I have to admit that I was kind of stunned when I visited
the
Disney Store at Honolulu’s
Ala Moana Center this past weekend.
Photo by Shelly
Smith
Ever since The Walt Disney Company reacquired this retail
chain last year, I have been hearing about the Mouse’s plans to bring back this
brand. Restore the Disney Store to its former glory, if you will.
So imagine my shock when I walked into the Ala Moana Center’s
Disney Store (which opened on June 10th) and – instead of a richly
detailed environment – I found generic white shelving.
Photo by Shelly
Smith
Not to mention a layout that was so tight that it was
actually difficult to move around this store.
Photo by Shelly
Smith
As I looked up at all of the temporary banners that were
used to decorate this Disney Store, all of the headless mannequins that were
used to display clothes …
Photo by Shelly
Smith
… I kept thinking that this can’t be the future of the
Disney Stores. And – as it turns out – it isn’t.
The shop at the Ala Moana Center literally is just what it
looks like: a temporary Disney Store. With its selection of low priced t-shirts
…
Photo by Shelly
Smith
… and its stark cash wrap area …
Photo by Shelly
Smith.
… this particular Disney Store is just a placeholder until
Disney Consumer Products finalizes its plans for the actual relaunch for this
retail chain.
According to DCP insiders, this relaunch could get underway
as early as 2010. With 17 of the top earning stores in the chain reportedly
receiving a floor-to-ceiling makeover.
When all of this work is completed, these next gen Disney
Stores will supposedly be these highly interactive environments loaded with LCD
screens. Which will then allow the chain’s new target customers (i.e. boys
& girls in the 2-12 age range) to play games that feature their favorite
Disney characters while Mom shops for merchandise.
“So why didn’t Disney Consumer Products wait ‘til they
finalized its plans for relaunching the Disney Store chain before it opened
this new shop at the Ala Moana Center?,” you ask. To be blunt, given the huge
amount of money that international tourists regularly spend at this Honolulu
mall, Disney didn’t want to lose out on all that potential revenue. So when the
lease expired on the spot that the Disney Store originally occupied at the Ala
Moana Center back in April, DCP just set up a temporary shop at a different
location at the mall.
Trust me, folks. Three or four years from now, the Disney Store
at the Ala Moana Center – not to mention the one at your local mall – will look
a lot better than this.
Your thoughts?
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