BEAR Vermont Teddy Bear (MM)

Vermont Teddy Bear Co.(R) Reports Strong Holiday Sales Addition of Calyx & Corolla(R) adds boost to Christmas SHELBURNE, Vt., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- While many retailers experienced stagnant results this holiday season, The Vermont Teddy Bear Company(R) today reported an increase to orders booked in the month of December of nearly 100%. As a result of its recent acquisition of Calyx & Corolla(R), a direct marketer of premium, direct-from-the-grower flowers and plants, The Vermont Teddy Bear Company received approximately 87,000 orders for its BearGram, PajamaGram, TastyGram and Calyx & Corolla gift products, as compared to approximately 44,000 orders taken in December last year. Christmas is the largest holiday season for Calyx & Corolla, The Vermont Teddy Bear Company's newest business segment. This holiday season, approximately 45,000 Calyx orders were received via the Internet and the Shelburne, Vermont based customer contact center, including orders for the popular "Year of Flowers" and other flower and plant gift programs. While cash for the entire gift program order is received when the first month's delivery is shipped, revenue for future deliveries is recognized in future months as subsequent deliveries under the program are shipped. One of the most popular gift orders for Christmas is the Year of Flowers Program. Flowers can be purchased to arrive either the first or the third week of each month for three, six or twelve months. Each bouquet, including ten fresh-cut flower stems, varies from Oriental Lilies in January to Telstar Irises in September to velvety, long stemmed Roses in December. The Vermont Teddy Bear Company acquired the net assets and the business of Calyx & Corolla on August 29, 2003. In November the Company completed the first phase of its plan to integrate certain operations of Calyx & Corolla into its operations in Shelburne, VT. All of Calyx's California operations were eliminated in September when inventory and order processing and fulfillment operations, and related information technology and equipment were relocated to Vermont. Since September, the Company has successfully transitioned Calyx's Florida based information technology, accounting and finance, and human resources functions to Vermont, leaving only the merchandising and brand related marketing functions in the downsized Vero Beach, Florida offices. "The Vermont Teddy Bear Company is now a serious player in the Christmas business," said CEO Elisabeth Robert. "We used to breeze through the Christmas season with only eyes for Valentine's Day. Now that we've broadened our product offering in the gift business targeting more women gift customers, we find our internal call center stretched and our fulfillment operation much busier at Christmas than in the past. This was the goal in adding PajamaGrams, TastyGrams and now Calyx to our Bear-Gram business. We are leveraging our existing infrastructure and direct marketing expertise to generate more sales when we have excess capacity." Valentine's Day has long been the Company's number one holiday for Bear- Gram gift orders. Last year, the Company shipped approximately 110,000 orders for Valentine's Day comprised of Bear-Gram, PajamaGram and TastyGram gift packages. While Calyx does a significant amount of business at Valentine's Day, its third largest selling season, the increment provided by Calyx to the Company's overall sales for February is expected to be much less than in December. Mother's Day, traditionally The Vermont Teddy Bear Company's second largest holiday for orders, is expected to be another major Calyx holiday. A Vermont Teddy Bear Company Bear-Gram gift is a popular alternative to sending flowers. Each Bear-Gram gift includes a customized Vermont Teddy Bear accompanied by a personal greeting card and candy treat, all packaged in a colorful gift box with an air hole. Orders are placed by calling 1-800-829-BEAR or by shopping at http://www.vermontteddybear.com/. The PajamaGram Company is a gift delivery service where customers can pamper their loved ones by sending pajamas and spa products in luxurious packaging by calling 1-800-GIVE-PJS or shopping at http://www.pajamagram.com/. The TastyGram Company specializes in the delivery of creatively packaged, deliciously presented gourmet foods and sweets by calling 1-800-82-TASTY or shopping at http://www.tastygram.com/ Calyx & Corolla delivers premium direct-from-the-grower floral gifts through its catalog, by phone at 1-800-800-7788 or online at http://www.calyxandcorolla.com/. The foregoing can be interpreted as including forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual future results may differ materially from those suggested by the statements above. Contact: Nicole L'Huillier 802-985-1362 DATASOURCE: The Vermont Teddy Bear Company(R) CONTACT: Nicole L'Huillier of +1-802-985-1362, Web site: http://www.vermontteddybear.com/

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