WDI integration with DCP announced today

[CaptainAmerica]

Except Disney is notorius for heavy handed medling in licensee products... in what they allow in approvals and designs. They very much influence (and often limit) the final products made by licensees... and that doesn't even include the products that Disney contracts under it's own labels.

But isn't most of the meddling done by the creative segments rather than consumer products? For example, creative approval for Star Wars products comes from LucasFilm (part of the Studio segment), not consumer products. Same with Pixar and the Cars line, Marvel, etc.

You're probably right regarding Disney Princess and any of the Fab Five lines.

 

[brb1006]

At least she sounded genuie and caring during the day of Disneyland Paris's 25th Anniversary unlike Chapek and Iger.

 

[lazyboy97o]

At least she sounded genuie and caring during the day of Disneyland Paris's 25th Anniversary unlike Chapek and Iger.

Which is the job of public relations.

 

[flynnibus]

But isn't most of the meddling done by the creative segments rather than consumer products? For example, creative approval for Star Wars products comes from LucasFilm (part of the Studio segment), not consumer products. Same with Pixar and the Cars line, Marvel, etc.

You're probably right regarding Disney Princess and any of the Fab Five lines.

Dunno - but I find a hard time believing they keep all that in house when they have an entire division of the company dedicated to these interactions.

 

[Curious Constance]

Disney doesn't have toy designers as such. Watch the Netflix documentary "The Toys that Made Us." You seem to not understand how the industry works. What you're thinking of as "toy design" isn't done by Disney, it's done by license holders. LEGO designs LEGO sets, not Disney. Mattel designs the diecast Cars line, not Disney. Hasbro designs the Star Wars Black Series and ForceLink figures, not Disney. Funko designs Pop! Vinyls, not Disney. Nobody at Disney does "toy design" as you're thinking of it. Not in WDI or the old Consumer Products or anywhere else.

The kind of thing they're talking about is stuff like Disney Infinity or Playmation, not the next 1:55 scale Lightning McQueen figure.

You're right, have very little knowledge of how this works. So, it's mainly the video game designers who are now considered "imagineers"?

 

[Disney Irish]

You're right, have very little knowledge of how this works. So, it's mainly the video game designers who are now considered "imagineers"?

Well since Disney Infinity is gone, I don't know what specific video games are left under Disney.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

I don't know where the idea that Disney doesn't design its own merch comes from. Sure, for licensed merchandise they approve designs that are then manufactured by licensees (like a Mattel princess doll, for example, or Disney Lego set), but up until yesterday, there were full design departments in Parks & Resorts to handle parks merch (mouse ears, etc.), and in DCP to handle in-house merch for Disney Stores (good example: Tsum Tsums are designed in house by DCP).

Now that merch design will fall to WDI, there are a lot of redundant positions and it's kind of a bloodbath right now.

 

[TP2000]

Now that merch design will fall to WDI, there are a lot of redundant positions and it's kind of a bloodbath right now.

For a division like Consumer Products that has had weak and/or declining financial numbers for several years now, that's not a good place to be in. I'm sure there will be plenty of layoffs in Consumer Products before the close of fiscal year 2018 in six months. Perhaps some in WDI too.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

For a division like Consumer Products that has had weak and/or declining financial numbers for several years now, that's not a good place to be in. I'm sure there will be plenty of layoffs in Consumer Products before the close of fiscal year 2018 in six months. Perhaps some in WDI too.

So if there are two people doing identical jobs - one at DCP and the other at WDI - I want you to guess which one gets laid off.

 

[Disney Irish]

I don't know where the idea that Disney doesn't design its own merch comes from. Sure, for licensed merchandise they approve designs that are then manufactured by licensees (like a Mattel princess doll, for example, or Disney Lego set), but up until yesterday, there were full design departments in Parks & Resorts to handle parks merch (mouse ears, etc.), and in DCP to handle in-house merch for Disney Stores (good example: Tsum Tsums are designed in house by DCP).

Now that merch design will fall to WDI, there are a lot of redundant positions and it's kind of a bloodbath right now.

Which hopefully means some better quality stuff now that its under WDI....

 

[MisterPenguin]

So, better toys, or, more inexpensive attractions!!

 

[lazyboy97o]

Walt Disney Imagineering: We Weren’t Good Enough to Make it in a Respectable Creative Field

 

[Disney Irish]

So, better toys, or, more inexpensive attractions!!

I'm referring to in-park merch.

 

[Curious Constance]

I don't know where the idea that Disney doesn't design its own merch comes from. Sure, for licensed merchandise they approve designs that are then manufactured by licensees (like a Mattel princess doll, for example, or Disney Lego set), but up until yesterday, there were full design departments in Parks & Resorts to handle parks merch (mouse ears, etc.), and in DCP to handle in-house merch for Disney Stores (good example: Tsum Tsums are designed in house by DCP).

Now that merch design will fall to WDI, there are a lot of redundant positions and it's kind of a bloodbath right now.

See @CaptainAmerica maybe I'm not the only one who doesn't know what I'm talking about!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Do you think this was at all driven by SW:GE? I imagine all sorts of conflict between the two divisions with the parks guys wanting to create all their own branded specific merchandise for the land. Meanwhile the merch crew wanting to shove all the same usual crap... all coming to a head where the solution is just to dissolve them into one unit.

Star Wars merchandise took a huge downturn last year...

It's not just that preferences are changes - though they are - it's that disney isn't doing a good job witu Star Wars...sit back and watch the evidence mount.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Except Disney is notorius for heavy handed medling in licensee products... in what they allow in approvals and designs. They very much influence (and often limit) the final products made by licensees... and that doesn't even include the products that Disney contracts under it's own labels.

Agreed...everything they do is heavy handed...merch would be no different.

I don't think the designers are pushing the repetivite, minimum quality product that floods stores and parks now...that's disney and great guys like chapek and pressler being told bleed every cent from the blood they use in the Chinese sweatshops...

They can't bother to print different tags for the plushes..."disney parks"...lol!

 

[Disney Irish]

Star Wars merchandise took a huge downturn last year...

It's not just that preferences are changes - though they are - it's that disney isn't doing a good job witu Star Wars...sit back and watch the evidence mount.

Which is probably one of the reasons why this move happened, they want to put their better design teams on creating better merch.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Star Wars merchandise took a huge downturn last year...

It's not just that preferences are changes - though they are - it's that disney isn't doing a good job witu Star Wars...sit back and watch the evidence mount.

Swing and a miss. Rogue One wasn't nearly as kid friendly as The Force Awakens. Nobody was surprised by the dip. It'll be back up with The Last Jedi, then down again for Solo.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Swing and a miss. Rogue One wasn't nearly as kid friendly as The Force Awakens. Nobody was surprised by the dip. It'll be back up with The Last Jedi, then down again for Solo.

Wrong...I wasn't talking about rogue one...

Orders were down 67% for the holiday season 2017. That ain't rogue one.

And that crap is clearance bin now...it's been talked about. Thanks for playing.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Which is probably one of the reasons why this move happened, they want to put their better design teams on creating better merch.

They've got bad characters...how do you fix that?