In this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, host Will Lee speaks with Sharon Price John, president and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, about engineering one of retail’s most unlikely turnarounds.
Recorded live at Brandweek, the conversation explores how Build-A-Bear reinvented its business model, leveraged nostalgia and emotional connection, and reshaped investor storytelling to fuel a 2,000% stock surge.
Sharon shares lessons on distinguishing brand problems from business problems, balancing data with creativity, and expanding into multi-generational audiences while opening new stores as competitors retrenched. A must-listen for marketers navigating reinvention, resilience, and profitable growth.
What you’ll learn:
- How to distinguish between a brand problem and a business problem
- The “stretchable brand” framework
- Why 40% of Build-A-Bear’s revenue now comes from teens and adults
- The art of strategic storytelling for different audiences
- How to manufacture tradition in retail
- Why financial literacy is non-negotiable for modern CMOs and creative leaders
- How to renegotiate your way out of a structural crisis
- The operational flywheel in action
With a background spanning global advertising agencies, brand leadership at Mattel and Disney, and executive roles at Hasbro and Stride Rite Children’s Group, Sharon brings deep expertise in brand strategy, vertical retail operations, and consumer-centric marketing.
Episode Highlights:
[03:24] Diagnose Brand Problems vs. Business Problems Before Taking Action — Sharon stresses that successful turnarounds begin with correctly diagnosing whether you’re facing a brand problem or a business problem. These are often conflated but require entirely different fixes. Build-A-Bear had strong awareness and affinity but declining performance, signalling a business issue, not a brand failure. Operational challenges can be corrected faster than damaged brand equity, which takes years to rebuild. Separating brand health from business metrics prevents misallocated spend and ensures leadership tackles the real constraint on growth.
[04:15] Redefine Your Brand as a Feeling, Not a Place, to Unlock Growth — Build-A-Bear’s breakthrough came when leadership stopped defining the brand as a physical workshop and instead as an emotional experience celebrating moments. This reframing allowed the company to expand beyond stores into digital channels, partnerships, and adult audiences. Sharon highlights that brands are defined by the feelings and memories they evoke, not the vessels delivering them. By decoupling brand equity from physical locations, companies can unlock latent revenue, extend into new demographics, and scale emotional connection across multiple touchpoints.
[08:06] Execute Operational Excellence Proactively So You Can Pivot Quickly in Crisis — Sharon credits Build-A-Bear’s ability to seize post-Covid opportunities to foundational operational work done beforehand: sourcing, margin optimisation, pricing, and lease strategies. When stores closed overnight, the company renegotiated every lease within a year, leveraging prior knowledge and supplier relationships. Operational readiness allowed rapid response to shifts in demand, particularly the nostalgia economy. Sharon’s lesson for CMOs: investing in operational rigor may feel unglamorous, but it’s a critical multiplier, enabling flexible, strategic pivots without being constrained by inflexible cost structures.
