Gee, why am I not surprised?

[SorcererMM]

A friend told me about this page and I had to sign up immediately. I am not surprised at all to learn that Disney decided to take the "play" and "home" concepts further. Given the disasterous last couple of years the company had, the needed to do something. But I'm afraid it's too little too late for them.

Somewhere along the line, Disney store lost touch with thier core shoppers. They licensed too much to outside companies and lost the novelty feel that the stores offer. The merchandise has been old and tired for too long. Now the company is biting off of everybody else in a desperate attempt to stay fresh. The problems is that there are too many chiefs at the top at Disney store, and they all think they have the best ideas. Peter Whitford comes from Australia and he has some ideas. Bob Bell comes from the Gap. Hence the dry "new" look to some stores. None of the people at the top are "true" Disney people. All of the people who made Disney Store what it is (or was) are now in Executive positions at the Disney Theme parks. Whitford and Bell need not worry though. They will never reach the parks.

I recently found out that my former store (one of the oldest in the company) is closing at the end of this month. That store would never fit into either of the new concepts. So the comany decides to ignore history and just dump it. Good for them, I say. Give it a few more years and Disney Store will be the same as the Warner Bros. Store. HISTORY

 

[cindyfan]

YEP....
Sad but true.

 

[maleficent1959]

Bob Bell resigned last month. The woman replacing him comes from the Disney store operations in Europe. The few European CMs I heard from were very positive about her. I don't think Whitford has been around long enough at Disney to really evaluate him and his impact. The merchandiser responsible for many of the failed initiatives and awful (IMHO) merchandise also retired a while back. The company floated on her purchases for over a year and now has someone new. I think he came from Smith and Hawken.

Unfortunately, you may be right about the ultimate demise of the stores. You can buy clothes at Walmart, Kmart, online and at the parks. Hot Topic of all places has Tinkerbell and Cheshire Cat merchandise. And too few of the toys are exclusive to TDS. Why buy it at TDS when you can get it at any other toy retailer?

 

[Planogirl]

Why indeed maleficent. I keep asking myself exactly what the Disney Store offers now. I can't come up with much of an answer.

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

Planogirl,

Have you been talking to my wife? If she would ever even turn on a computer to read your posts about the stores she would say:

DITTO!!!

 

[HorizonsFan]

It makes sense to me to let others carry the overhead of nationally retailing merchandise. It's a drain on the company and they can sell more merchandise through Kmart and the others.
If it don't work, dump it.

 

[SorcererMM]

I'm glad to hear that Bob Bell resigned. He was not the nicest of people, and definately not Disney. My first encounter with him was when he visited my store on a Friday. I attended a manager's conference the following Tuesday and ran into him. He had know idea who I was. I informed him that he had visited my store the previous Friday and he looked at my name tag and addressed me by name saying "nice to see you again."

We also had a Q and A session with him on another occasion and all he did was dodge most of the questions. A real piece of work. He will be better off somewhere else. I never had the opportunity to meet Whitford, but I always used to laugh at the sight of him on those meeting videos.

 

[Lesley]

My main issue with TDS in the past couple of years is how the quality has gone downhill and is no better than anything we can get at Walmart or Kmart. I'll admit, I generally buy for my kids there though that has been my only option for some time. I used to get clothes for myself too, but now that all there is are tshirts and such I have no real use for them. The kids stuff right now, particularly the toys, are cheap junk.

If the new kinds of stores improve the merchandise I may be happier with them than with what we have now....but I can't see myself going out of my way to find one of these stores if the ones near me close.

 

[TheWho]

Well said Scoop!!
I remember the first time I walked into TDS years ago. I was impressed with the "show".
However, today things seem real lifeless and stale. Years ago, the big screen in the back would be playing
real Disney videos or movies, not just shameless self promoting commericals that were on an endless loop.
There also seemed to be more stuffed animals that any kids would hug and play on. Now there's just a bunch of ready-to-break
made in China toys with the Disney logo printed on it. It will be a sad day if the going out of business sign is posted.

just a thought......

 

[YoHo]

Well Scoop, I have to applaud your description. AND, IF that is the goal, then the New Store in Bellvue meets that goal. At LEAST for the children's goods.

 

[maleficent1959]

Scoop,

The whole idea behind the new structure for the stores is so they don't have to compete with the general merchandise stores. TDS used to carry so much great stuff that I couldn't decide what to buy. The clothes were high quality, there was a lot of variety and a high turnover rate so that you had to go in regularly to see the new stuff or you might miss something great. Not to mention that you didn't see Pooh everywhere you looked, but some other characters as well. Remember, it started with a mouse not a bear.

Now, unfortunately, by the very nature of what they have decided to carry they really aren't as much a niche store as they used to be. While I still think that we carry quality stuff, at our TDS we hear ALL the time "I can get that at Walmart." Obviously, in the minds of many of our guests a cheap price for cheap clothes is what they are concerned about. They feel that if they are going to buy a Mickey Mouse t-shirt with an iron-on applique, they would rather pay $8 at Walmart than $16 at TDS. And while we do have guests that love Disney and will pay more money for higher quality, they are too few in number to make an impact on our adult lines. When we switched to our new costumes many guests wanted to know where they could get shirts like them. Now we have them, and they aren't moving. The retail industry has conditioned shoppers that if they wait long enough, it will go on sale and they can buy it then. Hey, I do it too!

And we DO hear all the time "I saw that ____ (any toy) at ____ (any toy retailer) for ____ (fill in the price.) I've even had guests refuse to buy a movie because it is (literally) four cents cheaper somewhere else. So for those guests I show him/her what we have that the others don't. Sometimes they buy, sometimes they don't. With the economy being what it is, I don't fault people for wanting the best deal for their money.

I agree that TDS should be a unique atmosphere and provide a Disney experience for the guests. When I first started we were trained that each guest should have a special Disney experience there. That we weren't just another store. That this might be the closest that they get to the park. And for those who went to the park regularly we should be their "fix." But since Project GO came (and went) it seems like there is something missing in the show. We still give the best guest service, we still have the cleanest store, we still continue to strive to exceed expectations but it just isn't the same. We're not putting enough people in the "Disney mood" to buy what we're offering.

But the stores can't continue to operate at a loss just to provide a great show for guests. The concept stores have been outpacing the other stores in the chain. Our biggest sellers are mostly that stuff that is in the concept stores. I really hope that the new style of the stores can bring back the Disney magic and make it a fun place for everyone again.

 

[airlarry!]

Supposedly Project Go was an emphasis on store sales, with a de-emphasis on guest experience and cleanliness of the stores.

Has this really ended? I'm curious to know if the upper mgt of TDS has started to allow the CMs a chance to interact and 'bring the magic of the parks to a mall near you."

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

Scoop! I'm surprised at you. You say that:

It's too simple to just say "Hey, I can buy this at Walmart too and its cheaper" because going to a niche or themed store like TDS isn't about the best price. It's about a unique atmosphere. Unique service. A unique look and feel.

And I readily agree!! But the changes they are making to the stores (at least the ones in Chicago) go against this very concept! They have taken away the 'theme-park' feel and replaced it with a K-Mart feel, with a very, very limited selection.

So, it begs the question, why is it in existence? If they have taken away that unique Disney feel, they must be in it to turn a profit. And they aren't going to do that by severely limiting stock and charging more that other retail outlets.

 

[mmouse52]

I went to my store last night with a 12.00 return and no credit card to put the credit on. I figured I'd buy something to eat up the credit so I would"nt need a merch cr. I hunted and finally figured I'd buy some more pencils. It is horrible. We are all toys, no pjs, very few cels, a ton of mugs and ugly colored plush.. I use to be a huge guest shopper and when I started working there a huge cm shopper. Now I buy nothing.. They should ask any cm who is a die hard Disney addict as most of us are what we would want to buy and the stores would make a ton of money.

 

[YoHo]

Landbaron, All of Chicago's big stores (Woodfield, Oakbrook, and a few others) were converted to last year's store concept. Except the Mag mile store which has its own theme different from every other store everywhere.

The new stores restore faith.

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

I've been to the Woodfield Mall and was very disappointed. But I'll grant you that it was a while ago. But just recently, the one at Golf Mill (the closest one to me and the one I go to the most) was remodeled!!! YUCK!!!

So, are you telling me that it will go through another remodeling so soon after the last one? I certainly hope so!! But if this is it - it STINKS!!!

And that's not to mention the small selection of all kids merchandise. My wife never goes there anymore. And she used to be good for at least twice a month for her "Disney Fix".

 

[Planogirl]

I'm glad to see the concept of the "show" being mentioned again. Because so much of what made the Disney Store unique and so irresistable to me was the "show". I know that I personally carted away extra stuffed animals and other things I didn't need because of the atmosphere and the "fix" I used to get at the Disney Store. It was a normal way to spend part of a weekend and my Visa definitely reflected my enjoyment.

Unfortunately, the Disney Stores in our area have slowly squashed the "show" and the merchandise quality has flown out the window too. I can't personally feel enthused about going to a store that doesn't offer either a good "show" or desirable merchandise. I would just as soon go to K-Mart because not only can I afford the Disney t-shirt more easily but I can put on my own show by having lots of Disney stuff of my own.

I sincerely hope that the new Disney Stores are a resounding success but I do feel a little sad that they won't be useful for us since we don't have small children. But maybe we can wander in and just absorb the atmosphere once in a while?

By the wayLandBaron, you never mentioned having such a charming wife.

 

[YoHo]

I'm surprised Golf Mill was even allowed to keep its store.

I don't know anything about Disney's plans, but I would assume that they would start with the stores that have the original Design and redo them first.
I mean Woodfield and Oakbrook were redone literally right before Christmas. I can imagine them remodeling so quickly.

There still won't be any good merchandise, but it will "Feel" more like Disney.

 

[SorcererMM]

I would expect that most of the old (pink and green) Disney Stores will closes. The company makes all of those decisions around the leases at those malls. If the leases are up for renewal, the company will close the stores if they can't get a newer location at a cheaper price. If you look at many of the closures from the past, they have been older stores.

The funny thing is that Disney blames the malls for the closures, saying that they lost the lease or it was a mall decision. Let's be real. I can't imagine any shopping mall refusing to renew a lease for Disney Store. Any so-called "home" store is going to have to be a large "pipe-rail" store. Some pink and greens might become "play" stores, but you can bet that if you have stores in all of your local malls, those numbers will be shrinking.

And for those of you who enjoy collecting, if collectibles have not started disappearing, just wait. Eventually, you will not see collectibles in stores within 40 miles of eachother. I was in a store yesterday and saw women's denim shirts, and sweatshirts. That was pretty much it for adult softlines. And let me just say that those new pastel plush are the ugliest things I have ever seen. I can't believe how much the quality of the items has gone downhill in the last year. One final observation from me would be that the "spotlight" stores will be the only stores with much of a chance of staying open. What do you think?

 

[smjj]

We went to the Disney store near us this last Xmas to shop and walked out with nothing because there was nothing to buy. I just thought it was the local manager. It is a shame that the stores are now a mear shell of what they used to be. We use to spend a lot of money in them. I have been back maybe 3 times sense Xmas and each time walked in and within a couple of minutes walked right back out empty handed..smjj