Maybe it was given to help someone feel better, or to mark the birth of a newborn, or maybe it's a keepsake from a family trip to Vermont. Every Bear story is different but each one says: I Love You.
We have lots going on, from Teddy Bear Picnics to community celebrations. If you are looking for something delightful for the whole family to do, check out our Events Calendar and come have some fun with us! Want to know what our company and Bears have been up to? This is where you'll find news clips and press releases to keep you up-to-date.
Being a Vermont Teddy Bear can sometimes be a tough job, so when we say all of our Bears are guaranteed for life, we mean it. How do we do it? With our Bear Hospital and Dr. Nancy, of course! In a maze-like building whose departments were separated by picket fences, workers sewed and stuffed new teddies. There was a one-of-a-kind department with bears dressed in custom-made clothing--Charlie Chaplin garb, a Vermont state trooper's uniform, a scuba diving outfit--and a bear hospital, where bears sporting casts, crutches, and arm slings sat side by side customers' ailing bears waiting to be repaired.
On the other side of the building, 'Bear Counselors' answered telephones and took orders--Bear-Grams--from customers who, absent this alternative, might have sent flowers. The atmosphere was laid back, with Frank Sinatra music pumped in through loudspeakers, an employee pinball machine, and mobile massage service. The company's factory and retail store became one of the hottest tourist spots in the state, attracting 80, visitors in In fact, while the teddy bear remained a staple childhood companion, about 80 percent of all Bear-Gram recipients were adults.
According to Putnam, in a Washington Post , the success of The Vermont Teddy Bear Company occurred because the company redefined the teddy bear as a gift item appropriate to all ages and occasions.
Where once a husband might have sent flowers or chocolates to his wife for Valentine's Day, he now sent a teddy bear. Women, who were by far the company's greatest repeat customers, sent teddy bears to friends and family to commemorate personal occasions throughout the year. The success of the Bear-Gram stimulated another growth period for the company. Television and billboard advertisements complemented the company's own catalogue, which went out to a mailing list of one million and featured other Vermont-made products such as children's books and toys to accompany specific bears.
In , the company moved into its new complex, set up a warehouse and fulfilment center in Livingston, England, and was on its way toward launching a manufacturing plant in the United Kingdom.
However, all did not follow happily ever after for the fairy tale-like business. While the company had grown more than expected in , expansion was at times chaotic and even precipitous. The attempt to break into the overseas market was aborted shortly after Vermont Teddy Bear began marketing its bears in Britain in The company was left with a huge excess of bears.
Patrick Burns, who had been a marketing executive at L. Bean and Disney Direct Marketing, took over the company. Burns's agenda focused on reducing advertising and manufacturing costs, while relying more heavily on catalogue sales and sales at company stores, which he planned to open in New England and New York. At his initiative, the company signed a licensing agreement with Tyco Toys Inc. A second store followed in Freeport, Maine. The company also put more of its marketing dollars into its catalog operations, increasing circulation and expanding its offerings beyond teddy bears to everything from snowglobes to t-shirts and knapsacks.
However, the improvement in sales was only slight, and Elisabeth B. Also out soon: a flamingo, a pony, a unicorn and more wild animals. When it comes to the stuffed animals, the company is steering clear of voice activation, connectivity, or anything else wifi-enabled. The company tries to attract people back year after year with lottery drawings and flexible hours. Many, he said, work several seasonal jobs, moving from a summer stint at the nearby Shelburne Museum to fall and winter at Vermont Teddy Bear before taking a few months off in the spring.
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And check out our new Business section here. VTDigger is now accepting letters to the editor. For information about our guidelines, and access to the letter form, please click here. Share Get all of VTDigger's daily news. Daily Sundays only Weekly Wrap. Email me stories on these subjects Vermont Teddy Bear produces about bears per day in its Shelburne factory. Each bear part is stuffed individually at a machine that dispenses shredded plastic fibers.
The stuffing room at Vermont Teddy Bear. A worker sews the final stitch on the back of each teddy bear by hand.
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