By Jason Garcia , Orlando Sentinel
Come New Year's Day at Walt Disney World, the lines to check out at the World of Disney, the resort's souvenir megastore, may rival any to be found at Space Mountain.
The first day of the year is also the second-busiest at Downtown Disney's flagship store, which draws about 8 million people a year — more than entire theme parks at Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando. Only Black Friday is busier.
Chalk it up to the psychology of Disney vacationers, who tend to visit Downtown Disney twice during the course of their stays: Once upon their arrival in Orlando, when they don't have a full day to spend in a theme park, and again just before they depart, to stock up on souvenirs.
"We're that first and last stop," said Suzette Noble, general manager of Downtown Disney.
It is important that Disney take advantage of the foot traffic this year, as sales of souvenirs have been trailing other spending categories across the Walt Disney Co.'s theme-park operations. Jay Rasulo, Disney's chief financial officer, told investors last month that growth in merchandise sales has been "a little bit slower in the mix than the growth in our [ticket revenue] … and our food-and-beverage sales," though he attributed the shift mostly to gains from new food-and-beverage programs.
During the past two years, combined revenue from merchandise, food and beverages at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has grown 8.5 percent, to a little more than $3.7 billion, according to regulatory filings. Ticket revenue has grown 13.7 percent during the same period, to just less than $3.9 billion.
No one location in Disney's retail portfolio churns out sales like the 50,000-square-foot World of Disney. It's the largest Disney theme-park store on the planet — both in terms of size and sales — and it accounts for more than a quarter of all Disney-operated retail space in Downtown Disney. About 700 people work in the store, in rotating shifts.
"It is quite the machine," said Noble, who, before joining Disney 15 years ago, was a manager with Chico's, the women's clothing retailer. The World of Disney's two top managers, meanwhile, came to Disney from Toys "R" Us.
World of Disney sells more than 4,000 unique items. The inventory includes 0.83-carat, Mickey Mouse-shaped diamond necklaces priced at $5,000 a pop. (A clerk said the store sells about one a month.)
Maximizing the store's take is a science. Although its footprint hasn't significantly changed since it opened 15 years ago, Noble said the store has recorded "substantial sales growth" in recent years through improvements to traffic flow, product mix and more.
Disney has in recent years added "greeters" at World of Disney's various entrances during peak hours and "queue guides" at registers to direct shoppers. It has started an overnight shift for restocking and cleaning a store that opens every morning at 9:30 and doesn't close until at least 11 o'clock every night.
Disney has installed about eight additional cash registers in the store during the past year or so, boosting the total number in World of Disney to more than 50.
The always-crowded women's section — a magnet for mothers pushing strollers — has undergone some of the most significant physical changes. During a recent renovation, crews knocked out the walls on one side of the room to make the space feel more open, moved the bank of cash registers from the center of the room to a back wall and added two extra registers. It also boosted the number of registers in an adjacent room.
Changes also have been made to the store's product mix. Although familiar Mickey Mouse plush toys and Cinderella's Castle play sets remain in abundance, Noble said managers focus more on stocking "dynamic, lifestyle products," from backpacks to iPad covers.
Adjustments sometimes need to be made midstream. When Disney introduced slimmer, "princess-cut" T-shirts for women, the fit proved so tight that many woman had to go up a size — a sure way to sour what is supposed to be a pleasant shopping experience. Disney said it quickly had its suppliers adjust the cut specifications on the shirts.
Disney also uses World of Disney to test new retail strategies. This holiday season, for instance, one window — the window next to where Downtown Disney visitors stand in line for a photo with Santa Claus — displayed various Disney holiday souvenirs with "QR" bar codes. Window shoppers could scan the codes with their mobile phones to produce an online sales page for each item.
"It's a whole new idea of window shopping," Noble said.
Come New Year's Day at Walt Disney World, the lines to check out at the World of Disney, the resort's souvenir megastore, may rival any to be found at Space Mountain.
The first day of the year is also the second-busiest at Downtown Disney's flagship store, which draws about 8 million people a year — more than entire theme parks at Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando. Only Black Friday is busier.
Chalk it up to the psychology of Disney vacationers, who tend to visit Downtown Disney twice during the course of their stays: Once upon their arrival in Orlando, when they don't have a full day to spend in a theme park, and again just before they depart, to stock up on souvenirs.
"We're that first and last stop," said Suzette Noble, general manager of Downtown Disney.
It is important that Disney take advantage of the foot traffic this year, as sales of souvenirs have been trailing other spending categories across the Walt Disney Co.'s theme-park operations. Jay Rasulo, Disney's chief financial officer, told investors last month that growth in merchandise sales has been "a little bit slower in the mix than the growth in our [ticket revenue] … and our food-and-beverage sales," though he attributed the shift mostly to gains from new food-and-beverage programs.
During the past two years, combined revenue from merchandise, food and beverages at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has grown 8.5 percent, to a little more than $3.7 billion, according to regulatory filings. Ticket revenue has grown 13.7 percent during the same period, to just less than $3.9 billion.
No one location in Disney's retail portfolio churns out sales like the 50,000-square-foot World of Disney. It's the largest Disney theme-park store on the planet — both in terms of size and sales — and it accounts for more than a quarter of all Disney-operated retail space in Downtown Disney. About 700 people work in the store, in rotating shifts.
"It is quite the machine," said Noble, who, before joining Disney 15 years ago, was a manager with Chico's, the women's clothing retailer. The World of Disney's two top managers, meanwhile, came to Disney from Toys "R" Us.
World of Disney sells more than 4,000 unique items. The inventory includes 0.83-carat, Mickey Mouse-shaped diamond necklaces priced at $5,000 a pop. (A clerk said the store sells about one a month.)
Maximizing the store's take is a science. Although its footprint hasn't significantly changed since it opened 15 years ago, Noble said the store has recorded "substantial sales growth" in recent years through improvements to traffic flow, product mix and more.
Disney has in recent years added "greeters" at World of Disney's various entrances during peak hours and "queue guides" at registers to direct shoppers. It has started an overnight shift for restocking and cleaning a store that opens every morning at 9:30 and doesn't close until at least 11 o'clock every night.
Disney has installed about eight additional cash registers in the store during the past year or so, boosting the total number in World of Disney to more than 50.
The always-crowded women's section — a magnet for mothers pushing strollers — has undergone some of the most significant physical changes. During a recent renovation, crews knocked out the walls on one side of the room to make the space feel more open, moved the bank of cash registers from the center of the room to a back wall and added two extra registers. It also boosted the number of registers in an adjacent room.
Changes also have been made to the store's product mix. Although familiar Mickey Mouse plush toys and Cinderella's Castle play sets remain in abundance, Noble said managers focus more on stocking "dynamic, lifestyle products," from backpacks to iPad covers.
Adjustments sometimes need to be made midstream. When Disney introduced slimmer, "princess-cut" T-shirts for women, the fit proved so tight that many woman had to go up a size — a sure way to sour what is supposed to be a pleasant shopping experience. Disney said it quickly had its suppliers adjust the cut specifications on the shirts.
Disney also uses World of Disney to test new retail strategies. This holiday season, for instance, one window — the window next to where Downtown Disney visitors stand in line for a photo with Santa Claus — displayed various Disney holiday souvenirs with "QR" bar codes. Window shoppers could scan the codes with their mobile phones to produce an online sales page for each item.
"It's a whole new idea of window shopping," Noble said.
