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Cool Company: How Personalized Bears Made a Millionaire Retailers, Collectors and Creator All Profit at Herrington Bears
 “‘Act’ is the marketing secret I operated on,” Chris Herrington, founder of Herrington Bear Company, told TDmonthly Magazine. “I didn’t wait,” he said. “I didn’t even have a business card.”While working at The Cheesecake Factory in December 1984, Chris tried to catch the attention of a co-worker by making her a teddy bear that wore a T-shirt displaying the bakery’s logo. “I didn’t do it thinking I would create a business of teddy bears,” he said. “I gave it as a gift.” COUNTERTOP DISPLAY CATCHES ON Once his co-worker displayed the original teddy bear on the counter in Marina del Ray, Calif., it wasn’t long before customers were asking to buy similar bears. Two months later, Chris used just $300 of his earnings and tips to make up 12 teddy bears sporting T-shirts with The Cheesecake Factory’s logo. When those sold, he made 12 more. And then 12 more, next taking his personalized teddy bears to Giorgio’s of Beverly Hills. He reinvested his initial returns into more products for new companies, simply walking in off the street with prototypes. Giorgio’s, Hard Rock Cafe and other well-known companies followed. As those companies grew and expanded, so did Herrington Teddy Bears, creating a brand by promoting logo recognition using an adorable keepsake that also became a valuable collectible. “I did not have a dream of owning a toy company,” Chris said. “I just started doing something that was in front of me.” BEAR MINIMUM GROWS BIG  The company now has a large following of collectors, some of whom will pay thousands of dollars for bears at auction events. A Hard Rock Cafe prototype bear once went for $3,000, and bears autographed by Chris routinely sell for $500. His company regularly donates prototypes to charity events. HBC regularly keeps in contact with its ever-growing following via opt-in e-mail. “We do a lot of direct weekly promotional e-mails to our collectors, which is important for web-based business,” Chris explained to TDmonthly. The company also maintains an online archive of all bears ever produced. NEW BEARS IN NEW PLACES Herrington recently expanded into collegiate plush. As Chris said, “Every major college has our product; we are the premium prestige brand for the college industry.” His company also now offers retailer-designed, customized teddy bears with a 24-piece minimum order at a suggested retail price of $20. “Personalized plush: It’s something new that hasn’t been done before,” Chris said. Herrington Teddy Bears products commemorate events such as the U.S. Open and Boston’s Cow Parade — making personalized plush available to small retailers, from hotels and resorts to specialty shops. “Act on what is front of you right now,” he advises TDmonthly readers. “I didn’t wait. It was an investment in passion versus money.” See below some of the products that came from that passion:
Florida Plush Collection by HERRINGTON TEDDY BEAR COMPANY 10" Dakota All American Biker Teddy Bear by HERRINGTON TEDDY BEAR COMPANY 13" Teddy Bear w/ St Augustine Lighthouse Sweatshirt by HERRINGTON TEDDY BEAR COMPANY 13" Teddy Bear w/ San Fransisco Sweatshirt by HERRINGTON TEDDY BEAR COMPANY Reggie the Penguin by HERRINGTON TEDDY BEAR COMPANY 13" Custom Bears by HERRINGTON TEDDY BEAR COMPANY  Writer's Bio: Susan Ledford is the writer, editor and publisher of the "Homeschool Resources Directory for S.C." She has been evaluating toys and games for TDmonthly's Roundtable reviews since 2005. She also is a homeschool veteran of seven years. Read more articles by this author |
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