ST. LOUIS, July 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Build-A-Bear
Workshop® recently announced the launch of Kabu™, the
company's new lifestyle brand, which is inspired by "kawaii"-style
art and the classic characters of the Build-A-Bear Workshop family.
The Kabu brand comes to life in a vibrant new graphic novel and
related furry friends, clothing, and accessories for furry friends
and tweens (all available in stores & online)—as well as
clothing for tweens (available in stores) and a mobile gaming
app.
![Build-A-Bear Workshop® recently announced the launch of Kabu™, the company’s new lifestyle brand, which is inspired by “kawaii”-style art and the classic characters of the Build-A-Bear Workshop family. The Kabu brand comes to life in a vibrant new graphic novel and related furry friends, clothing, and accessories, as well as a mobile gaming app. Build-A-Bear Workshop® recently announced the launch of Kabu™, the company’s new lifestyle brand, which is inspired by “kawaii”-style art and the classic characters of the Build-A-Bear Workshop family. The Kabu brand comes to life in a vibrant new graphic novel and related furry friends, clothing, and accessories, as well as a mobile gaming app.](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/724912/Build_A_Bear_Kabu.jpg)
The Kabu characters and their storyline are all about
"PAWsitivity," as the friends embark on adventures together and
tackle challenges related to friendship, school and growing
up—learning along the way that life is 10 percent what happens to
them and 90 percent how they react to it. Six primary characters
steal the scenes of the graphic novel titled, "The Grreat Race,"
written by Heather Nuhfer: Bearnice™
(little golden bear); Bearnard™ (little golden bear and twin
brother of Bearnice); Bearemy® (little brown bear and
best friend of Bearnard); Pawlette® (bunny and best
friend of Bearnice); Catrina (colorful princess); and Catlynn
(vibrant kitten). The pals realize that, by staying "PAWsitive" and
putting their heart into overcoming obstacles, situations tend to
turn out okay—even if things don't always go as planned.
The first furry friends to join the Kabu crew at Build-A-Bear
Workshop are Kabu Pawlette, Kabu Bearnice and Kabu Catlynn, along
with outfits, unique accessories for kids and tweens, and more.
Fans can explore the world of Kabu by making their own furry Kabu
friends—complete with colorful outfits—and integrate the fun into
their own world with a downloadable gaming app called Kabu Pop
Party Quest™, in which players make their way through the
characters' town of Pawston™, popping bubbles and unlocking rare
items through many different levels.
Other unique Kabu lifestyle items for kids and tweens include
leggings, "squishies," a Blind Bag Cub Condo®, a
shimmery pouch and a pom lip-gloss keychain. Additional exciting
updates to the collection are planned for the future.
"We wanted to introduce a lifestyle brand with a variety of ways
for our Guests to interact with Build-A-Bear®," said
Jennifer Kretchmar, chief product
officer, Build-A-Bear Workshop. "We were drawn to the appeal of the
modern 'kawaii' style and the way the artwork translated into our
graphic novel. The animations and storyline of the novel wove
perfectly into the design of Kabu furry friends, clothing and
accessories, as well as the Kabu Pop Party Quest gaming app. We
also saw an opportunity to give our classic Build-A-Bear
characters, including Pawlette and Bearnard—the friendly face
featured on our company logos—a fun, new treatment, and to bring a
new generation of Guests to Build-A-Bear Workshop."
Kretchmar continued, "Friendship and positive thinking are at
the heart of our Kabu brand, which is perfect for tweens who value
friends and adventures."
Kabu joins the growing list of successful intellectual
properties from Build-A-Bear, including Promise Pets™, Honey Girls™
and the recently launched Beary Fairy Friends™.
For more information about Kabu, visit
buildabear.com/collections/Kabu.
About
Build-A-Bear®
Build-A-Bear® is a
global brand kids love and parents trust that seeks to add a little
more heart to life. Build-A-Bear Workshop has over 400 stores
worldwide where guests can create customizable furry friends,
including corporately-managed stores in the United States, Canada, China, Denmark, Ireland, Puerto
Rico, and the United
Kingdom, and franchise stores in Africa, Asia,
Australia, Europe, Mexico and the Middle East. Buildabear.com is the online
destination for unique furry-friend gifts, featuring
The-Bear-Builder™, a shopping configurator that helps create
customized gift options. In 2018, Build-A-Bear was named to the
FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for the
10th year in a row. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.
(NYSE:BBW) posted a total revenue of $357.9
million in fiscal 2017.
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SOURCE Build-A-Bear