The internet may have had its fill of Baby Yoda—the mysterious little tyke from Disney’s The Mandalorian—but the world of licensed merch is still racing to cash in on the viral Star Wars cutie.
Baby Yoda was reportedly kept so under wraps that toy makers found out about it when everyone else did—by watching the show. That’s why it’s pretty big news that a certain bear factory is gearing up to bring Baby Yoda merch to a mall near you. The honor is going to Build-a-Bear Workshop, which told investors it “will be one of the first companies” to sell Baby Yoda merch when it starts doing so in the coming months.
Build-a-Bear’s stock price soared following the news, which came with a notice for investors that Build-a-Bear expects to bring in modestly more revenue than it originally forecasted for the fiscal 2019 year. Investors, perhaps as touched by Baby Yoda as a certain legendary director was last year, drove the Workshop’s stock price up by more than 15% during regular trading.
The stuffed Baby Yodas will join a slate of other licensed plush characters, including “Happy Hugs Teddy Lando Calrissian™” and “Rey™ Bear with Lightsaber™.”
No doubt we’ll get more of the same as toy manufacturers get it together. As they do, the cute little cogs in Disney’s vast machine keep on turning.
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