Disney Store Permanently Closed 2020

[AurumPunzel]

We just lost the Disney Store at the South Shore Plaza in Quincy, MA. It closed on October 17, Now all we have is Burlington and Wrentham Premium Outlet in Wrentham MA. It was the 2006 design. They are eliminating the old design stores like the “Pink and Green” era (1987-1995), “Yellow Pipe rail” era (1995-2001), “Mickey’ Face portrait” era (2001-2005), and “Red Mickey” era (2005-2008). Those were the memories.

Around the time of "Red Mickey" (or "TCP Mickey", as I call it) in Europe, during the time Disney held on to the European stores, most of the Pink and Greens received a facelift that saw the colour scheme being replaced with black and gold (like on the Disney Cruise ships), the carpet replaced with lino flooring, the 'box office' area in some stores being replaced with open tills, the logo above the entrance replaced with a silver and red Disney logo - and sadly, the loss of "Plush Mountain" and even animatronics at some of the stores (Derby retained them and the original Disney Store logo before it closed down just before the pandemic). My local one in Southampton was one of the stores that received that treatment, and as far as I know, the store isn't closing, but the UK has already lost a few this year, and so many have been lost long before the pandemic including the last untouched Pink and Green in Leicester. The facelifts were down to Disney Europe not having the resources in Hammersmith to come up with a brand new design, though just before the NA stores were bought back by Disney following TCP placing Hoop Retail into C11, they did come up with a variant of Pixie Dust that was later adopted by Disney Store NA, even though the good parts about the NA design weren't incorporated into the European version, particularly the usage of character sketches in POS design.

 

[middlechild]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/disney-close-60-north-american-212518215.htmlTo focus on ecommerce instead. More retail spaces to go dark.

 

[jlwhitney]

Doesn’t surprise me but I wish they would do free returns .

 

[AurumPunzel]

Online shopping is very problematic, especially here in the UK, due to the courier shopDisney uses in Europe, which has a notorious reputation for damaging parcels and dumping them, not to mention that buying clothes online is like Russian Roulette. You may think you've bought the right size, when in reality, sizing varies massively, and if you get the wrong size, you have to faff around with returns. If Disney also cuts back too much in Europe, then there's the risk that the only Disney Stores left will be in capital cities, and as much as I love going into the London Oxford Street one, I don't know if I can justify spending £15 on a return ticket just for the sake of going into a Disney Store, should my most local one close.

This whole shift to online retail is going to end up being suicidal to the recovery of already-struggling high streets and shopping malls, and also retail jobs, which also has an effect on jobs in neighbouring businesses who rely heavily on foot-fall to drive revenue. And I'll feel sorry for the CMs who are going to end up with P45s and UB40s, especially as the job market is shrinking in the pandemic.

 

[RamblingMad]

Here's another article:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/03/dis...-stores-as-it-shifts-focus-to-e-commerce.html
I've heard folks here mention customer service challenges with their ecommerce.

Looks like this new CEO really want to take an axe to expense items.

 

[Missingmypooh]

Very much dislike purchasing from shopdisney. Small selection. Laggy. And my products have arrived damaged ( but customer service was good!)

the target stores look promising in the US, and I’ve really enjoyed them. That’s a good way for them to reach ideal customers without the store front overhead.

 

[figmentfinesse]

A friend of mine who works at our local Disney store wanted me to post this on their behalf:

“I wanted to say that Twitter got wind of it before the people in the stores did, and the information that we receive tonight (~15 minutes after folks posted about it) did not mention WHAT stores were closing. Expect that if you have multiple in your region/market that one of them will close.”

 

[Timandalicia]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/disney-close-60-north-american-212518215.htmlTo focus on ecommerce instead. More retail spaces to go dark.

Guess I’ll just have to go to Disney World and shop at Mouse Gear. Darn.

 

[shafke]

I haven't been in a Disney store in a long time. The problem, as I see it, is that 75% or more of the store is geared toward the under 10 age group or princesses. There was not even much of a variety. It is the same 10 or 15 items just with a different character/theme.

 

[middlechild]

Echoing the opinion of others. The last Disney shirt for myself was from Character Warehouse in Orlando. Is that a Disney store? In the Disney branded stores I have visited there is a plethora of merchandise for grandma to buy for tots. Very little for any other demographic. Although the projections they used in the State St store in Chicago always fascinated me. Tried to figure them out, projecting on the back side of what appears to be an opaque surface? Will I miss the stores? To be honest, no. And I haven't bought any clothes on line either. Guess I have to sew up that small hole in my Grumpy polo. Lasted nearly 15 years.

 

[BrianL]

I haven't been in a Disney store in a long time. The problem, as I see it, is that 75% or more of the store is geared toward the under 10 age group or princesses. There was not even much of a variety. It is the same 10 or 15 items just with a different character/theme.

Yeah, tht was always an issue with the Disney Store here. It was pretty small and they had one table of adult T-shirts, and most of that was womens' shirts too. I think the bigger stores had more variety. The website definitely has more selection.

I used to work in the same mall across the foor court from the Disney Store in the Warner Bros. Studio Store. It was much larger and had a ton of adult clothing and other higer-end merchandise like watches and jewelry. I really enjoyed working there - I took the job as a seasonal employee jsut for the discount, but ended up staying until the WB/AOL (remember that?) merger shut down the retail division.

 

[BuddyBoy600alt]

More Red Top In fact, They even had a Marsupilami and Maurice plushie at a Disney Store. Now all we have is Target and JCPenney.

 

[FoxC63]

Disney to close at least 60 Disney Stores in US and Canada, as shopping shifts to online Link
There are around 300 Disney retail stores worldwide, with approximately 200 located in North America, according to the company. The closures will cut Disney's in-person retail presence in the U.S. and Canada by around 25 percent. It's not clear how many jobs will be lost due to the move.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I think Disney Stores are gonna end up like Toys "R" Us and KB Toys stores because if you look at the generation today nobody really buys children toys that much anymore and when you look at it the only times children recieve toys is during Christmas birthdays and Easter and rarely Valentine's Day and since online shopping has really started to grow in popularity this has really hurt Disney Stores terribly but what I think will happen to the remaining Disney Stores that will survive will be turned into a Disney version of the Big Lots bargain closeout store chain. But what I think is mainly causing Disney Stores to go belly up is not only the pandemic but the fact that they changed their image from a family oriented store to a children's toy store because when you walk in any Disney Store the first thing you see is stuffed animals and toys and a tiny section of kids clothes. I also blame the merge with The Children's Place for changing the image of Disney Stores. But when you get the whole picture Disney Stores started deals by teaming up with JCPenney by selling Disney Store merchandise in their stores and now once they knew it was successful they teamed up with Target to sell Disney Store merchandise in their stores as well. I think Target wants to become Disney king and will most likely open stores in the parking lots of Walt Disney World and Disneyland too. My mom and I have been Disney Store fans since the 90's and Mom would buy a lot of collectible snowglobes as well as toys for me when I was young but when they changed their image we didn't go there as often. If Disney Stores could invent smart ideas to get more people into their stores it would help save them from closing their stores

 

[The WDW 3]

I still prefer the mall

 

[BuddyBoy600alt]

Me too.

I still prefer the mall

Me too. Target and JCPenney.

 

[mrsap]

I think Disney Stores are gonna end up like Toys "R" Us and KB Toys stores because if you look at the generation today nobody really buys children toys that much anymore and when you look at it the only times children recieve toys is during Christmas birthdays and Easter and rarely Valentine's Day and since online shopping has really started to grow in popularity this has really hurt Disney Stores terribly but what I think will happen to the remaining Disney Stores that will survive will be turned into a Disney version of the Big Lots bargain closeout store chain. But what I think is mainly causing Disney Stores to go belly up is not only the pandemic but the fact that they changed their image from a family oriented store to a children's toy store because when you walk in any Disney Store the first thing you see is stuffed animals and toys and a tiny section of kids clothes. I also blame the merge with The Children's Place for changing the image of Disney Stores. But when you get the whole picture Disney Stores started deals by teaming up with JCPenney by selling Disney Store merchandise in their stores and now once they knew it was successful they teamed up with Target to sell Disney Store merchandise in their stores as well. I think Target wants to become Disney king and will most likely open stores in the parking lots of Walt Disney World and Disneyland too. My mom and I have been Disney Store fans since the 90's and Mom would buy a lot of collectible snowglobes as well as toys for me when I was young but when they changed their image we didn't go there as often. If Disney Stores could invent smart ideas to get more people into their stores it would help save them from closing their stores

I think it’s sad to see these iconic stores go out of business. Toys R Us was everything to me as a child. It was such a glorious day when you knew you were going to TRU!! My kids loved it too, it was fun just to stop in and walk around looking for something new to play with. My kids always say how much they miss it. Sad, but I understand.

 

[The WDW 3]

Our son is 8, and he still sheds a tear every time we go to the big car wash which was formally a Toys “R” Us. It left a lasting Impression on him and he only got to go a couple of times before they closed.

he asked my the other day if I would drop him off at the mall when he becomes a teenager so he hang out with his friends like I did. The mall might be completely gone by then ..

 

[afan]

Our son is 8, and he still sheds a tear every time we go to the big car wash which was formally a Toys “R” Us. It left a lasting Impression on him and he only got to go a couple of times before they closed.

he asked my the other day if I would drop him off at the mall when he becomes a teenager so he hang out with his friends like I did. The mall might be completely gone by then ..

I think it all depends on the mall you have. We have one that will soon only be anchored by a target, kohls and movie theatre. Sears is gone and the macys is closing/closed. Aside from target it's really only ever busy in december.

But we also have one that is only not busy at opening. Even last Saturday it was busy for the times, we are only at 25% capacity. It's sears is gone but there's still a penneys, macys and a Nordstrom. Plus an Asian supermarket and some other popular Asian vendors in that hall. There's a handful of places you wonder how they are still there, but very few, if any empty stores. Two starbucks, the Disney store in the area that I hope stays open because we have two, and a ton of other popular mainstream shops and an AMC.

 

[Lewisc]

Some store leases have an out if an anchor tenant leaves and isn't replaced. Sears, JC Penny's, Macy's etc are all closing stores. That reduces mall traffic and, in some cases, gives Disney an out.

I can see the mini stores in Target replacing many Disney stores