail model in which we sell products on a wholesale basis to other companies that then in turn execute our retail experience. These types of locations operate on cruise ships, in hotels and resorts and other typically entertainment and hospitality-based venues.

Leveraging an enhanced platform and infrastructure to more effectively take advantage of growth in the digital economy

In the fall of 2017, we launched an upgraded e-commerce platform and have had double-digit sales increases through this channel for nine consecutive quarters since the upgrade, including all four quarters of fiscal 2019. We have also been methodically updating systems and processes in order to further improve our digital capabilities. For example, with over 85% of our website traffic originating from a personal device, in 2019, we upgraded our mobile capabilities to reduce cart abandonment and improve conversion rates. We also believe that a focus on gift-giving including adult-to-adult gifting occasions and web-exclusive affinity products has contributed to our e-commerce growth. In addition, we shifted a significant level of marketing initiatives to digital categories that not only drove e-commerce but also benefited our retail store base resulting in improved returns on advertisement spending in the year.

Increasing acquisition, engagement and lifetime value of loyalty program members

Our Build-A-Bear Bonus Club loyalty program has over 4 million active members as well as a robust database with over 8 million consumers opted-in to receive marketing and promotional messages across geographies. In 2019, we focused on improving our segmentation models, refining messaging and developing specific consumer journeys to increase engagement and shopping frequency with a goal to build member lifetime value. With birthdays being a top occasion for visits to Build-A-Bear Workshop locations, we continued our “Count Your Candles” campaign in which a Bonus Club member can bring a child into a store during the month of their birthday and pay their age for a collectible teddy bear. We believe this program helps to add new members to the loyalty program and delivers incremental repeat visits.

Monetizing the awareness and trust that consumers have for our brand to add incremental profitable revenue streams

We believe there are opportunities to leverage the strength of the Build-A-Bear brand and the emotional connection that

consumers have with our brand to generate incremental revenue and profits by adding revenue streams including outbound branded licensing and entertainment. In 2019, we put agreements in place that cover multiple areas in entertainment that include music with Warner Music Group’s Arts Music division, films with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions and Build-A-Bear radio on iHeart media. In addition, we continued to further develop outbound licensed programs leveraging the power of the Build-A-Bear brand and other owned intellectual properties. We also continued to expand our initiatives to sell pre-stuffed plush products for corporate promotions or to other companies for resale.

Continued Focus on Delivering Long-Term Profitability Improvement

We remained focused on the execution of our stated strategies summarized above as well as disciplined expense management and on-going investments to upgrade our processes, systems and infrastructure with the goal of achieving long-term profitability improvement.

Merchandise Sourcing and Inventory Management

Our stores offer an extensive and coordinated selection of merchandise, including a wide range of different styles of plush products to be stuffed, sounds and scents that can be added to the stuffed animals and a broad variety of clothing, shoes and accessories, as well as other brand appropriate toy and novelty items, sourced from multiple vendors in China and Vietnam. Our stuffed animal products and clothing are produced from high quality, man-made materials or natural fibers, and the stuffing is made of a high-grade polyester fiber.

We believe we comply with governmental toy safety requirements specific to each country where we have stores. Specifically, we believe all of the products in our stores and e-commerce sites meet Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requirements including the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) for children’s products. We also believe we comply with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM-F963), European Toy Safety Standards (EN71), China National Toy Standards (GB6675/GB5296.5), China Compulsory Certification (CCC), Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS 8124), Canadian Consumer Product Safety Act Toys Regulation (CCPSA) and India Safety of Toys (IS:9873). Our products are tested through independent third-party testing labs for compliance with toy safety standards. Packaging and labels for each product indicate the age grading for the product and any special warnings in accordance with guidelines established by the CPSC or other applicable authority. We require our supplier factories to be compliant with the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI) Ethical Toy Program certification or with other third party social compliance programs. The ICTI Ethical Toy Program process is a social compliance program to promote ethical manufacturing in the form of fair labor treatment, as well as employee health and safety in the toy industry supply chain worldwide. In order to obtain this certification, each factory completes a rigorous evaluation performed by an accredited ICTI agent on an annual basis.

The average time from product conception to the arrival in stores is approximately 12 months, including approximately 90 to 120 days from the beginning of production to in-store delivery. Through an ongoing analysis of selling trends, we regularly update our product assortment by increasing quantities of productive styles and eliminating less productive items. Our relationships with our vendors generally are on a purchase order basis without contractual obligation to provide adequate supply or acceptable pricing on a long-term basis.

Distribution and Logistics

We own a 350,000 square-foot distribution center near Columbus, Ohio which serves the majority of our stores in the United States and Canada. We also contract with a third-party warehouse in southern California to service our West Coast stores. The contract has a one-year term and is renewable. In Europe, we contract with a third-party distribution center in Selby, England under an agreement that ends in January 2025, to fulfill our store and e-commerce fulfillment needs. This agreement contains clauses that allow for termination if certain performance criteria are not met. In Asia, we contract with a third-party distribution center in Shanghai, China which is currently on a month-to-month extension while negotiations for an agreement are on-going, which have been slowed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transportation from the warehouses to stores is managed by several third-party logistics providers. In the United States, Canada and Europe, merchandise is shipped by a variety of distribution methods, depending on the store and seasonal inventory demand. Shipments from our distribution centers are scheduled throughout the week in order to smooth workflow, and stores are grouped together by shipping route to reduce freight costs. All items in our assortment are eligible for distribution, depending on allocation and fulfillment requirements, and we typically distribute merchandise and supplies to each store once every other week or once a week on a regular schedule, which allows us to consolidate shipments in order to reduce distribution and shipping costs. Back-up supplies, such as stuffing for the plush animals, are often stored in limited amounts at regional pool points.

On March 26, 2020, we announced the temporary closure of our warehouse and e-commerce fulfillment center in Ohio as we reviewed our processes related to workplace safety and assessed the scope of the Ohio statewide "stay at home" order, including social distancing and sanitation practices recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Ohio state health and regulatory authorities. The Ohio warehouse was reopened on April 1, 2020 following the review and reconfiguration of workflow and workspaces to further promote social distancing and minimize interaction as orders are fulfilled. Our third-party warehouse in Selby, England, implemented with our guidance, updated policies to be in compliance with local social distancing guidelines.

Employees

As of February 1, 2020, we had approximately 1,000 full-time and 3,300 regular part-time employees in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Denmark and China. The number of part-time employees at all locations fluctuates depending on our seasonal needs. None of our employees are represented by a labor union, and we believe our relationship with our employees is good.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 26, 2020, the Company announced the furlough of over 90% of its workforce and pay reductions of 20% for those employees not placed on temporary leave, including the Company's executive officers and each of its named executive officers, both effective March 29, 2020.

Competition

We view the Build-A-Bear Workshop store experience as a distinctive combination of entertainment and retail with limited direct competition. Since we develop proprietary products, we compete indirectly with a number of brands that sell stuffed animals or premium children’s toys in the United States, including, but not limited to, Ty, Fisher Price, Mattel, Ganz, Hasbro, Commonwealth and Vermont Teddy Bear. In the U.K., we compete with a number of retailers including The Entertainer Toy Shop, Smyths Toys Superstores and Hamleys Toy Store. Since we sell a product that integrates merchandise and experience, we also view our competition as any company that competes for family time and entertainment dollars, such as movie theaters, amusement parks and arcades, other mall-based entertainment venues and online entertainment. With the majority of our stores currently operating in traditional shopping malls, we also compete with other mall-based retailers, including various apparel, footwear and specialty retailers, for prime mall locations.

We are aware of several small companies that operate “make your own” teddy bear and stuffed animal stores or kiosks in retail locations, but we believe none of those companies offer the breadth of assortment nor depth of experience or operate as a national or international retail company.

Intellectual Property and Trademarks

We believe our copyrights, service marks, trademarks, trade secrets, patents and similar intellectual property are critical to our success, and we intend, directly or indirectly, to maintain and protect these marks and, where applicable, license the intellectual property. Our patents do not expire until the years 2032 and 2033.

We have developed licensing and strategic relationships with leading retail and cultural organizations. We plan to continue to collaborate with companies that have strong, family-oriented brands and provide us with attractive marketing and merchandising opportunities. These relationships for specific products are generally reflected in contractual arrangements for limited terms that are terminable by either party upon specified notice. Specifically, we have key strategic relationships with select companies in which we feature their brands on products sold in our stores, including Disney®, DreamWorks Animation, Hasbro, and major professional and collegiate sports along with other culturally relevant brands.

Availability of Information

We are subject to the reporting and information requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). As a result, we file periodic reports and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). We make these filings available free of charge in the Investor Relations section of our corporate website, the URL of which is http://ir.buildabear.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. You may also request copies of these materials without charge by writing to our Investor Relations department at World Headquarters, 1954 Innerbelt Business Center Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63114. The SEC maintains a website, http://www.sec.gov, that contains our annual, quarterly and current reports and other information we file electronically with the SEC.  Information on our website is not incorporated by reference into, and does not constitute a part of, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We operate in a changing environment that involves numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could materially affect our operations. The risks, uncertainties and other factors set forth below may cause our actual results, performances or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. If any of these risks or events occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our Business

The COVID-19 pandemic could continue to materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and our ability to access current or obtain new lending facilities.

The novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, is believed to have been first identified in China in late 2019 and has spread globally. The rapid spread has resulted in authorities implementing numerous measures to try to contain the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, shelter in place orders and shutdowns. These measures may continue to impact all or portions of our workforce, operations, suppliers and customers. We have corporately-managed stores throughout North America, the United Kingdom, a store each in Denmark and China and franchise locations in twelve countries around the world. Each of these countries has been affected by the pandemic and taken measures to try to contain the virus. Future restrictions on our access to our suppliers and distribution facilities or on our support operations or workforce, and restrictions or disruptions of transportation, port closures and increased border controls or closures, could continue to limit our ability to meet customer demand and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. There is no certainty that measures taken by government authorities will be sufficient to mitigate the risks posed by the virus, and our ability to perform critical functions could be harmed.

In recent weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has also significantly increased economic uncertainty and has led to disruption and volatility in the global capital markets, which could increase the cost of and accessibility to capital. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant economic slowdown it appears increasingly likely that it could cause a global recession, which could be of an unknown duration. Risks related to negative economic conditions are described in our risk factor titled “A decline in general global economic conditions could lead to disproportionately reduced discretionary consumer spending and a corresponding reduction in demand for our products, and have an adverse effect on our liquidity and profitability. “

Given the interactive retail experience, our store based workforce comes into close contact with our customers as part of their day-to-day responsibilities. This contact increases the likelihood that members of our workforce could contract COVID-19, and as a result, could potentially adversely affect our ability to adequately staff our stores.

The ultimate magnitude of COVID-19, including the extent of its impact on our financial and operational results, which could be material, will depend on the length of time that the pandemic continues, its effect on the demand for our products and our supply chain, the effect of governmental regulations imposed in response to the pandemic, as well as uncertainty regarding all of the foregoing. We cannot at this time predict the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it could have a larger material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows beyond what is discussed within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended February 1, 2020.

We depend upon the shopping malls and tourist locations in which we are located to attract guests to our stores and a decline in consumer traffic could adversely affect our financial performance and profitability.

While we invest in integrated marketing efforts and believe we are more of a destination location than other retailers, we rely to a great extent on consumer traffic in the malls and tourist locations in which our stores are located. Traffic to tourist locations in general may be reduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which might disproportionally affect our business relative to other retailers that have located in more traditional settings or that have a greater mix of online sales ordering. We rely on the ability of the malls’ anchor tenants, generally large department stores, and on the continuing popularity of malls and tourist locations as shopping destinations to attract high levels of consumer traffic. We cannot control the development of new shopping malls nor the closure of existing malls, the addition or loss of anchors and co-tenants, the availability or cost of appropriate locations within existing or new shopping malls or the desirability, safety or success of shopping malls. Additionally, in recent years, there has

been a trend of consumers preferring to purchase products from online merchants rather than traditional brick and mortar stores, and while we have e-commerce sales with positive growth and are working to develop and strengthen our online business, we continue to depend heavily on sales at our physical store locations. Consumer traffic may also be reduced due to factors such as the economy, civil unrest, actual or threatened acts of terrorism to shopping locations, the impact of weather or natural disasters or a decline in consumer confidence resulting from international conflicts or war. A decrease in consumer traffic could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and profitability.

In particular, COVID-19 has caused public health officials to recommend precautions to mitigate the spread of the virus, especially when congregating in areas that attract dense crowds, such as shopping malls. As a result, our landlords have temporarily closed certain of the malls in which our stores operate and we have temporarily closed our owned and operated stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark. On March 17, 2020, we temporarily closed all owned and operated stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the governments' recommendation to restrict crowds and social gatherings. The full extent and duration of such temporary closures and their impacts over the longer term remain uncertain and are dependent on future developments that cannot be accurately predicted at this time, such as the severity and transmission rate of COVID-19 and the extent and effectiveness of further containment actions that may be taken.

A decline in general global economic conditions could lead to disproportionately reduced discretionary consumer spending and a corresponding reduction in demand for our products, and have an adverse effect on our liquidity and profitability.

Since purchases of our merchandise are dependent upon discretionary spending by our guests, our financial performance is sensitive to changes in overall economic conditions that affect consumer spending. Consumer spending habits are affected by, among other things, prevailing economic conditions, levels of employment, salaries and wage rates, consumer confidence and consumer perception of economic conditions. A slowdown in the U.S., Canadian or European economies or in the economies of the countries in which our franchisees operate or uncertainty as to the economic outlook could reduce discretionary spending or cause a shift in consumer discretionary spending to other products. For example, the potential adverse effects of COVID-19 across geographies and Brexit in the U.K. market may be underestimated and the actual effects are dependent on many factors that may be beyond the control of the authorities in the countries in which we operate including the United States, the U.K. and the European Union (“EU”). The potential adverse effects of any of these factors would likely result in lower net retail sales and could also result in excess inventories, which could, in turn, lead to increased merchandise markdowns and related costs associated with higher levels of inventory and adversely affect our liquidity and profitability. In addition, economic uncertainty can affect the credit and capital markets and might impact our access to capital resources at an affordable cost to meet our needs. These capital market conditions may affect the renewal or replacement of our credit agreement, which was originally entered in fiscal 2000 and has been extended annually since then and currently expires December 31, 2020. The Company's liquidity may be negatively impacted if stores do not resume normal operations and the Company may be required to pursue additional sources of financing to meet its financial obligations. Obtaining such financing is not guaranteed and is largely dependent on market conditions and other factors. Further actions may be required to improve the Company's cash position, including but not limited to, monetizing Company assets including the Company owned warehouse in Ohio, inventory, implementing further employee furloughs, investigating government relief programs, and foregoing capital expenditures and other discretionary expenses. In addition, the impacts of COVID-19 may result in store impairments charges in 2020, affecting our profitability.

If we are unable to maintain compliance with covenants under our credit facility, we may become unable to borrow under that facility. In addition, global economic conditions may make it more difficult to obtain new lending facilities.

Our liquidity position is dependent upon our ability to borrow under our current credit facility. As of February 1, 2020, total borrowing availability under our credit agreement was $20.0 million. Although we have not borrowed on our credit facility as of April 13, 2020 and have approximately $23.8 million in operating cash as of such date, failure to meet our debt covenants under the credit facility may require us to seek waivers or amendments of the debt covenants, alternative or additional sources of financing, or to reduce expenditures in order to maintain access to capital under the facility. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 and the closure of our owned and operated stores, our financial performance in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 will be negatively impacted. As a result, it is likely that we will be unable to comply with certain covenants in our existing line of credit. We are in discussions with our current lender and we are exploring other options to access alternative liquidity sources which may include other lenders, various government assistance programs and monetization of existing Company assets. However, given the capital market conditions, it has become more difficult to obtain new credit facilities. In addition, the Company believes that its current cash balance, along with the actions taken as discussed in this Report, provides it with sufficient liquidity for the next 12 months.

We may not be able to operate our international corporately-managed locations profitably.

In addition to our U.S. locations, we currently operate stores in the U.K., Canada, Ireland, Denmark and China. Our future success in international markets may be impacted by differences in consumer demand, regulatory and cultural differences, economic conditions, public health issues such as COVID-19, changes in foreign government policies and regulations, changes in trading status, compliance with U.S. laws affecting operations outside the U.S., such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as well as other risks that we may not anticipate. Brand awareness in international markets may be lower than in the U.S. and we may face higher labor and rent costs, as well as different holiday schedules. Although we have realized benefits from our operations in the U.K. and Ireland, we may be unable to continue to do so on a consistent basis. For example, in fiscal 2018, we recorded $3.5 million of asset impairment charges in the U.K. In 2016, we opened our first corporately-managed location in China and subsequently recognized an impairment charge on a substantial portion of the store’s assets. In addition, the impacts of COVID-19 on our internationally corporately-managed locations may result in store impairments charges in 2020 in those locations, affecting our profitability, as well as jeopardizing our ability to realize our deferred tax assets which may result in additional valuation allowances.

Additionally, we conduct business globally in many different jurisdictions with currencies other than U.S. dollars. Our results could be negatively impacted by changes or fluctuations in currency exchange rates since we report our consolidated financial results in U.S. dollars. For example, we may purchase products in U.S. dollars but sell them to customers in local currencies, which exposes us to foreign exchange risk, as described in “Our merchandise is manufactured by foreign manufacturers and we transact business in various foreign countries, and the availability and costs of our products, as well as our product pricing, may be negatively affected by risks associated with international manufacturing and trade and foreign currency fluctuations” below.  In addition, we could experience restrictions on the transfer of funds to and from foreign countries, including potentially negative tax consequences.

If we are unable to generate interest in and demand for our interactive retail experience and products, including being able to identify and respond to consumer preferences in a timely manner, our sales, financial condition and profitability could be adversely affected.

We believe that our success depends in large part upon our ability to continue to attract new and repeat guests with our interactive shopping experience, and our ability to anticipate, gauge and respond in a timely manner to changing consumer preferences, including online buying, and fashion trends including licensed relationships. We cannot be certain that there will continue to be a demand for our “make-your-own stuffed animal” interactive experience, including our store design and brand appearance, or for our stuffed animals, related apparel and accessories. A decline in demand for our interactive shopping experience, our stuffed animals, related apparel or accessories, or a misjudgment of consumer preferences, fashion trends or the demand for licensed products, including those that are associated with new movie releases, could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, due to COVID-19, once stores reopen, we will likely need to modify our interactive shopping experience in order to comply with social distancing guidelines and could have a negative impact on the appeal of our interactive shopping experience. Such modifications may not sufficiently address the guidelines or make our shopping experience appealing. Conversely, if we do not modify to a sufficient degree to address concerns, the perception that we are not adequately addressing concerns relative to social distancing remediation may adversely affect our brand.

Our future success depends, in part, on the popularity and consumer demand for brands of licensors such as Disney, LucasFilm, Marvel, Hasbro and The Pokémon Company. If we are not able to meet our contractual commitments or are unable to maintain licensing agreements with key brands, our business would be adversely affected. There can be no certainty that our access to licensed brands will continue to be successful or enable us to maintain high levels of sales in the future and the timing of future entertainment projects may not coincide with the timing of previous successes impacting our ability to maintain sales levels. In addition, if we miscalculate the market for our merchandise or the purchasing preferences of our guests, we may be required to sell a significant amount of our inventory at discounted prices or even below costs, thereby adversely affecting our financial condition and profitability.

If we are unable to renew, renegotiate or replace our store leases or enter into leases for new stores on favorable terms, or if we violate any of the terms of our current leases, our revenue and profitability could be harmed.

We lease all of our store locations. The majority of our store leases contain provisions for base rent plus percentage rent based on sales in excess of an agreed upon minimum annual sales level. A number of our leases include a termination provision which applies if we do not meet certain sales levels during a specified period, typically in the third to fourth year and the sixth to seventh year of the lease, which may be at either the landlord’s option or ours. Furthermore, some of our leases contain various restrictions relating to change of control of our company. Our leases also subject us to risks relating to compliance with changing shopping location rules and the exercise of discretion by our landlords on various matters within these locations. We may not be able to maintain or obtain favorable locations within these desirable shopping locations. The terms of new leases may not be as favorable, which could cause an increase in store expenses negatively impacting overall profitability. If we execute termination rights, we may have expenses and charges associated with those closures that could negatively impact our profitability.

Additionally, several large landlords dominate the ownership of prime malls, particularly in the U.S. and Canada, and because of our dependence on these landlords for a substantial number of our locations, any significant erosion in their financial conditions or our relationships with these landlords could negatively affect our ability to obtain and retain store locations. Further landlord consolidation may negatively impact our results of operations.

Our leases in the U.K. and Ireland also typically contain provisions requiring rent reviews every five years in which the base rent that we pay is adjusted to current market rates. These rent reviews require that base rents cannot be reduced if market conditions have deteriorated but can be changed “upwards only.” We may be required to pay base rents that are significantly higher than we have projected. As a result of these and other factors, we may not be able to operate our European store locations profitably. If we are unable to do so, our results of operations and financial condition could be harmed and we may be required to record significant additional impairment charges.

In addition, COVID-19 has caused public health officials to recommend precautions to mitigate the spread of the virus, that has caused us to recently enact widespread temporary store closures and our landlords to temporarily close certain of the malls in which our stores operate. There is significant uncertainty surrounding the ultimate duration of these closures and consumer willingness to visit shopping malls once they reopen. The impact of these temporary store and shopping mall closures on our current rent obligations remains uncertain and we may be limited in our ability to obtain rent abatements or landlord concessions of rent otherwise payable during this period of temporary store closures.

We rely on a few global supply chain vendors to supply substantially all of our merchandise, and significant price increases or any disruption in their ability to deliver merchandise could harm our ability to source products and supply inventory to our stores.

We do not own or operate any factories that produce our skins, clothing, shoes or accessories. For the past two years, we purchased approximately 80% of our merchandise from four vendors. These vendors in turn contract for the production of merchandise with multiple manufacturing facilities, located primarily in China and in Vietnam. Our relationships with our vendors generally are on a purchase order basis and do not provide a contractual obligation to provide adequate supply or acceptable pricing on a long-term basis. Our vendors could discontinue sourcing merchandise for us at any time. If any of our significant vendors were to discontinue their relationship with us, or if the factories with which they contract were to suffer a disruption in their production, we may be unable to replace the vendors in a timely manner, which could result in short-term disruption to our inventory flow or quality of the inventory as we transition our orders to new vendors or factories which could, in turn, disrupt our store operations and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Such disruptions may result from public health issues such as the current COVID-19 pandemic (or other, future pandemics), weather related events, natural disasters, trade restrictions, tariffs, work stoppages or slowdowns, shipping capacity constraints, supply or shipping interruptions, or other factors beyond our control. Additionally, in the event of a significant price increase from these suppliers, we may not be able to find alternative sources of supply in a timely manner or raise prices to offset the increases, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our company-owned distribution center which services the majority of our stores in North America and our third-party distribution center providers used in the western United States and Europe may be required to close and operations may experience disruptions in their ability to support our stores or may operate inefficiently.

The operation of our stores is dependent on our ability to distribute merchandise to locations throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and China in a timely manner. We own a 350,000-square-foot distribution center in Groveport, Ohio and rely on this warehouse to receive, store and distribute merchandise for the majority of our North America stores. To operate this location, our ability to meet our changing labor needs while controlling our costs is subject to external factors such as labor laws, regulations, unemployment levels, prevailing wage rates, and changing demographics. In addition, we rely on third parties to manage all of the warehousing and distribution aspects of our business in the western U.S., Europe and in China. For example, as noted above, in Europe, we contract with a third-party distribution center in Selby, England under an agreement that ends in January 2025, and Brexit could adversely affect this distribution arrangement. Any significant interruption in the operation of the distribution centers due to natural disasters or severe weather, events such as fire, accidents, power outages, system failures, public health issues such as the current COVID-19 pandemic (or other future pandemics), or other unforeseen causes could damage a significant portion of our inventory. These factors may also impair our ability to adequately stock our stores and could decrease our sales and increase our costs associated with our supply chain.

On March 26, 2020, we announced the temporary closure of our warehouse and e-commerce fulfillment center in Ohio as it reviewed its processes related to workplace safety and assessed the scope of the Ohio statewide "stay at home" order, including social distancing and sanitation practices recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Ohio state health and regulatory authorities. The Ohio warehouse was reopened on April 1, 2020 upon the review and reconfiguration of workflow and workspaces to further promote social distancing and minimize interaction as orders are fulfilled. We cannot assure you that additional closure will not be required or voluntarily adopted by us under federal and state law guidelines, and any such closure(s) may be long term. In addition, the newly implemented changes to workflow and workspaces could slow our order processing times and impact our ability to optimize the e-commerce channel.

Consumer interests change rapidly and our success depends on the ongoing effectiveness of our marketing and online initiatives to build consumer affinity for our brand and drive consumer demand for key products and services.

We continue to update and evaluate our marketing initiatives, which are focused on building our brand, sharing relevant product news, executing timely promotions and adapting to rapidly changing consumer preferences. Our future growth and profitability will depend in large part upon the effectiveness and efficiency of our integrated marketing and advertising programs, access to leading entertainment relationships in a profitable manner and future marketing and advertising efforts that we undertake, including our ability to:

Moreover, our branding and marketing efforts could be undermined by the nature of our mall-based, interactive experience, as consumers make different choices due to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to continue social distancing practices.  The perception that our experience may not be safe, in particular for vulnerable populations, could have a material adverse effect on

our branding, marketing, and financial results. Our planned marketing expenditures may not result in increased total sales or generate sufficient levels of product and brand awareness, which could also have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and profitability.

We are subject to a number of risks related to disruptions, failures or security breaches of our information technology infrastructure. If we improperly obtain or are unable to protect our data or violate privacy or security laws or expectations, we could be subject to liability as well as damage to our reputation.

Information technology is a critically important part of our business operations. We depend on information systems to process transactions, manage inventory, operate our websites, purchase, sell and ship goods on a timely basis, and maintain cost-efficient operations. There is a risk that we could experience a business interruption, theft of information, or reputational damage as a result of a cyber-attack, such as an infiltration of a data center, or data leakage of confidential information either internally or at our third-party providers. We may experience operational problems with our information systems as a result of system failures, system implementation issues, viruses, malicious hackers, sabotage, code anomalies, “Acts of God,” human error or other causes.

Our business involves the storage and transmission of consumers’ personal information, such as personal preferences and credit card information. We invest in industry-standard security technology to protect the Company’s data and business processes against the risk of data security breaches and cyber-attacks. Our data security management program includes identity, trust, vulnerability and threat management business processes, as well as enforcement of standard data protection policies such as Payment Card Industry compliance. We measure our data security effectiveness through industry accepted methods and remediate critical findings. Additionally, we certify our major technology suppliers and any outsourced services through accepted security certification measures. We maintain and routinely test backup systems and disaster recovery, along with external network security penetration testing by an independent third party as part of our business continuity preparedness. Internet privacy is a rapidly changing area and we may be subject to future requirements and legislation that are costly to implement and may negatively impact our results.

While we believe that our security technology and processes are adequate in preventing security breaches and in reducing cyber security risks, given the ever-increasing abilities of those intent on breaching cyber security measures and given our reliance on the security and other efforts of third-party vendors, the total security effort at any point in time may not be completely effective, and any such security breaches and cyber incidents could adversely affect our business. Failure of our systems, including failures due to cyber-attacks that would prevent the ability of systems to function as intended, could cause transaction errors, loss of customers and sales, and could have negative consequences to us, our employees, and those with whom we do business. In addition, there have been initial media reports regarding increased cyber-security threats and potential breaches resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic because of the increase in numbers of individuals working from home. Any security breach involving the misappropriation, loss, or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential information could also severely damage our reputation, expose us to the risks of litigation and liability, and harm our business. While we carry insurance that would mitigate the losses to an extent, such insurance may be insufficient to compensate us for potentially significant losses.

We currently obtain and retain personal information about our website users, store shoppers and loyalty program members. Federal, state and foreign governments have enacted or may enact laws or regulations regarding the collection and use of personal information, with particular emphasis on the collection of information regarding minors. Such regulation may also include enforcement and redress provisions. We have a stringent, comprehensive privacy policy covering the information we collect from our guests and have established security features to protect our consumer database and websites. While we have implemented programs and procedures designed to protect the privacy of people, including children, from whom we collect information, and our websites are designed to be fully compliant with all applicable regulations including the Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, there can be no assurance that such programs will conform to all applicable laws or regulations. If we fail to fully comply, we may be subjected to liability and damage to our reputation. In addition, because our guest database primarily includes personal information of young children and young children frequently interact with our websites, we are potentially vulnerable to charges from parents, children’s organizations, governmental entities, and the media of engaging in inappropriate collection, distribution or other use of data collected from children. Additionally, while we have security features, our security measures may not protect users’ identities and our online safety measures may be questioned, which may result in negative publicity or a decrease in visitors to our sites. If site users act inappropriately or seek unauthorized contact with other users of the site, it could harm our reputation and, therefore, our business and we could be subject to liability. For example, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which became effective in May 2018, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”),

which became effective in January 2020, greatly increases the jurisdictional reach of EU and California law, respectively, and adds a broad array of requirements related to personal data, including individual notice and opt-out preferences and the public disclosure of significant data breaches. Additionally, violations of GDPR can result in fines calculated as a percentage of a company’s annual revenue and CCPA provides civil penalty violations, as well as a private right of action for data breaches. Other governments have enacted or are enacting similar data protection laws, and are considering data localization laws that require data to stay within their borders. All of these evolving compliance and operational requirements impose significant costs and regulatory risks that are likely to increase over time.

We may not be able to operate successfully if we lose key personnel, are unable to hire qualified additional personnel, or experience turnover of our management team.

The success of our business depends upon the quality of associates throughout our organization and our ability to attract and retain qualified key employees. The loss of certain key employees, our inability to attract and retain other qualified key employees or a labor shortage that reduces the pool of qualified candidates could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to risks associated with technology and digital operations.

Our operations are subject to numerous technology related risks, including risks related to the failure of the computer systems that operate our point of sale and inventory systems, websites and mobile sites and their related support systems. We are also subject to risks related to computer viruses, telecommunications failures, and similar disruptions. Also, we may require additional capital in the future to sustain or grow our technological infrastructure and digital commerce capabilities.

Business risks related to technology and digital commerce include risks associated with the need to keep pace with rapid technological change, Internet security risks, risks of system failure or inadequacy, governmental regulation and legal uncertainties with respect to the Internet, and collection of sales or other taxes by additional states or foreign jurisdictions. If any of these risks materialize, it could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We may not be able to evolve our store locations over time to align with market trends, successfully diversify our store models and formats in accordance with our strategic goals or otherwise effectively manage our overall portfolio of stores which could adversely affect our ability to grow and could significantly harm our profitability.

Our future results will largely depend on our ability to optimize store productivity and profitability by strategically evolving our real estate portfolio to align with market trends while selectively opening new locations and systematically refreshing our store base. For example, our strategy includes a focus on tourist locations due to changing consumer preferences and declining traditional mall traffic and we cannot be certain that this strategy will be successful. Our ability to manage our portfolio of stores in future years, in desirable locations as well as operate stores profitably, particularly in multi-store markets, is a key factor in our ability to achieve sustained profitable growth. We cannot be certain when or whether desirable locations will become available, the number of Build-A-Bear Workshop stores that we can or will ultimately open, or whether any such new or relocated stores can be profitably operated. We may decide to close other stores in the future. For example, in January 2018, we closed a flagship store in Anaheim, California. This store had much larger annual sales than our typical mall-based stores. 

Additionally, in fiscal 2019 we operated 31 stores located within other retailers’ stores and 60 stores through our "third-party wholesale" model and as such are subject to the operational risks of these retailers, including but not limited to, ineffective store operations, labor disputes and negative publicity; all of which could have a negative impact on our sales and operating performance.

Our merchandise is manufactured by foreign manufacturers and we transact business in various foreign countries, and the availability and costs of our products, as well as our product pricing, may be negatively affected by risks associated with international manufacturing and trade and foreign currency fluctuations.

We purchase the majority of our merchandise directly from manufacturers in foreign countries, primarily in China and Vietnam. Any event causing a disruption of imports, including the imposition of import restrictions, taxes or fees, or labor strikes or lock-outs and pandemics, could adversely affect our business. For example, our vendors in China were temporarily closed in January and February as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, ceasing production of inventory and supplies. The flow of

merchandise from our vendors could also be adversely affected by financial or political instability in any of the countries in which the goods we purchase are manufactured, especially China, if the instability affects the production or export of merchandise from those countries. We are subject to trade restrictions in the form of tariffs or quotas, or both, applicable to the products we sell as well as to raw material imported to manufacture those products. Such tariffs or quotas are subject to change. Our compliance with the regulations is subject to interpretation and review by applicable authorities. Change in regulations or interpretation could negatively impact our operations by increasing the cost of and reducing the supply of products available to us. In addition, decreases in the value of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies, particularly the Chinese renminbi, could increase the cost of products we purchase from overseas vendors. The pricing of our products in our stores may also be affected by changes in foreign currency rates and require us to make adjustments that would impact our revenue and profit in various markets. Additionally, because most of our foreign subsidiaries buy their inventory in U.S. dollars, we are also exposed to risk when their functional currencies fluctuate relative to the U.S. dollar. For example, we believe that the significant movement in the British pound sterling relative to the U.S. dollar, as a result of the U.K.’s referendum vote to leave the EU in 2016 had a negative impact on our revenues and pre-tax income with most of the impact resulting from higher cost of merchandise sold - retail. The precise nature and rules of the U.K.’s future trading relationship with the EU is still uncertain as of the current date.

If we are unable to effectively manage our international franchises, attract new franchisees or if the laws relating to our international franchises change, our growth and profitability could be adversely affected and we could be exposed to additional liability.

As of February 1, 2020, there were 92 Build-A-Bear Workshop international franchised stores. We cannot ensure that our franchisees will be successful in identifying and securing desirable locations or in operating their stores. International markets frequently have different demographic characteristics, competitive conditions, consumer tastes and discretionary spending patterns than our existing operated markets, which impact the performance of these stores. Additionally, our franchisees may experience financing, merchandising and distribution expenses and challenges that are different from those we encounter in our existing markets. The operations and results of our franchisees could be negatively impacted by the economic, public health (such as COVID-19), or political factors in the countries in which they operate or foreign currency fluctuations. These challenges, as well as others, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The success of our franchising strategy depends upon our ability to attract and maintain qualified franchisees with sufficient financial resources to develop and grow their operations and upon the ability of those franchisees to successfully develop and operate their franchised stores. Franchisees may not operate stores in a manner consistent with our standards and requirements, may not hire and train qualified managers and other store personnel, may not operate their stores profitably and may not pay amounts due to us. As a result, our franchising operations may not be profitable. Moreover, our brand image and reputation may suffer. If franchisees perform below expectations, we may transfer those agreements to other parties, take over the operations directly or discontinue the franchise agreement. For example, in 2016, we consented to the sale of the franchise in South Africa to new owners. Furthermore, the interests of franchisees might sometimes conflict with our interests. For example, whereas franchisees are concerned with their individual business objectives, we are responsible for ensuring the success of the Build-A-Bear brand and all of our stores.

The laws of the various foreign countries in which our franchisees operate as well as compliance with U.S. laws affecting operations outside the U.S., such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, governs our relationships with our franchisees. These laws, and any new laws that may be enacted, may detrimentally affect the rights and obligations between us and our franchisees and could expose us to additional liability.

We may fail to renew, register or otherwise protect our trademarks or other intellectual property and may be sued by third parties for infringement or, misappropriation of their proprietary rights, which could be costly, distract our management and personnel and which could result in the diminution in value of our trademarks and other important intellectual property.

Other parties have asserted in the past, and may assert in the future, trademark, patent, copyright or other intellectual property rights that are important to our business. We cannot be certain that others will not seek to block the use of or seek monetary damages or other remedies for the prior use of our brand names or other intellectual property or the sale of our products or services as a violation of their trademark, patent or other proprietary rights. Defending any claims, even claims without merit, could be time-consuming, result in costly settlements, litigation or restrictions on our business and damage our reputation.

In addition, there may be prior registrations or use of intellectual property in the U.S. or foreign countries for similar or competing marks or other proprietary rights of which we are not aware. In all such countries, it may be possible for any third-party owner of a national trademark registration or other proprietary right to enjoin or limit our expansion into those countries or to seek damages for our use of such intellectual property in such countries. In the event a claim against us were successful and we could not obtain a license to the relevant intellectual property or redesign or rename our products or operations to avoid infringement, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be harmed. Securing registrations does not fully insulate us against intellectual property claims, as another party may have rights superior to our registration or our registration may be vulnerable to attack on various grounds.

We may suffer negative publicity or be sued if the manufacturers of our merchandise or of Build-A-Bear branded merchandise sold by our licensees ship any products that do not meet current safety standards or production requirements or if such products are recalled or cause injuries.

Although we require our manufacturers to meet governmental safety standards, including food safety regulations for certain locations, and our product specifications as well as submitting our products for testing, we cannot control the materials used by, or the workmanship of, our manufacturers. Additionally, through our agreements, our licensees are required to ensure that their manufacturers meet applicable safety and testing standards. If any of these manufacturers ship merchandise that does not meet our required standards, we could in turn experience negative publicity or be sued.

Many of our products are used by small children and infants who may be injured from usage if age grading or warnings are not followed. We may decide or be required to recall products or be subject to claims or lawsuits resulting from injuries. For example, we have voluntarily recalled six products in the past ten years due to possible safety issues. While our vendors have historically reimbursed us for certain related expenses, negative publicity in the event of any recall or if any children are injured from our products could have a material adverse effect on sales of our products and our business, and related recalls or lawsuits with respect to such injuries could have a material adverse effect on our financial position. Additionally, we could incur fines related to consumer product safety issues from the regulatory authorities in the countries in which we operate. Although we currently have liability insurance, we cannot assure you that it would cover product recalls or related fines, and we face the risk that claims or liabilities will exceed our insurance coverage. Furthermore, we may not be able to maintain adequate liability insurance in the future. While our licensing agreements typically indemnify us against financial losses resulting from a safety or quality issue from Build-A-Bear branded products sold by our licensees, our brand may be negatively impacted.

We may suffer negative publicity or be sued if the manufacturers of our merchandise violate labor laws or engage in practices that consumers believe are unethical.

We rely on our sourcing personnel to select manufacturers with legal and ethical labor practices, but we cannot control the business and labor practices of our manufacturers. If one of these manufacturers violates labor laws or other applicable regulations or is accused of violating these laws and regulations, or if such a manufacturer engages in labor or other practices that diverge from those typically acceptable in the U.S., we could in turn experience negative publicity, reputational harm, increased compliance and operating costs or be sued.

Our profitability could be adversely affected by fluctuations in petroleum products prices.

The profitability of our business depends to a certain degree upon the price of petroleum products, both as a component of the transportation costs for delivery of inventory from our vendors to our stores and as a raw material used in the production of our animal skins and stuffing. We are unable to predict what the price of crude oil and the resulting petroleum products will be in the future. We may be unable to pass along to our customers the increased costs that would result from higher petroleum prices. Therefore, any such increase could have an adverse impact on our business and profitability.

Our business may be adversely impacted at any time by a significant variety of competitive threats.

We operate in a highly competitive environment characterized by low barriers to entry. We compete against a diverse group of competitors. Because we are primarily mall-based, we see our competition as those mall-based retailers that compete for prime mall locations, including various apparel, footwear and specialty retailers. As a retailer whose signature product is a stuffed animal that is typically purchased as a toy or gift, we also compete with big box retailers and toy stores, as well as manufacturers that sell plush toys. Since we offer our guests an experience as well as merchandise, we also view our competition as any

company that competes for our guests’ time and entertainment dollars, such as movie theaters, restaurants, amusement parks and arcades. In addition, there are several small companies that operate “make your own” teddy bear and stuffed animal experiences in retail stores and kiosks. Although we believe that none of these companies currently offer the breadth and depth of the Build-A-Bear Workshop products and experience, we cannot be certain that they will not compete directly with us in the future.

Many of our competitors have longer operating histories, significantly greater financial, marketing and other resources, and greater name recognition. We cannot be certain that we will be able to compete successfully with them in the future, particularly in geographic locations that represent new markets for us. If we fail to compete successfully, our market share and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We may suffer negative publicity or a decrease in sales or profitability if the products from other companies that we sell in our stores do not meet our quality standards or fail to achieve our sales expectations.

We may expand our product assortment to include products manufactured by other companies. If sales of such products do not meet our expectations or are impacted by competitors’ pricing, we may have to take markdowns or employ other strategies to liquidate the product. If other companies do not meet quality or safety standards or violate any manufacturing or labor laws, we may suffer negative publicity and may not realize our sales plans.

We may be unsuccessful in acquiring businesses or engaging in other strategic transactions, which may negatively affect our financial condition and profitability.

We may from time to time engage in discussions and negotiations regarding acquisitions or other strategic transactions that could affect our financial condition, profitability or other aspects of our business. There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify suitable acquisition targets that we believe may complement our existing business. There can also be no assurance that if we acquire a business we will be successful in integrating it into our overall operations, or that any such acquired company will operate profitably or will not otherwise adversely impact our financial condition.

Risks Related to Owning Our Common Stock

Fluctuations in our operating results could reduce our cash flow, or trigger restrictions under our credit agreement, and we may be unable to repurchase shares at all or at the times or in the amounts we desire or the results of our share repurchase program may not be as beneficial as we would like. 

In August 2017, our Board of Directors authorized a $20 million share repurchase program. The program does not require us to repurchase any specific number of shares, and may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time without prior notice. Shares repurchased under the program will be subsequently retired. If our cash flow decreases as a result of decreased sales, increased expenses or capital expenditures or other uses of cash, we may not be able to repurchase shares of our common stock at all or at times or in the amounts we desire. As a result, the results of the share repurchase program may not be as beneficial as expected. In addition, credit agreements may have clauses restricting our ability to repurchase shares when certain liquidity conditions exist.

Fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations could cause the price of our common stock to substantially decline.

Retailers generally are subject to fluctuations in quarterly results. Our operating results for one period may not be indicative of results for other periods, and may fluctuate significantly due to a variety of factors, including:

If our future quarterly results fluctuate significantly or fail to meet the expectations of the investment community, then the market price of our common stock could decline substantially.

The market price of our common stock is subject to volatility, which could in turn attract the interest of activist shareholders.

During fiscal 2019, the price of our common stock fluctuated between $2.33 and $6.24 per share, but dropped to as low as $1.02 per share after February 1, 2020. The market price of our common stock may be significantly affected by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, actual or anticipated variations in our operating results or those of our competitors as compared to analyst expectations, changes in financial estimates by research analysts with respect to us or others in the retail industry, and announcements of significant transactions (including mergers or acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, stock repurchases or other strategic initiatives) by us or others in the retail industry. In addition, the equity markets have experienced price and volume fluctuations that affect the stock price of companies in ways that have been unrelated to an individual company’s operating performance. The price of our common stock may continue to be volatile, based on factors specific to our company and industry, as well as factors related to the equity markets overall.  Moreover, such volatility could attract the interest of activist shareholders.  Responding to activist shareholders can be costly and time-consuming, and the perceived uncertainties as to our future direction resulting from responding to activist strategies could itself then further affect the market price and volatility of our common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions that may prevent or frustrate attempts to replace or remove our current management by our stockholders, even if such replacement or removal may be in our stockholders’ best interests.

Our basic corporate documents and Delaware law contain provisions that might enable our management to resist a takeover. These provisions:

These provisions may:

Not applicable.

Stores

We lease all of our store locations. As of February 1, 2020, we operated 372 retail stores located primarily in major malls throughout the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, the U.K., Ireland, Denmark and China in our DTC segment.

Non-Store Properties

In addition to leasing all of our store locations, we own a warehouse and distribution center in Groveport, Ohio, which is utilized primarily by our DTC segment. The facility is approximately 350,000 square feet and includes our North American e-commerce fulfillment site. In August 2019, we announced the decision to move our corporate headquarters to downtown St. Louis, Missouri into a 51,600 square foot building with a lease of eleven years. The lease commences thirty days after delivery of premises which is expected in late spring 2020. As of February 1, 2020 we continued to lease approximately 59,000 square feet for our corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri which houses our corporate staff, our call center and our on-site training facilities. The lease was amended, effective January 2020, to extend the term on the full space until the end of June 2020 and then to lease an approximately 9,250 square foot portion of this facility beginning in July 2020 through June 2023. In the U.K., we lease approximately 6,500 square feet for our regional headquarters in Slough, England under a lease that commenced in March 2016 with a term of 10 years. We also contract with a third-party warehouse in southern California to service our West Coast stores. The contract has a one-year term and is renewable. In Europe, we contract with a third-party distribution center in Selby, England under an agreement that ends in January 2025. This agreement contains clauses that allow for termination if certain performance criteria are not met. In Asia, we contract with a third-party distribution center in Shanghai, China which is currently on a month-to-month extension while negotiations for an agreement are on-going, which have been slowed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From time to time we are involved in ordinary routine litigation typical for companies engaged in our line of business, including actions seeking to enforce our intellectual property rights or to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we are not involved in any pending legal proceedings that we believe would be likely, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Not applicable.

PART II

Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “BBW.” Our common stock commenced trading on the NYSE on October 28, 2004.

As of April 13, 2020, the number of holders of record of the Company’s common stock totaled approximately 1,924.

ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

There were no sales of unregistered securities during the past three years.

Not applicable.

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following section is qualified in its entirety by the more detailed information, including our financial statements and the notes thereto, which appears elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Recent Developments

For a discussion of the key trends and uncertainties that have affected our revenues, income and liquidity, See the “Revenues,” “Costs and Expenses” and “Stores” subsections of this Overview, along with “Results of Operations” below and in Item 1.A. “Risk Factors” above.

Business Overview

We are the only global company that offers an interactive “make your own stuffed animal” retail entertainment experience under the Build-A-Bear Workshop brand, in which guests participate in the stuffing, fluffing, dressing, accessorizing and naming of their own teddy bears and other stuffed animals. As of February 1, 2020, we operated 372 stores globally and had 92 franchised stores operating internationally under the Build-A-Bear Workshop brand. In addition to our stores, we sold product on our company-owned e-commerce sites, third party marketplaces and franchisee sites and through retailer's wholesale agreements. There were also 60 locations operating through our "third-party retail" model in which we sell our products on a wholesale basis to other companies that then in turn execute our retail experience.

We operate in three segments that share the same infrastructure, including management, systems, merchandising and marketing, and generate revenues as follows:

Selected financial data attributable to each segment for fiscal 2019 and 2018 are set forth in Note 15 — Segment Information to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our consolidated net income (loss) was $0.3 million in fiscal 2019, compared to $(17.9 million) in fiscal 2018. We believe that we have a retail store concept that has broad demographic appeal which, for North American stores open for the entire year, averaged net retail sales per store of $0.8 million and $0.9 million in fiscal 2019 and 2018, respectively. With retail as a significant driver of our performance, in order to effectively measure our store operations, we use store contribution as the key performance metric. The diversification of the real estate portfolio and shift to smaller more flexible store formats may result in lower average store revenue, but is expected to improve store contribution. Consolidated store contribution as a percentage of net retail sales was 15.4%, and 10.4% for fiscal years 2019 and 2018, respectively. Consolidated store contribution consists of store location net retail sales less cost of product, marketing and store related expenses. Non-store general and administrative expenses are excluded as are our revenues and expenses associated with e-commerce sites, locations not open for the full fiscal year and adjustments to deferred revenue related to gift card breakage and our loyalty program. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for a reconciliation of store contribution to net income. The increase in consolidated store contribution as a percent of net retail sales in fiscal 2019 was primarily due to the expansion of our retail gross margin by $7.3 million or 5.2% as a percent of total revenue and our focus on reducing store level expenses through strategic negotiations with our landlords that included rent reductions and moving toward percent of sales rent. In addition, store contribution as a percent of net retail sales increased due to a decrease in advertising expense as we shifted our focus to digital marketing and moved away from national TV advertising to a large degree. 

We entered fiscal 2020  expecting it to be another transitional year as planned to continue to implement key aspects of our longer-term strategies. Our ongoing plan was to address our retail store portfolio by diversifying locations and formats to focus on places where families shop and go for entertainment. For example, through the end of fiscal 2019 we have opened 22 full service stand-alone stores inside select Walmart locations and have several stores in seasonal and tourist locations. As part of our initiative to diversify retail formats, we had planned to continue to opportunistically place a variety of new, lower capital, flexible formats, like concourse shops, in traditional malls or in other high traffic shopping destinations to help navigate the market volatility. In addition, we have significant flexibility in our mall lease portfolio with the negotiation of favorable rent deals and short-term extensions which have resulted in now having over 70% of our leases coming up for renewal in the next three years including about 120 locations with natural lease events before the end of fiscal 2020. However, we are currently reassessing our plans in light of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business as described in "Recent Developments" above.

We ended fiscal 2019 with no borrowings under our bank loan agreement and with $26.7 million in cash and cash equivalents after investing $12.4 million in capital projects throughout the year. We did not repurchase any shares during fiscal 2019. Although the Company has $8.8 million remaining on our share repurchase authorization from August 2017, it does not plan to utilize its cash in the near term to commence share repurchase in fiscal 2020.

Following is a description and discussion of the major components of our statement of operations:

Revenues

Net retail sales, commercial revenue and international franchising: See Note 3 — Revenue to the consolidated financial statements for additional accounting information.

We use net retail sales per square foot as a performance measure for our business. The following table details net retail sales per square foot for stores open throughout the fiscal year for the periods presented:

Costs and Expenses

Cost of merchandise sold: Cost of merchandise sold is driven primarily by our retail segment. Cost of merchandise sold – retail includes the cost of the merchandise, including royalties paid to licensors of third party branded merchandise; store occupancy cost, including store depreciation and store asset impairment charges (See Note 5 — Property and Equipment, net to the consolidated financial statements for additional accounting information regarding store asset impairment); cost of warehousing and distribution; packaging; stuffing; damages and shortages; and shipping and handling costs incurred in shipment to customers. Retail gross margin is defined as net retail sales less the cost of merchandise sold - retail. For the commercial segment, cost of merchandise includes the cost of merchandise sold to third-party retailers on a wholesale basis for sale within their stores. For the franchise segment, cost of merchandise includes the sale of furniture, fixtures, and supplies to our franchise partners.

Selling, general and administrative expense (“SGA”): These expenses include store payroll and benefits, advertising, credit card fees, store supplies and normal store pre-opening and closing expenses as well as central office general and administrative expenses, including costs for management payroll, benefits, incentive compensation, travel, information systems, accounting, insurance, legal and public relations. These expenses also include depreciation of central office assets as well as the amortization of intellectual property and other assets. Certain store expenses such as credit card fees historically have increased or decreased proportionately with net retail sales. In addition, bad debt expenses and accounts receivable related charges are recorded. Further, SGA expenses may include store impairment as we consider a more likely than not assessment that an individual location will close or be remodeled prior to the end of its original lease term. See Note 5 — Property and Equipment, net to the consolidated financial statements for additional accounting information regarding store asset impairment. 

Stores

Corporately-managed locations:

The number of Build-A-Bear Workshop stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico (collectively, North America), the U.K., Ireland and Denmark (collectively, Europe) and China for the last two fiscal years is summarized as follows:

During fiscal 2019, our retail business model continued to evolve to address changing shopping patterns by diversifying our locations, formats and geographies. We are updating our store portfolio with the Discovery format, which represented 41% of our store base as of February 1, 2020. During the second half of fiscal 2019, we opened 16 full service, stand-alone stores inside select Walmart locations, resulting in a total of 22 shop-in-shops at Walmart locations at the end of the fiscal year. We also continued to open concourse shops, stand-alone retail units that occupy approximately 200 square feet, in places where families go for entertainment, including tourist destinations, as well as to convert certain existing locations, in conjunction with natural lease events, to continue to generate profit while leveraging reduced cost structure of concourse shops. Through its third-party retail model, there were 60 stores in operation with relationships that included Carnival Cruise Line, Great Wolf Lodge Resorts, Landry's and Beaches Family Resorts. As in prior years, we operated in a number of other non-traditional locations, such as ballparks, as well as shop-in-shop arrangements within other retailers’ stores. In certain locations throughout the year, we deployed temporary stores, which generally have lease terms of two to eighteen months. These specific sites are designed to capitalize on short-term opportunities. Further, we expect to close certain stores in accordance with natural lease events as an ongoing part of our real estate management and day-to-day operational plans.

International Franchise Locations:

Our first franchisee location was opened in November 2003. All franchised stores have similar signage, store layout and merchandise assortments as our corporately-managed stores. As of February 1, 2020, we had nine master franchise agreements, which typically grant franchise rights for a particular country or group of countries, covering an aggregate of 12 countries.

The number of international, franchised stores opened and closed for the periods presented below is summarized as follows:

As of February 1, 2020, the distribution of franchised locations among these countries was as follows:

In the ordinary course of business, we anticipate signing additional master franchise agreements in the future and terminating other such agreements. We believe there is a total market potential for approximately 300 international stores outside of the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland and Denmark. We source fixtures and other supplies for our franchisees from China which significantly reduces the capital and lowers the expenses required to open franchises. We are leveraging new formats that have been developed for our corporately-managed locations such as concourses and shop-in-shops with our franchisees. We expect to develop market expansion through both new and existing franchisees in the future.

Results of Operations

2019 Overview

Although the 2019 year did not unfold on a by-quarter basis as expected, we ultimately delivered annual results that included a return to profitability and a growth in total revenues. Revenue growth compared to the prior fiscal year was driven by a strong growth in our Commercial segment and in our e-commerce sales. An increase in revenue of 81.3% in our Commercial segment was primarily the result of expansion of our third-party retail locations to 60 locations as of February 1, 2020 from 40 locations as of February 2, 2019. The strong growth from our e-commerce channel is the result of improved segmentation models as well as targeted, digital advertising, including web-only exclusives, which increased website traffic. The return to profitability was primarily driven by an expansion of retail gross margin, a reduction of lease costs through strategic negotiations with land lords, and through a reduction of advertising expense by focusing our resources on digital marketing offsetting a reduction in national TV advertising. 

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, selected statement of operations data expressed as a percentage of total revenues, except where otherwise indicated. Percentages will not total due to immaterial rounding:

Fiscal Year Ended February 1, 2020 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended February 2, 2019

Total revenues. Net retail sales were $323.5 million for fiscal 2019, compared to $326.3 million for fiscal 2018, a decrease of $2.8 million or 0.9%. The components of this decrease are as follows:

The retail revenue decrease was driven primarily by store closures, reduced sales at existing stores due to continued mall traffic declines, effects of foreign currency translation in our European operations, and an increase in our deferred revenue related to our loyalty program as a result of a higher redemption rate on bonuses earned as part of the program. These were offset by strong e-commerce growth for the year, the opening of 16 new shop-in-shops in select Walmart locations, and an update to the gift card breakage rates based on the latest redemption data.

Commercial revenue was $11.9 million for fiscal 2019 compared to $6.6 million for fiscal 2018, an increase of $5.3 million primarily due to growth in wholesale activity resulting from increase in third-party retail locations. Revenue from international franchising was $3.2 million for fiscal 2019 compared to $3.7 million for fiscal 2018. This $0.5 million decrease was primarily the result of the closure of franchise locations during the year.

Retail gross margin. Retail gross margin was $146.8 million in fiscal 2019 compared to $139.5 million in fiscal 2018, a increase of $7.3 million. As a percentage of net retail sales, retail gross margin increased to 45.4% for fiscal 2019 from 42.7% for fiscal 2018, or 270 basis points as a percentage of net retail sales and included 160 basis points related to the leverage of fixed occupancy costs with the remainder driven by expansion of merchandise margin.

Selling, general and administrative. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $152.0 million for fiscal 2019 as compared to $157.2 million for fiscal 2018, a decrease of $5.2 million. Selling, general and administrative expenses were lower primarily due to less negative impact of foreign currency translation, decreased consulting costs relating to compliance matters (e.g., GDPR), decreased asset impairment charges related to store fixed assets and decreased receivable write-offs. In addition, selling, general and administrative expenses were lower due to the aggressive switch to digital marketing away from national TV advertising offset by an increase in incentive compensation resulting from the Company's profitable performance.

Interest expense (income), net. Interest expense, net of interest income, decreased an immaterial amount for fiscal 2019 as compared to fiscal 2018.

Provision for income taxes. The provision for income taxes was $1.3 million in fiscal 2019 compared to an income tax benefit of $0.6 million in fiscal 2018. The 2019 effective rate of 83.0% differed from the statutory rate of 21% primarily due to the valuation allowance recorded in certain foreign jurisdictions and the $0.2 million tax impact of equity awards. The 2018 effective tax rate of 3.1% differed from the statutory rate of 21% primarily due to the valuation allowance recorded in certain foreign jurisdictions.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We use the term “store contribution” throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Store contribution consists of income (loss) before income tax expense, interest, general and administrative expense, excluding income from franchise and commercial activities and contribution from our e-commerce sites, locations not open for the full fiscal year and adjustments to deferred revenue related to our loyalty program and gift card breakage. This term, as we define it, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies and is not a measure of performance presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). We use store contribution as a measure of our stores’ operating performance. Store contribution should not be considered a substitute for net income, net income per store, cash flows provided by operating activities, cash flows provided by operating activities per store, or other income or cash flow data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Additionally, store-level performance measures are inherently limited in that they exclude certain expenses that are recurring in nature and are necessary to support the operation and development of our stores. We believe store contribution is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance because it, along with the number of stores in operation, directly impacts our profitability.

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of store contribution to net income (loss) for our corporately-managed stores, open throughout the entire period, located in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico (collectively “North America”); stores located in the U.K., Ireland and Denmark (collectively “Europe”); and China, for our consolidated store base (dollars in thousands).

Liquidity and Capital Resources 

Our cash requirements are primarily for the opening, remodeling or reformatting of stores, installation and upgrades of information systems and working capital. Over the past several years, we have met these requirements through cash generated from operations.

Operating Activities. Cash flows provided by operating activities were $21.6 million and $9.6 million in fiscal years 2019 and 2018, respectively. Cash flows from operating activities increased in fiscal 2019 as compared to 2018 primarily due to an increase in net income and lower inventory, partially offset by an increase in receivables and a decrease in accounts payable as of the end of the fiscal year and lower gift cards and deposits balances as a result of higher redemption rates.

Investing Activities. Cash flows used in investing activities were $12.4 million and $11.3 million in fiscal years 2019 and 2018, respectively. Cash used in investing activities in fiscal 2019 increased as compared to fiscal 2018 primarily related to upgrades of central office information technology systems including construction-in-progress costs for a new warehouse management system.

Financing Activities. Financing activities used cash of $0.2 million and $2.4 million in fiscal years 2019 and 2018, respectively. Cash used in financing activities in fiscal 2019 decreased as compared to fiscal 2018 as the Company did not borrow on its credit facility and did not repurchase shares during the year, compared to stock repurchases of $2.2 million fiscal 2018.

Capital Resources. As of February 1, 2020, we had a cash balance of $26.7 million, of which 85% was domiciled within the United States.

Most of our retail stores are located within shopping malls and all are operated under leases classified as operating leases. Our leases in North America have shifted to shorter term leases to provide flexibility in aligning stores with market trends. Our leases typically require us to pay personal property taxes, our pro rata share of real property taxes of the shopping mall, our own utilities, repairs and maintenance in our store, a pro rata share of the malls’ common area maintenance and, in some instances, merchant association fees and media fund contributions. Many leases contain incentives to help defray the cost of construction of a new store. Typically, a portion of the incentive must be repaid to the landlord if we choose to terminate the lease. In addition, some of these leases contain various restrictions relating to change in control of our company. Our leases also subject us to risks relating to compliance with changing mall rules and the exercise of discretion by our landlords on various matters, including rights of termination in some cases. Rents are invoiced monthly and paid in advance.

COVID-19 has caused public health officials to recommend precautions to mitigate the spread of the virus, that has caused us to recently enact widespread temporary store closures and our landlords to temporarily close certain of the malls in which our stores operate. There is significant uncertainty surrounding the ultimate duration of these closures and consumer willingness to visit shopping malls once they reopen. The impact of these temporary store and shopping mall closures on our current rent obligations remains uncertain and we may be limited in our ability to obtain rent abatements or landlord concessions of rent otherwise payable during this period of temporary store closures.

Our leases in the U.K. and Ireland typically have terms of ten years and generally contain a provision whereby every fifth year the rental rate can be adjusted to reflect the current market rates. The leases typically provide the lessee with the first right for renewal at the end of the lease. We may also be required to make deposits and rent guarantees to secure new leases as we expand. Real estate taxes also change according to government time schedules to reflect current market rental rates for the locations we lease. Rents are invoiced monthly and quarterly and paid in advance.

Capital spending in fiscal 2019 totaled $12.4 million, primarily to support new store openings, refresh of store formats or the repositioning of locations and IT infrastructure.

In August 2017, our Board of Directors adopted a share repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of up to $20 million of our common stock. From the date of the program approval through February 1, 2020, we repurchased a total of 1.3 million shares at an average price of $8.75 per share for an aggregate amount of $11.2 million. As of February 1, 2020, we had $8.8 million of availability under the 2017 Share Repurchase Program. Because of our determination to manage our resources conservatively, we do not anticipate resuming share repurchases under the 2017 Share Repurchase Program in fiscal 2020.

We believe cash on hand will be sufficient to fund our working capital and other cash flow requirements for the near future. If additional capital is needed, we may monetize Company assets including the Company owned warehouse in Ohio, inventory, implement further employee furloughs, and forego capital expenditures and other discretionary expenses. In addition, based on historical promotional activities, such as our Pay Your Age Day events and National Teddy Bear Day, we could quickly and profitably convert inventory to cash in our stores when they reopen. 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

None.

Contractual Obligations and Commercial Commitments

Not applicable.

Inflation

We do not believe that inflation has had a material adverse impact on our business or operating results during the periods presented. However, we can provide no assurance that our business will not be affected by inflation in the future.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires the appropriate application of certain accounting policies, which require us to make estimates and assumptions about future events and their impact on amounts reported in our financial statements and related notes. Since future events and their impact cannot be determined with certainty, the actual results will inevitably differ from our estimates. Such differences could be material to the financial statements.

We believe application of accounting policies, and the estimates inherently required therein, are reasonable. These accounting policies and estimates are periodically reevaluated, and adjustments are made when facts and circumstances dictate a change. Historically, we have found our application of accounting policies to be appropriate, and actual results have not differed materially from those determined using necessary estimates.

Our accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements, which appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have identified the following critical accounting estimates:

Long-Lived Assets

In accordance with ASC 360-10-35 we assess the potential impairment of long-lived assets annually or when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Recoverability is measured by comparing the carrying amount of an asset, or asset group, to expected future net cash flows generated by the asset, or asset group. If the carrying amount exceeds its estimated undiscounted future cash flows, the carrying amount is compared to its fair value and an impairment charge is recognized to the extent of the difference. Fair value is calculated as the present value of estimated future cash flows for each asset group. The calculation of fair value could increase or decrease depending on changes in the inputs and assumptions used, and could fall below book value due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak or changes in the financial performance of the asset group, future growth rate and discount rate, resulting in future impairments in 2020.

For purposes of evaluating store assets for impairment, we have determined that each store location is an asset group, inclusive of the right-of-use asset attributable to each store. Factors that we consider important which could individually or in combination trigger an impairment review include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results; (2) significant changes in the manner of our use of the acquired assets or the strategy for our overall business; and (3) significant changes in our business strategies and/or negative industry or economic trends. We assess events and changes in circumstances or strategy that could potentially indicate that the carrying value of long-lived assets may not be recoverable as they occur. Due to the significance of the fourth quarter to individual store locations, we assess store performance quarterly, using the full year’s results. We consider a historical and/or projected negative cash flow trend for a store location to be an indicator that the carrying value of that asset group may not be recoverable. Impairment charges related to this assessment are typically included in cost of merchandise sold – retail as a component of income (loss) before income taxes in the DTC segment. See Note 6 - Property and Equipment, Net to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

Additionally, we consider a more likely than not assessment that an individual location will close prior to the end of its lease term as a triggering event to review the store asset group for recoverability. These assessments are reviewed on a quarterly basis. When indicated, the carrying value of the assets is reduced to fair value, calculated as the estimated future cash flows for each asset group.

In the event that we decide to close any or all of these stores in the future, we may be required to record additional impairments, lease termination fees, severance and other charges. Impairment losses in the future are dependent on a number of factors such as site selection, general economic trends, public health issues (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) and thus could be significantly different than historical results. The assumptions used in future calculations of fair value may change significantly which could result in further impairment charges in future periods.

Revenue Recognition

For the Company’s gift cards, revenue is deferred for single transactions until redemption including any related gift card discounts. Historically, most gift card redemptions have occurred within three years of acquisition and approximately 75% of gift cards have been redeemed within the first twelve months. In addition, unredeemed gift cards or breakage revenue is recorded in proportion to the customer’s redemption pattern using an estimated breakage rate based on historical experience.

For certain qualifying transactions, a portion of revenue transactions are deferred for the obligation related to the Company’s loyalty program or when a material right in the form of a future discount is granted. In these transactions, the transaction price is allocated to the separate performance obligations based on the relative standalone selling price. The standalone selling price for the points earned for the Company’s loyalty program is estimated using the net retail value of the merchandise purchased, adjusted for estimated breakage based on historical redemption patterns. The revenue associated with the initial merchandise purchased is recognized immediately and the value assigned to the points is deferred until the points are redeemed, forfeited or expired. In regards to the consolidated balance sheet, contract liabilities for gift cards are classified as gift cards and customer deposits, and contract liabilities related to the loyalty program are classified as deferred revenue and other.

See Note 3 - Revenue for additional information.

Leases 

On February 3, 2019, the Company adopted ASC 842, Leases. Under ASC 842, at lease commencement, the Company recognizes an asset for the right to use the leased asset and a liability based on the present value of the unpaid fixed lease payments. Operating lease costs are recognized on a straight-line basis as lease expense over the lease term. The adoption of ASC 842 resulted in the recognition of right-of-use operating lease assets and operating lease liabilities of approximately $151.5 million and $176.2 million, respectively, as of February 3, 2019. The cumulative effect of adopting the standard resulted in an adjustment to retained earnings of $7.4 million upon adoption, which represents impairment charges to the right-of-use assets associated with stores whose fixed assets have been previously impaired or had indicators of impairment, and whose right-of-use-assets were determined to be above fair market value.

Fair value of the right-of-use asset was determined using a discounted cash flow analysis, considering market rent and market discount rates. The majority of our leases do not provide an implicit rate and therefore, the Company estimates the incremental borrowing discount rate based on information available at lease commencement. The discount rates used are indicative of a synthetic credit rating based on quantitative and qualitative analysis and adjusted one notch higher to estimate a secured credit rating. For non-U.S. locations, a risk-free rate yield based on the currency of the lease is used to estimate the incremental borrowing rate.

The Company is a party to a significant number of lease contracts and certain aspects of adopting ASC 842, including the estimates of the incremental borrowing rate and impairment of the right-of-use asset upon adoption, required significant management judgment. Refer to Note 4 - Leases to the consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding ASC 842.

Income Taxes

We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the tax basis of its assets and liabilities and the consolidated financial statement carrying amounts. Deferred tax assets generally represent future tax benefits to be received when tax credit or net operating loss carryforwards can be applied against future taxable income or when expenses previously reported in our consolidated financial statements become deductible for income tax purposes. A deferred tax asset valuation allowance is required when some portion or all of the deferred tax assets may not be realized. We consider the weight of all available evidence, both positive and negative, in assessing the realizability of the deferred tax assets by each taxing jurisdiction. We consider the Company’s ability to carry back its tax losses or credits for refunds, reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, the availability of tax planning strategies and projections of future taxable income. In light of the negative impacts of COVID-19, the Company will continue to evaluate the realizability of deferred tax assets, which may result in additional valuation allowances being recorded in certain jurisdictions in 2020. As we have incurred a cumulative book loss in the U.K. over the three-year period ended February 2, 2019, we evaluated the realizability of our U.K. deferred tax assets based on an analysis of all available positive and negative evidence.  The three-year cumulative loss is a significant piece of negative evidence. We are required to give objective historical evidence more weight than subjective evidence, such as forecasts of future income.  Accordingly, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, the Company recorded a $3.7 million valuation allowance on its U.K. deferred tax assets and continued to record valuation allowances against its U.K. deferred tax assets in fiscal 2019.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies for additional information.

Not applicable.

The financial statements and schedules are listed under Item 15(a) and filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

None.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our President and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), as of the end of the period covered by this report. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information we are required to disclose in the reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to management, including our certifying officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based on the foregoing evaluation, our management, including the President and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of February 1, 2020, the end of the period covered by this Annual Report.

It should be noted that our management, including the President and Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, does not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls will prevent all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived or operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

 Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including the President and Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of February 1, 2020. Our management, with the participation of our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, also conducted an evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting to determine whether any changes occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. All internal control systems have inherent limitations, including the possibility of circumvention and overriding the control. Accordingly, even effective internal control can provide only reasonable assurance as to the reliability of financial statement preparation and presentation. Further, because of changes in conditions, the effectiveness of internal control may vary over time.

In making its evaluation, our management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013 framework). Based upon this evaluation, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting as of February 1, 2020 is effective.

Our independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, has audited the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as stated in its report which is included herein.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) that occurred during the fiscal 2019 fourth quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.

Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We have audited Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. and Subsidiaries’ internal control over financial reporting as of February 1, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. and Subsidiaries (collectively, the Company) maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of February 1, 2020, based on the COSO criteria.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated balance sheets of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. and Subsidiaries  as of February 1, 2020 and February 2, 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss), stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended February 1, 2020, and the related notes and the financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a)(2) and our report dated April 16, 2020 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

St. Louis, Missouri

April 16, 2020

To mitigate the financial and short-term cash impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, on April 14, 2020, the Compensation and Development Committee (the “Committee”) of the Board of Directors of the Company and each of Company’s named executive officers (the “Executive Officers”) agreed to amend the Executive Officers’ employment agreements to (i) reduce each Executive Officer’s annual base salary by 20% (the “Salary Reductions”) and (ii) defer bonus amounts owed to the Executive Officers for the fiscal year ended February 1, 2020 under the Company’s Fiscal 2019 Bonus Plan (the “Bonus Deferrals”). The Committee also approved an amendment to the Company’s Fiscal 2019 Bonus Plan providing for the Bonus Deferrals.

The Salary Reductions are effective from March 29, 2020 through and including the earliest of (A) December 31, 2020, (B) the date on which the Committee approves the ending of the Salary Reductions, and (C) the date on which the then-current non-Executive Officers of the Company who were employed by the Company as of March 15, 2020 and whose base salaries were reduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have had their respective annual base salaries returned to at or above their respective annual base salary amounts as of March 15, 2020.

The Bonus Deferrals shall be paid by Company in a lump sum on December 31, 2020 or, if approved by the Committee, in one or more installments on or prior to December 31, 2020. In the event the employment of an Executive Officer terminates prior to payment of the Bonus Deferral due to death or disability, termination by Company without Cause, or pursuant to Employee’s right to terminate the Agreement for Good Reason, as each term is defined in such Executive Officer’s employment agreement, as amended, the Bonus Deferral for such Executive Officer will be paid at the time such bonus would have been paid pursuant to the amended employment agreement as if the Executive Officer’s employment continued until the payment date.

Other than provisions relating to the Salary Reductions and Bonus Deferrals, the remaining terms of each Executive Officer’s employment agreement remain unchanged.

On April 14, 2020, the Committee also awarded shares of time-based restricted stock to the Executive Officers as follow: Sharon John: 70,000; Jennifer Kretchmar: 41,431; and J. Christopher Hurt: 40,980.

The terms of the time-based restricted stock are as set forth in the Company’s Restricted Stock Agreement (the “Award Agreement”). Each Executive Officer’s restricted stock award vests in full on April 14, 2021 if such Executive Officer is still an employee of the Company on that date or if the Executive Officer’s employment has been terminated by the Company without Cause or the Executive has terminated his or her employment with the Company for Good Reason (as each term is defined in the Executive Officer’s employment agreement with the Company, as amended) prior to April 14, 2021. Vesting will be accelerated upon a change in control or, in certain circumstances, upon death or termination of employment with the Company due to disability, subject to the terms set forth in the Award Agreement. The time-based restricted stock carries voting and dividend rights from the date of grant.

At the recommendation of the Committee, the Board of Directors of the Company ratified and approved the above-mentioned employment agreement amendment and the award of time-based restricted stock to the President and Chief Executive Officer.

PART III

Information concerning directors, appearing in the sections titled “Directors,” “The Board of Directors and its Committees,” and “Committee Charters, Corporate Governance Guidelines, Business Conduct Policy and Code of Ethics” in our Proxy Statement (the “Proxy Statement”) to be filed with the SEC in connection with our Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled to be held on June 11, 2020, is incorporated by reference in response to this Item 10.

Business Conduct Policy

The Board of Directors has adopted a Business Conduct Policy applicable to our directors, officers and employees, including all executive officers. The Business Conduct Policy has been posted in the Investor Relations section of our corporate website at http://ir.buildabear.com. We intend to satisfy the amendment and waiver disclosure requirements under applicable securities regulations by posting any amendments of, or waivers to, the Business Conduct Policy on our website.

The information appearing in the sections titled “Committee Charters, Corporate Governance Guidelines, Business Conduct Policy and Code of Ethics” in the Proxy Statement is incorporated by reference in response to this Item 10.

Executive Officers and Key Employees

Sharon Price John, 56, was appointed to the Board of Directors on June 3, 2013, in connection with her employment as Chief Executive Officer and Chief President Bear of the Company. Effective March 2016, she now holds the title of President and Chief Executive Officer. From January 2010 through May 2013, Ms. John served as President of Stride Rite Children’s Group LLC, a division of Wolverine World Wide, Inc., which designs and markets footwear for children. From 2002 through 2009, she held positions of broadened portfolio and increased responsibility at Hasbro, Inc., a multinational toy and board game company, including as General Manager & Senior Vice President of its U.S. Toy Division from 2006 to 2008 and General Manager & Senior Vice President of its Global Preschool unit from June 2008 through 2009. Ms. John also founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Checkerboard Toys, served as Vice President, U.S. Toy Division with VTech Industries, Inc., and served in a range of roles at Mattel, Inc. She started her career in advertising, overseeing accounts such as Hershey’s and the Snickers/M&M Mars business. Ms. John serves on the Board of Directors of Jack in the Box Inc., a publicly traded restaurant company.

Eric Fencl, 57, joined Build-A-Bear Workshop in July 2008 as Chief Bearrister—General Counsel. Effective October 2015, he now holds the title of Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Secretary. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Fencl was Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Outsourcing Solutions Inc., a national accounts receivable management firm from August 1998 to June 2008. From September 1990 to August 1998, he held legal positions at Monsanto Company, McDonnell Douglas Corporation and Bryan Cave LLP. Mr. Fencl began his career as an auditor with Arthur Young & Company.

J. Christopher Hurt, 54, joined Build-A-Bear Workshop in April 2015 as Chief Operations Officer. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Hurt was at American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. from 2002 to April 2015 in various senior leadership roles of increasing responsibility, including Senior Vice President, North America and Vice President/General Manager—Factory, Canada, Mexico Retail from 2011 to April 2015, and East Zone Vice President and Regional Director from 2002 to 2011. Before joining American Eagle Outfitters, Mr. Hurt held positions of increasing responsibility at companies including Polo Ralph Lauren and The Procter & Gamble Company.

Jennifer Kretchmar, 47, joined Build-A-Bear Workshop in August 2014 as Chief Product Officer and Innovation Bear. Effective March 2016, she now holds the title of Chief Merchandising Officer. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Kretchmar was Senior Vice President of Product and Brand Management with the Stride Rite Children’s Group of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. where since 2004 she was responsible for the global product creation strategy for a diverse portfolio of children’s footwear brands, including Stride Rite, Sperry Top- Sider®, Saucony®, Keds®, Merrell®, Robeez®, Jessica Simpson® and Hush Puppies®. Before joining Stride Rite, Ms. Kretchmar held positions of increasing responsibility at The Timberland Company, Goldbug, and the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Service.

Voin Todorovic, 45, joined Build-A-Bear Workshop in September 2014 as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Todorovic was employed at Wolverine World Wide, Inc., a leading global footwear and apparel company, where since September 2013 he served as the head of finance and operations for its Lifestyle Group, which includes a portfolio of iconic brands such as Sperry Top-Sider®, Hush Puppies®, Keds®, and Stride Rite®. From 2011 to 2013 he was Vice President—Finance and Administration of the Stride Rite Children’s Group business, operating in wholesale, direct to consumer and international franchising, and from 2010 to 2011 he was Vice President of the Performance + Lifestyle Group. Prior to his tenure at Wolverine World Wide he held positions of increasing responsibility at Collective Brands, Inc. and Payless ShoeSource.

The information contained in the sections titled “Executive Compensation” and “Board of Directors Compensation” in the Proxy Statement is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item 11.

The information contained in the section titled “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” in the Proxy Statement is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item 12.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The information contained in the section titled “Related Party Transactions” in the Proxy Statement is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item 13.

The information contained in the sections titled “Principal Accountant Fees” and “Policy Regarding Pre-Approval of Services Provided by the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” in the Proxy Statement is incorporated herein by reference in response to Item 14.

PART IV

(a)(1) Financial Statements

The financial statements and schedules set forth below are filed on the indicated pages as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. and Subsidiaries (collectively, the Company) as of February 1, 2020 and February 2, 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss), stockholders' equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended February 1, 2020,  and the related notes and the financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a)(2) (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”).  In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at February 1, 2020 and February 2, 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flow for each of the two years in the period ended February 1, 2020, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of February 1, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework), and our report dated April 16, 2020 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Adoption of New Accounting Standard

As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed its method for accounting for leases in the year ended February 1, 2020 due to the adoption of ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842).

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2011.

St. Louis, Missouri

April 16, 2020

(1) See cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies for further discussion.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements