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A unique
idea, retail experience, business skills and a winning personality
have all been factors in Maxine Clark's remarkable success. The
subject of this month's cover story, Clark has created an innovative
make-your-own-stuffed-animal store that stands out in the retail
industry and has received national recognition. In just two-plus
years, Build-A-Bear has succeeded in becoming one of the nation's
largest retailers of teddy bears through mall stores, direct mail
and the Internet. In 1999, this private company had close to $20
million in sales. Her entrepreneurial spirit is inspirational.
Build-A-Bear
has expanded to 14 stores and plans to open 25 more this year.
By 2007, Clark expects to have more than 250 Workshops nationwide.
Clark
is one of the reasons St. Louis has been recently singled out
for its entrepreneurial excellence. Last July, Build-A-Bear was
featured in Forbes magazine in an article that highlights
the region's unique mix of growing small and mid-size entrepreneurial
companies.
Also
garnering national attention is the region's wealth of new economy
telecom providers. California-based Internet investment guru Andy
Rachleff recently named St. Louis as a national leader for Internet
infrastructure, wired back office operations and dot.com entrepreneurs.
In a speech in January in Washington, D.C., Rachleff described
St. Louis as America's second city "for this type of business
activity, just trailing AOL's hometown...in Northern Virginia."
The story on page 66 features several of these fast growing telecom
start ups.
In
fact, the St. Louis RCGA has identified information technology,
and more specifically telecommunications, as an industry cluster
that will be critical to the success of the region. The Technology
Gateway Alliance has already created an "Upstart" network; its
mission is to:
- Support
the region by delivering broadband connectivity to foster growth
- Attract
and retain talent, capital and other resources in the region.
Another
industry cluster the RCGA has recognized as being important to
the region's future is life sciences. We're aggressively working
to identify the capital, workforce, economic development, legislative
and regulatory issues affecting this cluster. The article on page
58 talks about the region's potential to become a world center
for plant sciences, biotechnology and life sciences. Monsanto,
the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and the Nidus Center
are all working to make this happen.
Capitalizing
on these cluster industries will be one of the key components
that will enable us to compete in the New Economy. Happily, the
St. Louis region is poised to take a leadership position on the
world economic stage.
Richard C.D. Fleming
President and Chief Executive Officer
St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association
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