On the flight home from the Los Angeles shows, my seatmate shared an article from The New York Times about a company called Build-a-Bear.

You probably know how it works — you go in the store, choose a bear style and essentially make it yourself, stuffing and all.

It's part of what the writer calls "retailtainment." The word is new to me, but the concept resembles the message home accent retailers get all the time. If you're a specialty retailer, you have to be special.

The bear stores are all about an experience, a hands-on participatory experience. And, according to the Times story, the 154 stores generated revenues of $213 million in 2003. As the story says, "It has sold more than 20 million stuffed animals, all through a process that converts manufacturing into hands-on entertainment for the kids."

Certainly, we aren't in the business of selling or making stuffed bears. But I think we can learn something from Maxine Clark, who started the company after having been president of Payless Shoe Source.

Today's customers are eager for the presentation, the service and the experience. That translates into how we operate our stores, too.

Please note the final sentence in the Times article:

"It's not really mass production that shoppers are looking to escape; it's mass products."

Think about it.