The World’s largest Multinational Mass Media and Entertainment Company. Walt Disney is commonly known as Disney has approximately 300 active stores worldwide. The company have focused on increasing the availability of its merchandise to fans. Recently has announced on the 3rd of March shutdown of disney stores over 60 retail stores in North America this year, about 20 percent of its active stores around the globe.
Disney’s officials claimed that there can be a further reduction of stores in Europe and several other countries.
Well, if you are a fan of Disney then this step can be a bit of bad news for you, as you might miss visiting their alluring & radiant retail stores post-shutdown. However, you will have a continuous reach for the merchandise as the entertainment company is planning to revamp its digital shopping platform to focus majorly on eCommerce.
The Reason behind Shutdown of Disney Stores
Disney is one of the World’s largest licensing companies. But after the lockdown was imposed during the Coronavirus Pandemic the sales figure at its retail business fell down by over 7 percent last year due to store closures.
Encountered with such huge losses the upcoming planned business model of Disney seems the only option. Amid the Coronavirus pandemic, the behavior of consumers has shifted drastically towards online shopping for their needs. Few of the major retailers have suffered huge losses, especially those located in shopping malls. Meanwhile, online retailers, such as Amazon have gained profits as consumers became more dependent on them.
The President of Disney’s consumer products games and publishing, Stephanie Young said, “We now plan to create a more flexible, interconnected eCommerce experience that gives consumers easy access to unique, high-quality products across all our franchises.”
There will be numerous new ranges of products including premium home products, apparel for adults, collectibles, and much more. In November last year (2020), Disney has already launched a digital marketplace in Australia, New Zealand, and India.
Disney has not claimed yet about the number of people that will lose their jobs due to this shutdown, but it is expected that over 700 will be left unemployed.
Also read: Why Museums & Galleries are Struggling for Their Survival after Coronavirus?
