Squishmallows, Build-A-Bear and the battle brewing in the stuffed animal kingdom
The owners of Squishmallows has filed a lawsuit against Build-A-Bear, claiming the company has ripped off its egg-shaped design.
TheStreet's J.D. Durkin brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets open for trading Friday, February 16.
Related: Beloved Warren Buffett company takes on a surprising new foe
Full Video Transcript Below:
J.D. DURKIN: I’m J.D. Durkin - reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
Investors are reacting to the latest read on inflation. The Producer Price Index report saw wholesale prices rise 0.3 percent in January, above expectations of 0.1 percent. This is the second hotter than expected report this week, a negative sign as the Fed attempts to cool inflation.
Next week will be a shortened trading week in observance of the Presidents Day holiday. Investors are looking ahead to the release of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes, which will give markets a clearer picture of the Fed’s path forward on interest rates.
In other news - we officially have a legal battle within the stuffed animal kingdom. The owners of Squishmallows are suing Build-A-Bear over intellectual property theft. Squishmallows, which makes egg-shaped stuffed animals, alleges that its cuddly counterpart’s new “Skoosherz” line is a knockoff of its own products.
The lawsuit claims, "Rather than competing fairly in the marketplace by creating its own unique concepts and product lines, defendant Build-A-Bear, a company worth over 300 million dollars, decided that it would be easier to simply copy, imitate, and profit off the popularity and goodwill of Squishmallows, all in the hopes of confusing consumers into buying its products instead of Squishmallows."
The Squishmallows brand is owned by Jazwares - which itself is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. It was launched in 2016 and, according to the lawsuit, brought in $200 million in sales in 2022 alone. Meanwhile, Build-A-Bear has been in business for 25 years and has about 500 retail locations around the globe.
That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, I’m J.D. Durkin with TheStreet.
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