## Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 

(1) Description of Business and Basis of Preparation 

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (the Company) is a specialty retailer of plush animals and related products. The Company began operations in October 1997. The Company sells its products through its 323 company-owned stores operated primarily in leased locations in malls in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and Ireland along with its Web sites. Operations in foreign countries where the Company does not have company-owned stores are through franchise agreements. 

Certain reclassifications of prior year amounts have been made to conform to current year presentation, none of which impact net loss in any period. 

(2) Summary of Significant Accounting Policies 

A summary of the Company’s significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements follows: 

(a) Principles of Consolidation 

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts are eliminated in consolidation. 

(b) Fiscal Year 

The Company operates on a 52- or 53-week fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to December 31. The periods presented in these financial statements are the fiscal years ended December 28, 2013 (fiscal 2013), December 29, 2012 (fiscal 2012) and December 31, 2011 (fiscal 2011). All fiscal years presented included 52 weeks. References to years in these financial statements relate to fiscal years or year ends rather than calendar years. 

(c) Cash and Cash Equivalents 

Cash and cash equivalents include cash and short-term highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less held in both domestic and foreign financial institutions. 

The majority of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents exceed federal deposit insurance limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and management believes that the Company is not exposed to any significant credit risk on cash and cash equivalents. 

(d) Inventories 

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market, with cost determined on an average-cost basis. Inventory includes supplies of 

$2.9 million and $3.5 million as of December 28, 2013 and December 29, 2012, respectively. A reserve for estimated shortage is accrued throughout the year based on detailed historical averages. 

(e) Receivables 

Receivables consist primarily of amounts due to the Company in relation to tenant allowances, wholesale and corporate product sales, franchisee royalties and product sales, certain amounts due from taxing authorities and licensing revenue. The Company assesses the collectability of all receivables on an ongoing basis by considering its historical credit loss experience, current economic conditions, and other relevant factors. Based on this analysis, the Company has determined that no material allowance for doubtful accounts was necessary at either December 28, 2013 and December 29, 2012. 

(f) Property and Equipment 

Property and equipment consist of leasehold improvements, furniture and fixtures, computer equipment and software, building and land and are stated at cost. Leasehold improvements are depreciated using the straight-line method over the shorter of the useful life of the assets or the life of the lease which is generally ten years. Furniture and fixtures and computer equipment are depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated service lives ranging from three to seven years. Computer software is amortized using the straight-line method over a period of three to five years. New store construction deposits are recorded at the time the deposit is made as construction-in-progress and reclassified to the appropriate property and equipment category at the time of completion of construction, when operations of the store commence. Maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred and improvements are capitalized. Gains or losses on the disposition of fixed assets are recorded upon disposal. 

(g) Goodwill 

Goodwill is tested for impairment annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. This testing requires comparison of the carrying value of the reporting unit to its fair value and a reconciliation to the Company’s total market capitalization, and when appropriate, the carrying value of impaired assets is reduced to fair value. The calculation of fair value requires multiple assumptions regarding our future operations to determine future cash flows, including but not limited to, sales volume, margin rates, store growth rates and discount rates, all of which are Level 3 fair value inputs. In 2012, we performed our annual evaluation of our goodwill as of December 29, 2012. As a result of the sustained decline in the market price of our common stock, coupled with the decline in the performance of the UK reporting unit, we determined that the fair value of the reporting unit, estimated using discounted cash flow analysis and reconciled to our market capitalization, was less than its carrying value. As a result, an impairment charge of $33.7 million was recorded as a component of net loss before income taxes in the Retail segment. This 

