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The Vermont Teddy Bear Company

In ôThe Vermont Teddy Bear Company: Challenges Facing a New CEO,ö the authors tell the story of the companyÆs beginnings, its innovative Bear-Gram conceptùa teddy bear packaged with candies and a personal gift card delivered in a box with airholes for the bearùand the changes the company went through as a result of competition and attempts to grow the business. Vermont Teddy Bears were virtually an instant sensation when introduced in 1981, and the jointed, handsewn teddy bears with the lifetime guarantee are still extremely popular today. The company, however, has had its ups and downs, going public, expanding, finding that its sales did not meet its expansion costs, and going through a changeover in upper management. The company responded by meeting every challenge with business savvy and creative ideas. In March 2005, the companyÆs revenues were $25.6 million, an increase of $9.5 million over December 2004, and their profits were $15 million, compared with $9.3 million in December 2004 (Fig. 1). The Vermont Teddy Bear Company has survived in a market that already appeared to be saturated at its inception, and it continues to climb, guided by a heartfelt mission statement (Fig. 2) and a way of reaching the soft spot in the hearts of American consumers.

In examining the vision of The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, both external and internal environmental scanning was conducted.

The external scanning included an analysis of information about competitors and competing products and services, as well as the trends in the teddy bear market as a whole. The market for collectible plush toys has grown significantly in recent years, and the U.S. has ô2.5 million serious teddy-bear collectors, according to Unity Marketingö (Meltzer 1996). Miniature plush is also a big draw, and new collectors, very likely baby boomers who are reaching their prime collecting years, are a viable market segment. As Elizabeth Robert, CEO of the...

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The Vermont Teddy Bear Company. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 04:01, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1712474.html