When The Disney Store first opened, Michael Eisner billed them as an outlet to promote the movies and theme parks.
The current plan (According to an article in the March 2000 edition of the Wall Street Journal): transform some locations into a Disney home store for little kids (Selling beds, quilts, lamps, lightswitches, etc). And What about the others? Aimed solely towards pre-schoolers!
"Why" would they do this?
If Disney Store merchandise was selling so poorly (Which is why the original makeovers were ordered in the first place ... which all failed miserably, by the way), Why not come up with better products instead of figuring out ways to diminish the stores reputation and, as a result, destroy everything that made the place so "uniquely Disney"? Where are the store collectibles (Animation cells, framed pins, sculptures, watches, lithographs, signed Disneyana, etc)? Where are the "Art of... " books and broader CD/DVD/Video selections?
Current Disney should stop churning out sequels to practically every one of their timeless animated classics and instead focus on producing more original fare. This makes way for great merchandising opportunities and as a result would give the Disney Store greater business.
I am "sure" all those other highly educated Disney business men thought of this, though.
Please join the official campaign and sign the petition at:
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And I have heard from a very good source that as a "service" to collectors, the Disney Store will have a catalog in which customers will be able to choose what Disneyana to buy (Once all stores get rid of all collectibles). I ask again ... "Why?"
When the Disney Store debuted, CM's would always go beyond the basic customer service. They would greet you at the door & ask what your interests were, and automatically reserve future items based on those interests.
And now, not only is this not practiced anymore, but the entire store has suffered because they're "not" practiced anymore. How? By destroying a huge part of what made The Disney Store so unique in the first place, people would rather go to a "regular" outlet such as Wal Mart or Costco for their Disney CD's, DVD's, etc. The unique customer service offered by Disney Store Cast Members always left a sense of true commrodery and relationship with the guest: the friendly greeting at the door, the automatic reservation of Disney merchandise; this is what made "many" guests come back time and time again. Sure, they could have bought those soundtrack albums at Wal Mart. But It was at the Disney Store where they truly felt special. Where their newfound friends act as Cast Members. And where that seemingly magical commrodery between guest and cast truly meant they were -- And had to be -- no place else but Disney.
Taking this all away not only destroyed customer loyalty, but it threw away the ideals and principles that Disney was founded on.
It is not too late, though. Please, Disney, reverse your mistake. Give the Disney Store back its reputation. Do it for Walt. Do it for Mickey. Do it for Roy O. Do it for Lillian. Do it for Frank Wells, Marc Davis and everybody else who gave one helluva damn for Walt Disney’s vision of a unique family entertainment experience; who sacrificed so much just so a few hundred million strangers could be happy.
Please join the official campaign and sign the petition at:
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Please ... don’t totally ruin the Disney Store. Disney today preaches about family, yet at the same time ignores the very aspects and principles of family entertainment upon which they were built.
Walt Disney once said of his company, “It is not myself I am thinking about, but it is the effect of what might happen to whatever is left that bothers me.”
We used to be in their target audience. The entire family used to be their target audience. The Disney Store was built on the Disney principles, and that's what made them so unique and successful. Now, they have spit in the face of these very principles; and it's wrong. It's an outright insult to Walt Disney, his friends, his family, those who worked so diligently in realizing his lifelong dreams, and thousands of fans today who still believe in him & what he stood for; what he stands for; what he symbolizes; what people like Eisner are destroying; h#ll, what they have already destroyed.
It's not right; it angers me to think that something I am so very passionate about is being spat upon; and this is why we fight.
Please join the official campaign and sign the petition at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bringback_tds

The Disney Stores seem to be in eternal crisis mode, reacting away to the latest executive or consultant, but never responding to the consumer or to quality... or tradition (the things that might save them).

How many "new" approaches have been tried? From changes in merchandise, to look of the store to concept... and all fail. That big announcement to split between "Disney Play" and "Disney Home" Stores (a stupid idea, anyway), has already been abandoned. They went totally for toy/baby stores. When I asked a DS manager if there were any "Home" stores in the LA area (as I needed a coffee mug for a requested gift), he looked at me like I was crazy. And the catalog barely has anything like that either... only hideous snowglobes and the worst of the old DS "collectibles".

The product is just awful from a design standpoint. Everything looks the same - - ugly and cheap. The colors are horrific, the worst of Barbie's committee of chix palette. No class at all. Nothing to differentiate this product from KMart, except the ickily drawn pasted on characters.

Someone should remind them they have a huge animation research library full of appealing character drawings to utilize (every drawing from every scene of every movie, all possible attitudes and poses by the real animators). If they can't afford good artists anymore, just pull out the old images and poses that have some ligitimacy as art.

They are hopelessly lost and should be closed. Warner Bros beat them to the punch. As it stands, the DS are a glaring and public reminder to all of the rot inside Disney itself and the inability of the company's rebranding and refocusing policies to connect with its (former) core market.

Everytime they put up 50% Off sales on merchandise tied to a film still in theatres, they whittle away their former brand prestige a bit more.

>>Disney today preaches about family, yet at the same time ignores the very aspects and principles of family entertainment upon which they were built.<<

This is one of the central problems across the entire company, from DCA to the Pooh ride to the Channel to the Stores... Disney is no longer about "Disney", that intangible, timeless, artful thing that appealed to the inner child of all - - but its now broken down into dysfunctional extreme mass market demographics which only consist of... mommies and babies and tweens... oh my.

They want to be Nickelodeon when they could be Walt Disney... sheesh!

I used to enjoy walking into the Disney Store and looking around at all the collectibles and what not. Now I don't want to even step in there. It's nothing more than a bunch of 3 year olds running around wanting to get the latest Disney toy from the latest Disney sequel. Sadly, the company has slowly fallen down hill since Walt's death. He knew this would happen and, sadly, it has. It seems like the only people know that are capable of Disney quality are the people at OLC.

Thank God that the awful home stores idea got scratched.

I am just so furious at TDS now that if they were to close permanently, I'd be all for it. The place is so awful & empty now; and I'm afraid that even the traditional stores in New York & Vegas seem to be not what they once were (Did that sentence make sense? :) ). Mosxt recently, my mom & I took a short two day vacation to Broadway; and I swear, even at night, when the LK was sold out, TDS wasn't nearly as full as when we last went to Broadway, which was in 2000. As for TDS at Ceasar's Palace in Vegas (Whose outer & inner decor is so beautiful, tearing it down would be a shame): my dad & I were there in 2001. Packed resort; very bustling shops & restaurants in the Forum; totally empty Disney Store (Save for us and maybe a few other customers).

Oh ... and one more thing: if you haven't been to Times Square lately, they have "finally" removed that awful looking & totally out-of-place huge light up DISNEY sign above TDS main entrance.

Originally posted by wdtv
Thank God that the awful home stores idea got scratched.
NO! The only reason I'm grateful that the Kids & Home stores were a colossal failure is because they were terribly merchandised and marketed. When I wrote about (http://www.mouseplanet.com/merchandise/mer020130.htm) this concept last year, my biggest complaint is that the merchandise was all aimed at kids. There was a small room of adult items, all of it lifted directly from Walt Disney World.

When I revisited that same store a few months later, even the meager assortment of adult merchandise had been replaced with yet more kiddy stuff, leaving adults with NOTHING to buy for themselves.

It's so funny that we're discussing this now, because I just got home from a trip to the Home Depot to check out their new line of Disney paint and decor products. Or I should say their new Disney paint - the much-hyped home decor products were nowhere to be found, despite a sign on the paint display that reads "great Disney accessories available throughout the store."

I asked the sales person what other Disney merchandise was available, and he told me - no joke - that they sometimes get Disney cell phone covers and flashlights.

Now I *know* that Kohler sells a Disney bathroom collection (http://www.us.kohler.com/designkb/designcenter/playfulmouse.jsp?keywd=playfulmouse), which includes a sink, faucets and backsplash tiles. It's a cute collection, and should be a perfect fit for the Disney Home stores - and Home Depot. Sadly, Home Depot does not carry the items at all.

So, no, the idea for a Disney Home Store is not bad - it was just very very very very very badly conceptualized. And I don't expect it to get better - even the Walt Disney World at Home store in Florida is a shadow of it's former self, with over half of the merchandise discontinued.

AVP

If they only stuck with the original concedpt for TDS, I think everything would be fine. The main problems you mention here (and in that old article) is just this: lack of merchandise. Not kiddy products, mind you, but stuff for adults; merchandise for the entire family. This is why the old stores were in trouble -- lack of any good merchandise. This is why the newer stores are in trouble -- lac k of "adult" merchandise. Same with the vast majority of traditional Disney Stores, too; no products for adults, yet tons of costumes, kiddy sleepwear, plastic toys and wall-to-wall plush animals. TDS is losing thousands of potential dollars from avid or just casual collectors, people like me that used to stop by every couple of weeks or so to see what new books, DVD's and/or Disneyana came in.

The problem here is Disney's loss of originality. TDS specifically has gone from an innovative retail leader and an extension of the parks to a store that is struggling to keep up with industry trends vs. creating them. A perfect example is when TDS began offering those abominations known as beanies. How many of us were subjected to the drooling and slobbering guests who normally patronized Wal-Mart so they could hoard bean bag plush of characters whose movies they probably knew nothing about? Instead of being a place where you can go in between your park visits to get your Disney fix, TDS is now a barren wasteland that offers no incentive for guests to shop there vs. a Wal-Mart or Target in order to get their latest character basic t-shirt. The need for an overhaul of this part of the company has long been needed. Downtown Disney in FL seemed to have a pretty good bead on merchandising for a while - what happened to these folks? Additionally, I have to respectfully disagree with LazyBoy. Where Disney had it's dark period in the 70's after Walt's departure and almost went the way of the dodo, Eisner single handidly brought the company back to a point where I think even Walt would be proud. The vision was there and everyone cared. Unfortunately, our current dilemma goes back to my first statement - lack of originality. Either Eisner has lost his Midas touch and the board needs to seek out a replacement or those who Eisner has surrounded himself with have lost their magic and/or do not care. Would Walt have put up with these people and their complacency? Or would he have gone out and put people in place with pride and dignity? I think we all know the answer. Either way, I will continue to do my part by going to the parks and spending my money to enjoy Walt's dream. My dream is that it will continue to be here for me and other generations to enjoy. Sorry for the rant - had to get it off my chest! :)

Either Eisner has lost his Midas touch and the board needs to seek out a replacement or those who Eisner has surrounded himself with have lost their magic and/or do not care.
Both. Roy Disney is the only one who seems to care. Eisner doesn't care about Walt or the company.