On June 11, 2026, Chris Hurt officially assumed the role of CEO of Build-A-Bear, succeeding Sharon Price John. As the company enters this new era, podcast hosts are reflecting on how a brand once written off as a retail fad managed to build such a resilient empire. On How I Built This, host Guy Raz noted that despite the decline of shopping malls, the brand "managed not only to survive, but in many cases to become the reason kids wanted to go to the mall."
The path to survival wasn't always smooth. Guy Raz tracked the company's rapid rise from its founding by Maxine Clark to its 2004 IPO, pointing out that they hit 250 stores by 2007. However, the 2008 financial crisis served as "the first, uh, serious test" where the stock plummeted and the business faced real losses.
The subsequent recovery was spearheaded by outgoing CEO Sharon Price John, who successfully steered the brand back to profitability. On How I Built This, Guy Raz praised her leadership, noting that the company now generates "well over five hundred million dollars in revenue" thanks in part to highly successful pop-culture tie-ins, recalling how his own kids got their first custom toys during the Star Wars collaborations of the mid-2010s.
Now, the spotlight shifts to Chris Hurt. He inherits a Build-A-Bear business that has defied the retail apocalypse, but he must prove that customizable stuffed animals can maintain their appeal in an increasingly digital world. Whether he can continue Sharon Price John's streak of profitable collaborations remains the defining question for the brand's next chapter.