Retailtainment: Germany’s Next Build-A-Bear Shop to Open in Cologne

(eap) Today will see the opening of another workshop of the brand Build-A-Bear in Cologne, further expanding its presence on the German market. Following the successful launch of locations opened at the end of 2025 in Berlin (Mall of Berlin) and Frankfurt (MyZeil shopping centre), additional stores followed at the end of January in Stuttgart and Sindelfingen. With the new shop in Cologne’s pedestrian zone, the experiential concept is now also intended to establish itself in North Rhine-Westphalia. Founded in the United States in 1997, Build-A-Bear is said to be well known on the German market, although it has not been represented here since 2019. The retailtainment concept is now intended to once again help strengthen bricks-and-mortar retail, which has come under increasing pressure (also read our topic feature in EAP 2/2020).

Christof Sauck, Country Manager Deutschland Foto: Intersource und Build-A-Bear The focus, according to the company, is less on the mere purchase of goods but more on the shared emotional experience, as explained Christof Sauck, Country Manager Germany.

At the heart of the concept is an interactive shopping experience in which customers design their own teddy bear by actively taking part in stuffing, dressing, accessorising and naming their personalised soft toy. According to the company, the so-called “heart ceremony” is considered a key success factor of the stores. In addition, an online shop is also available in Germany.

Morten Geschwendtner, CEO and Founder of Intersource, the franchise partner of Build-A-Bear in Scandinavia & Germany. Foto: Intersource and Build-A-Bear “We don’t just sell teddy bears. We sell memories. Many of our customers are teenagers and young adults who received a Build-A-Bear themselves as children. They return with a strongly nostalgic connection,” explained Morten Geschwendtner, CEO and founder of Intersource, franchise partner for Build-A-Bear in Scandinavia and Germany. He highlights the concept’s intergenerational appeal: “Young children experience something new, while teenagers and young adults recognise something from their own childhood that creates an experience. The concept has been technologically updated with sounds, personalisation and accessories, but the decisive factor is still the feeling of creating something tangible, in a sense something analogue.”

Against the backdrop of an increasingly digital everyday life, the aim is to deliberately offer children and adults more experience-oriented, analogue alternatives. A centre analysis conducted by the EHI Retail Institute reportedly shows that experience-based tenants achieve up to 50 per cent longer dwell times than other retailers. Accordingly, Geschwendtner also sees experiential concepts as a key success factor for the future of retail: “[…] The retail of the future is not about square metres filled with merchandise. Instead, it is about emotions, feelings and participation. Those who can create this can also generate customer frequency.” ■