ST. LOUIS — Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. (NYSE: BBW) is considering further cuts as it grapples with ongoing store closures due to COVID-19.
The St. Louis-based retailer said Monday in a regulatory filing that it is exploring options to ensure it has enough cash on hand to satisfy terms of its agreement with lender U.S. Bank. Those options could include additional loans, government assistance programs and monetizing a company-owned warehouse in Ohio and its inventory.
But Build-A-Bear also is evaluating whether it should make more cuts to general and administrative expenses, or forego or delay capital expenditures to improve its cash balance. The company said it is working with its landlords to negotiate leases and payments, according to the filing with the SEC.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In March, Build-A-Bear temporarily closed all of its stores and furloughed more than 90% of its workforce as a result of COVID-19. Salaried employees not impacted by the furloughs, including its top executives, had their pay reduced by 20%. Build-A-Bear employed 1,000 people full-time and around 3,000 part-time at 372 stores, according to its most recent annual report filed in April.
That annual report also revealed previously undisclosed terms of Build-A-Bear's lease at its new 51,600-square-foot headquarters in Downtown West at 401 S. 18th St., where it was to move about 200 employees this spring prior to COVID-19.
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