Below you will find some quotes from Kevin Tan for the INSTEAD Knowledge Web Site. The full article can be found at "http://knowledge.insead.edu/Disney-China-100615.cfm"
Doing it the Chinese way: Disney's strategy for a lucrative ride in China
As trite as the phrase ‘think global, act local’ may be, it nevertheless encapsulates The Walt Disney Company’s approach to making a success of its business in China. To that end, producing content that has a cultural and emotional resonance with Chinese consumers is crucial, says Stanley Cheung, Disney’s managing director for Greater China.
“We want to connect with the consumer in a way that emotionally bonds with them. So that’s why we said we want to be developing local content as a key part of our strategy."
Anyone that wants to know why Disney is bulding a Park in Shanghai only has to look at the projected 40% growth in China.
Last year gave the green light for Disney to build a theme park in Shanghai which is estimated to cost $3.5 billion. The resort, which is expected to open in five or six years, will include a local version of a Magic Kingdom-style theme park, hotels and shopping areas. It will be slightly larger than Disneyland in California, taking up 1,000 acres in Shanghai's Pudong district.
We know for a fact that Disney’s values in a large way are very consistent with what Chinese parents and Chinese consumers want their kids to grow in. You know, optimism, aspirational, family, kids, fun, that’s what they want and that’s what we embrace,” says Cheung, who expects Disney’s business in China to grow at an annual compound rate of more than 40 per cent, even though, in its current form, the company is only about five years old in China.
Currently Disney’s international business accounts for about a quarter of its total business. But in the last five years, its international business has been growing twice as fast as its main business in the US, thanks to emerging markets such as China, India, Russia and Latin America, says Cheung. When asked about how Disney plans to penetrate restrictions on foreign media, Cheung says local partnerships are the key to the company’s success.
Doing it the Chinese way: Disney's strategy for a lucrative ride in China
As trite as the phrase ‘think global, act local’ may be, it nevertheless encapsulates The Walt Disney Company’s approach to making a success of its business in China. To that end, producing content that has a cultural and emotional resonance with Chinese consumers is crucial, says Stanley Cheung, Disney’s managing director for Greater China.
“We want to connect with the consumer in a way that emotionally bonds with them. So that’s why we said we want to be developing local content as a key part of our strategy."
Anyone that wants to know why Disney is bulding a Park in Shanghai only has to look at the projected 40% growth in China.
Last year gave the green light for Disney to build a theme park in Shanghai which is estimated to cost $3.5 billion. The resort, which is expected to open in five or six years, will include a local version of a Magic Kingdom-style theme park, hotels and shopping areas. It will be slightly larger than Disneyland in California, taking up 1,000 acres in Shanghai's Pudong district.
We know for a fact that Disney’s values in a large way are very consistent with what Chinese parents and Chinese consumers want their kids to grow in. You know, optimism, aspirational, family, kids, fun, that’s what they want and that’s what we embrace,” says Cheung, who expects Disney’s business in China to grow at an annual compound rate of more than 40 per cent, even though, in its current form, the company is only about five years old in China.
Currently Disney’s international business accounts for about a quarter of its total business. But in the last five years, its international business has been growing twice as fast as its main business in the US, thanks to emerging markets such as China, India, Russia and Latin America, says Cheung. When asked about how Disney plans to penetrate restrictions on foreign media, Cheung says local partnerships are the key to the company’s success.