Build-A-Bear overwhelmed by promotional crowd
No, it wasn’t Black Friday. Even so, parents and children began lining up outside Ross Park Mall at 7 a.m. Thursday for an offer that had spread mostly over social media starting Monday: Build-A-Bear Workshop’s “pay your age” promotion — in which customers could build any stuffed animal for the price of their age, from $1 to $29.
Jennifer Carroll, area director of marketing for Simon Malls, which owns Ross Park and South Hills Village malls, estimated that more than 1,000 people were waiting in line at Ross Park Mall throughout the day. At its peak, the line looped around the inside of the mall to the Build-A-Bear store continuing out an employee exit near L.L.Bean and stretching around the exterior of Macy’s.
It was a scene repeated at South Hills Village Mall in Bethel Park and the Mall at Robinson and at locations throughout the country and parts of the world. At a BuildA-Bear in Leeds in northern England, police were called and the event was “abandoned” over “safety concerns.”
A headline about the promotion in USA Today declared: “It was so successful, it failed.”
A stuffed creation from Build-ABear starts around $20, but the price can quickly increase with different animals, clothing, accessories and sounds, such as a heartbeat or music. Sounds, accessories and clothes for the animal weren’t included in the “pay your age” offer.
Ms. Carroll at Ross Park Mall said the mall began receiving phone calls regarding the event as soon as it was announced, so they knew people would attend but did not anticipate such a large crowd.
“We were excited about the crowds,” Ms. Carroll said. “It’s a happy event, you get to spend time with your kids. … People really love the concept.”
She said customers continued joining the line until it was cut off around noon. Build-A-Bear began offering vouchers for $15 off a future purchase, which can be used starting Friday, to people willing to give up their space in line. Build-ABear employees, who were instructed not to speak to media, were full of energy as they escorted groups into the store.
“Past promotional events held by other retail stores have drawn large crowds, but this is one of the most attended promotional events in quite a while,” Ms. Carroll said.
Maria Landis of Lower Burrell arrived at 8:45 a.m. with her sons, ages 1 and 2. This was their first time at Build-A-Bear, drawn by the opportunity to pay a total of $3. Around 1 p.m. they had finally reached the front of the line. Ms. Landis observed that the store seemed to be letting groups of 10 people in at a time.
“Never did I think the line would be this long,” she said.
Many people in line said that they had learned about the event through Facebook ads, while others saw ads on TV or were told by friends.
Marie Ruschel of Ross learned about the event from her mother. She brought her 7-year-old son and 4-year-old twins. She used a tablet and snacks to occupy her children as they waited, noting that some food vendors had started running out of food. Auntie Anne’s was out of pretzels when they went there for lunch, she said.
“It’ll be worth it to see the smile on [the kids’] faces when it’s over,” she said.
Angela Capiross and Layla Stanfill, both 4, hit it off in line and became friends, said Amy Capiross, Angela’s aunt.
“We’ve been here since 9:30,” Amy Capiross said at 1:30 p.m.
Angela had made a purple and pink pony before at a Build-A-Bear. This time, she wanted it to be a surprise.
“I know what I want to build,” Layla said. “A pink bear.”
Lori Murphy, Layla’s grandmother, said that she didn’t expect the wait to be this long, but she wasn’t deterred by the remaining three hours. To her, the deal was worth it.
“Now that we’ve been here since 9:30, I’m not giving up,” she said.