Getting Out of the Disney Store Business?

[Tom P.]

It was announced that our local Disney Store is closing later this summer.

There seems to be a lack of any statement at all from Disney corporate, but our local newspaper did a story on the closing and spoke with the management of that particular store as well as the management of the mall it is in. This statement from mall management caught my eye:

It appears that the closing of this store is part of a strategy Disney has been pursuing for the past few years, systematically closing most, if not all, of its retail stores. It is not a reflection of the store's popularity in the ... area.

Now, I don't know why the management of our local mall would have insight into Disney's corporate strategy, but does anyone know if there is any validity to this? Is Disney actually working its way out of the retail business? I have seen no other news to suggest that.

 

[bUU]

I wouldn't take a statement from mall management as "insight into Disney's corporate strategy" - it's just their opinion about what they can get away with saying, to excuse what they perhaps fear will be seen as their own failing, without being called out for speaking out of turn.

Having said that, Disney's actual corporate strategy is to align retail operations with that of the parks and resorts, under Bob Chapek. This intent to capitalize on symbiosis should be expected to affect both sides of the coin: The parks should be better focused on retail (and there's no doubt that that's occurred) and the stores should be better focused on supporting guests visiting the parks. Retail stores that sell a bunch of plush but don't feed into visits to the parks should be closed as they're failing to fulfill their purpose. That could be what's going on with your local Disney Store. Furthermore, Disney's corporate strategy includes online retail sales, something which, in recent years, has affected and shall continue to affect all retail across all consumer products, resulting in an expected sharp decrease in retail operations. That's part of the story that your local mall management probably wants to distract you from.

It should also be noted that Disney has also been shifting its retail operations into department stores in recent years. This helps keep the footprint of their retail offerings broad without Disney actually incurring unnecessary cost (of maintaining their own stores) to do so.

 

[SteamboatJoe]

I can understand them not wanting to be in the mall business but relying on department stores doesn't make sense either unless it's someone like Target. The pictures of the store remodels I've seen don't give me the impression they are interested in having the stores feed the parks; which are already struggling with crowds. They just look like a sanitized, unimaginative, low cost spaces designed to move over priced merchandise. It's a shame because the original Disney stores were quite something.

 

[ppete1975]

I feel their strategy is to get out of dying malls that have started charging ever increasing rents and moving into trendier newer outlet malls (while also not having to have as cool of stores). The ones here had Disney statues or animatronics all kinds of decorations, the outlet is just a plain box.

 

[John park hopper]

Ever increasing rents Disney doesn't like-----interesting

 

[Indy_UK]

I think here in the U.K. They're plan is to just open these 'pop up' shops in previously empty shops. It's cheap to open and maybe allow them to get away with cheaper rents by filling an empty space