User:Onemorewikiusertoo/Animaland

Animaland is in the interactive stuffing industry focusing on impulse sales in a store-within-a-store environment. The Company is a supplier and global manufacturer of "stuff-it-yourself" plush animals, outfits, accessories, and stuffing machines to resellers and distributors domestically and internationally. According to Unity Marketing's Plush Report, one in five American households purchased a stuffed toy in 2002. Moreover, the average child has a dozen or more stuffed animals. Animaland provides an interactive buying experience by providing unstuffed, plush animals, stuffing material, and stuffing machines to resellers and distributors for sales at a variety of public and private venues.

Children, both pre-teens and teens, experience the animal they've selected come to life as they fill it with stuffing material by pressing on the foot pedal of a stuffing machine. The child then makes a wish on a 'wishing star', which they place inside their new best friend. A sound chip containing a pre-recorded animal sound or a customizable personal recorded greeting may also be inserted into the stuffed animal before it is permanently closed. The child may also customize their new best friend by dressing the stuffed animal with an outfit or accessories, such as shoes or sunglasses, from more than three hundred available items. Each animal also comes with a birth certificate, which has a place to list the animal's name, date and place of birth, species, height, weight, eye and fur color, and its pedigree number. On the surface Animaland locations appear to be selling plush toys to children. What Animaland is really providing to children is an interactive experience. The outcome is a stronger connection between the child and their new plush toy, which they just “brought to life”, as compared to buying an ordinary plush animal, which could be purchased anywhere, and put on the shelf with the rest of their plush animal collection. The animals are limited editions and individually serial numbered with a unique registration number. Animals have been retired from time to time, after which they are no longer produced.

Company Background
Animaland, with corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada,USA, was founded by Michael Hoffman, CEO, and Stuart Scheinman, President, in September of 2003. The first Animaland location opened in a Putt-Putt entertainment center in North Carolina that same year. In 2005, George Smith, joined the company as VP Business Development. He had formerly been with Namco. There are approximately eight hundred fifty individually owned Animaland locations around the world, including domestic locations across all fifty states in the USA as well as international venues in Australia, Canada, India, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Mexico, Denmark, South Africa, and more. New locations are being added. Financial information on Animaland is not available, as it is a privately held Company. In 2006, Animaland acquired competitor, Bear Train Express.

Awards
Animaland has been awarded the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attraction's (IAAPA): [http://www.iaapa.org/pressroom/pressreleases/2006ExhibitorAwards.asp First Place, Best New Merchandise Product, 2006 International Expo. ]

Products
Although the first commercially produced stuffed animal was made as early as 1880 in Germany by the Steiff Company, they rapidly gained popularity after former President Teddy Roosevelt went on a now famous hunting trip in 1902 where he refused to kill a captured black bear because it was not sportsmanlike. The incident, in which that depicted the hunting trip, together with Teddy Roosevelt's legacy gave rise to the teddy bear industry, which honors his name. Given its wide appeal to so many people, it is highly likely that teddy bears will be around in another one hundred years.

Animals
Animaland offers its customers the interactive experience of creating their own teddy bear or, if they prefer, a choice of more than one hundred fifty different animals, including cats, cows, dinosaurs, dogs, elephants, frogs, giraffes, horses, koalas, lions, monkeys, pandas, pigs, tigers, and others.

Seasonally-themed animals are also available for holidays, such as the 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, and Valentine's Day.

Outfits and Accessories
Outfits and accessories can also be themed around different events, seasons, occupations, various types of sports and birthday parties. Examples of available outfits and accessories include those for golfing, jogging, soccer, karate, cheerleading, farming, nursing, chefs, weddings, and much more.

Stuffing Machines
Animaland has provided its distributors and customers with several different models of stuffing machines. The current models look like old fashioned gumball machines, and are available in two different sizes. Another stuffing machine model, which Animaland refers to as a Filling Station, looks like an antique gas pump. The Company also has a larger stuffing machine which has functional handmade oak wagon wheels and a large rotating marquis. The company has customized many of their stuffing machines to fit in with the décor of the intended location.

Locations
The Company has placed its concept in an assortment of venues, including tourist locations, sporting venues, zoos, aquariums, national parks, amusement parks, museums, pizza and party places, family entertainment centers, themed events, hospitals, gift stores, restaurants, and online. The Company comes to market in a small footprint – typically two hundred square feet or less. A small location could get by with thirty six square feet.

Prominent locations
Animaland products can be found at major venues, including Yellowstone, Birmingham Zoo, Santa Monica Pier, Hearst Castle, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Cypress Gardens, USA Skate Center, Southwick's Zoo, Great Wolf Lodge, Minnesota Zoo, Circus Circus, Santa Barbara Zoo and San Diego Zoo, London Zoo, and the Long Beach Aquarium, among others.

Competiton
Animaland's major competitor, Build-a-Bear, was founded in 1997. It went public in 2004 and now has about three hundred locations. Both Animaland and Build-a-Bear are similar in that they both sell stuff-your-own plush mainly to children.. The major differences between Build-a-Bear and Animaland are that Build-a-Bear has larger, dedicated retail stores of approximately eighteen hundred square feet in size, which cost about $500,000 or more to build out. A fully dressed Build-a-Bear teddy bear with accessories has a cost of approximately $60. Animaland stores are mainly located inside other larger stores, take up just a couple hundred square feet, cost only a few thousand dollars to open, and have very low overhead. The average, dressed Animaland teddy bear costs approximately $25-30.

Resources

 * Animaland's Web Site
 * Animaland Store Locations
 * Games at Animaland
 * Video: Animaland
 * Article: Animaland Sees Growth Through Simplicity
 * Report: Unity Market Plush Report, By Unity Marketing, Inc.
 * IAAPA 2006 International Expo Awards
 * Toy Directory: Animaland Profile