It’s been kind of a tough week for Disneyana fans. Given that — all over the country — Disney Stores are shutting down. Rockford, IL. Naples, FL. Four stores in Michigan. 6 in Missouri. 9 in New York State. A whopping 16 stores closing in Pennsylvania.
All told, 98 Disney Stores in the U.S. will be closing / have already closed this week. Plus three more stores in Canada. Bringing this once seemingly ubiquitous retail chain down from its one-time high of 693 stores to just 220.
But the good news is … Disney Consumer Products has big plans for this recently reacquired asset. Following this (hopefully) final round of liquidation & restructuring, Mouse House officials hope that this once-ridiculously-profitable retail chain (Disney used to boast that it averaged merchandise sales of $600 per square foot of selling space at these shops. Which was better than twice the industry average for a specialty retailer) is just the right size now for a relaunch.
I’ll say this much. Based on comments that Andrew Mooney (i.e. Chairman of Disney Consumer Products) made earlier this month at the Licensing International Expo 2008, the company is definitely hoping that the coming scarcity of Disney Stores will help reignite the public’s interest in shopping at this chain.
“Previously, we just had too many stores,” Mooney admitted. “In the Buffalo area alone, we had 7 Disney Stores. Which is 6 too many to my way of thinking. We want these Stores to seem special and unique again. Which is why we have no plans at this time to add any new units to the chain.”
Andrew Mooney speaking at the 2008 Licensing International Expo.
Photo by Jeff Lange
If anything, following this month’s massive round of closings, Disney Consumer Products may then go on to shutter additional stores in North America while it then opens new units in other parts of the U.S. And Canada. As the Mouse struggles to find the best possible location for each unit of this retail chain.
As for an actual business plan for the Disney Stores … Well, DCP insiders that I spoke with this week kept referencing “Back to the Future.” As in: The key to the Disney Store’s future success is to embrace the way that this retail chain used to be run back in the mid-1990s. Back when DS Cast Members were being encouraged to embrace the MAGIC Guest Service program. As in:
- Maintain Your Presence
- Assess Your Guest
- Greet Your Guest
- Individualize Service
- Conclude
In short, Disney Consumer Products is looking for a return of the sort of the Guest Service that the Disney Stores used to have. Back when the store’s employees were actively encouraged to exceed Guests expectations. Rather than just push the plush.
If the folks at Disney Consumer Products are right and the combination of far fewer stores & better Guest Service then results in a real revival of this retail chain … Well, this could have a huge impact on the Walt Disney Company’s bottom line. Let’s remember that — back in the day — the typical Guest was a repeat customer, someone who shopped at their local Disney Store (on average) once a month. With a quarter of those customers shopping far more frequently, visiting their local Disney Store 20 times a year.
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I know, I know. We’re suddenly getting into specifics here. That’s because one of my DCP sources slipped me some documents that reveal what a goldmine the Disney Stores used to be for the company back in the early 1990s. Back before Mickey got greedy and tried to open a unit of this retail chain in every single mall in North America. Back in the day, the Disney Stores had real customer loyalty. With …
” … 75% of (our customers rating) our Guest Service as superior to the best practices of other retailers, including premier retailers such as Nordstrom, The Gap and Macy’s.”
More to the point, the Mouse knew exactly who their best customers were back then. To be specific, she was …
” … a middle to upper income female who is between the ages of 25 to 35 years old. Additionally, she is predominantly a mother of young children, mostly under the age of 12.”
Disney Consumer Products is hoping that the newly downsized Disney Store chain will be able to recapture that sort of brand / customer loyalty by insisting that the Cast Members who still work at the remaining North American stores undergo retraining that stressed product knowledge as well as greater Guest Service.
“Our ultimate goal here is that the Disney Store will be different from all the other stores at the mall,” Mooney continued. “That it once again will have a uniqueness and a specialness.”
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
Unfortunately, the only way to achieve uniqueness & specialness in today’s marketplace is to actively cut back of the number of Disney Stores that you find in North America. Which brings us back to this week’s closings.
So my apologies if you’re a Disneyana fan who lives out in Palm Springs or Davenport or Toronto. I know it’s gotta be tough to have your local Disney Store shutter.
But if you can just look at the bigger picture here … With far fewer units in this retail chain and a renewed emphasis on Guest Service, the Disney Stores that remain open will now seem like that far more special places to shop.
That is — of course — if you can actually afford the gas that you’ll now need to drive on out to the other Mall.
But what do you folks think? Has Disney Consumer Products actually come up with a workable plan here to revive this retail chain? Here on in, will the relative scarcity of Disney Stores drive up demand for the sorts of goods sold here and — by proxy — change the public’s perception of these once-‘way-too-easy-to-find shops?
Your thoughts?