Bitcoin News Australia

Country music legend Dolly Parton dropped her first rock album today, featuring nine original songs, 21 covers, and collabs with Paul McCartney, Lizzo, Joan Jett, and others.

Parton has already put out 48 studio albums, but hey, what’s one more?

Long before the Taylor Swift economy, Parton was the blonde country superstar building an empire — despite humble beginnings in a log cabin with 11 siblings.

Her philanthropy, noted kindness, and ability to avoid politics and drama have made her a near-universally beloved celebrity for decades. In that time, she’s savvily built a sprawling business. As of June, Parton was worth an estimated $550m, per Forbes.

Unpacking Parton’s reign

Her extensive catalog of 3k+ songs is worth ~$150m, and generates $6-$8m annually in royalties.

At 22, she refused to sign over half the rights to her future hit “I Will Always Love You” to megastar Elvis Presley, later joking that she earned enough from Whitney Houston’s version to buy Graceland. (That one song has garnered her an estimated $10m in royalties.)

She also has:

• Partnerships with brands, including Williams-Sonoma and Cracker Barrel.
• Merchandise, including her pet line, Doggy Parton.
• Acting, starring in films including 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias.
• Books, including her memoir, a cookbook, and a thriller co-written with author James Patterson.
• Media: Parton was previously a co-owner of Sandollar Productions; credits include Father of the Bride, Sabrina, and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

But her biggest venture is the Dollywood Company. Its portfolio of entertainment venues includes Dollywood — the Tennessee theme park she opened in 1986 — a water park, hotel and spa, and more.

What does she do with her money?

Parton has long joked that “it costs a lot of money to look this cheap,” referring to her numerous plastic surgeries.

But she’s a prolific philanthropist, launching the The Dollywood Foundation in 1988. Its causes have included education, conservation, natural disaster relief, health care, and Parton’s Imagination Library, which gifts books to children.

Fun fact: Jeff Bezos gave The Dollywood Foundation $100m in 2022 to spend as it saw fit.

This was not the stuffing we expected to be talking about during the back half of November.

But Build-A-Bear — known to most as a mall novelty where families create custom stuffed animals of their dreams — has been commanded attention from another big-dreaming crew: its investors.

The company has emerged from a rough pandemic hitting new business heights:

• Build-A-Bear is coming off the most profitable year ever, registering $468m in revenue.
• It now has ~500 global locations. Every single one was profitable last year.
• Those shops drew 50m+ visitors last year — and not by accident either (~80% of visits were planned with Build-A-Bear as the destination).

Its success extends online

The last time we checked in on the company, Build-A-Bear was unsure if it could ever translate the tactile joy of its store experience to online shoppers.

The answer: a resounding yes, with its redesigned website driving 135% digital growth since covid began.

• Web sales now comprise 15% of Build-A-Bear’s sales, generating $65m in 2022.

Online sales have helped the company reach older audiences that wanted in on the fun, but without the potential embarrassment of being spotted playing with teddy bears at the mall. Teens and adults now generate ~40% of sales.

The next chapter…

…is all about sweet, sweet IP. Build-A-Bear moves a lot of fluff via Star Wars, NBA, NFL, Marvel, DC Comics, and Disney licenses, and now it’s actively building its own character roster, per Retail Dive:

• Pumpkin Kitty, a beloved $35 plush cat that saw a limited run in 2008, came back to viral hoopla this year, creating chaos with per-customer purchase limits and $300+ resale price tags.
• This month, Build-A-Bear Entertainment is launching a Christmas movie, “Glisten and the Merry Mission,” with a voice cast that includes Dionne Warwick, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Chevy Chase.

BTW: The company projects it’s sold ~225m stuffed animals since its first store opened outside St. Louis in 1997, but none of them are as funny as this special-edition bear, which depicts singer Jason Mraz for some reason.