Disney Store Dreams BIG
Disney Store is going against the grain. During a time when most other retailers were cutting back, it announced an ambitious, multi-year plan to overhaul its global retail portfolio, a costly gambit even in the best of times. As the company puts the final touches on its highly anticipated—and closely guarded—new prototype, it has a clear sense of its goal.
“We want to be the best 30 minutes of a child’s day. That is the No. 1 filter for everything we do,” said Paul Gainer, VP and general manager of retail operations, Disney Store North America, Pasadena, Calif.
The new prototype will premier this summer at a still-undisclosed location in Southern California. It will be rolled out to 20 locations globally (more than half will be U.S. sites) by yearend, culminating with the November opening of a two-level Times Square site for which Disney is pulling out all the stops.
“It will have the look and feel of the prototype, but with additional experiences and products,” Gainer said.
During the next five to seven years, nearly the entire chain—which currently consists of 216 stores in North America, 107 in Europe and 48 in Japan—will be given a makeover. (Outlet stores, of which there are 27, aren’t included in the revamp.)
Disney is not just redoing its stores. It has teamed with RCS Real Estate Advisors, New York City, to reposition much of its real estate to make sure it is in the right malls, in the right locations in those malls and in the right markets.
“There is a lot of movement that is going to need to take place during the next six to seven years as we upgrade the quality of our real estate to meet the new experience,” Gainer explained. (Click here for more on Disney’s real estate strategy.)
One thing that won’t change is the store count—at least for the foreseeable future.
“We’re not looking to grow or to minimize our store count,” Gainer said. “We want to keep it within the 200-to-225 framework in North America during the next five to seven years.”
It’s a big change for a company that once operated more than 500 locations in North America, and one that began when Disney repurchased the stores from Children’s Place Retail Stores in May 2008. (The company sold the chain to Children’s Place in 2004.)
“When Disney got back into vertical retailing, the focus was on how we could elevate the quality of the retail experience to meet the expectations of our guests and tie it to what people expect of the Disney brand,” Gainer said.
Indeed, quality over quantity has become the Disney mantra in every decision it makes, from store size and location to its merchandise.
“Our No. 1 focus is making a great experience for our guests,” Gainer said.
The new store design has been the subject of much speculation, particularly regarding the role of Apple and its chief executive Steve Jobs, who is a member of Disney’s board of directors. Some have even hinted that Apple designed the new prototype. In fact, Pompei AD, New York City, worked on the initial concept and design. All subsequent work was done by Disney Store’s in-house design team.
“Apple’s main involvement was to inspire Disney to think big, to think new and to think creatively,” Gainer explained. “Early on, they told us to take our time to do it right, which was very sound advice. So we built the prototype—a full-sized, functioning store—in a warehouse and went through a very rigorous process to ensure it met our vision statement of it being the best 30 minutes of a child’s day.”
The prototype—referred to internally as Imagination Park or IP for short—has 3,200 sq. ft. of selling space, with a 40-ft. storefront. An open, glass front allows full visibility into the store. A digital billboard provides store updates.
“Size-wise, it’s smaller than what we typically have today,” Gainer said, “but we believe we can create a great experience and bring storytelling and characters to life in that size space.”
The prototype is different from Disney’s existing stores in a number of ways. But the most significant is the enhanced in-store experience it provides through a combination of interactive displays, technology and creative use of branded content. To up the ante, there will be activities that create “magical moments in the store on a regular basis,” according to Gainer.
“Everything comes together in such a way as to offer a much stronger connection to the brand than our current stores,” he added.
The new format offers more opportunities for the store to tie into the vast storehouse of Disney content.
“The stores will be able to attach themselves to whatever is going on from a company standpoint and focus on it for our guests,” Gainer said.
Among the crucial elements of the design is the increased emphasis on storytelling by franchise. Instead of displaying aisle upon aisle of product, the store is laid out and merchandised as a series of “storytelling neighborhoods,” each one devoted to a different Disney franchise.
Occupying prime upfront area is the princess neighborhood. It has its own decor accents and interactive features (a magic mirror). Other neighborhoods, including an upfront one for boys, are done in a similar fashion.
“We wanted to make it easy to shop,” Gainer said, “so someone who loves Cinderella, for example, can go to the one area and find all the merchandise they are looking for.”
Disney has invested in using state-of-the-art technology to interact with customers and to create unique experiences.
“By leveraging technology, we are able to display and deliver a lot more content to our guests than ever before,” Gainer said.
Technology is used in unexpected ways, including to project content onto the leaves of eye-catching “trees” that are strategically positioned in the space. Content also figures prominently in the Disney Theater, an area reserved for storytelling, special events and watching film clips.
“Children will be able to select what’s played inside the theater, be it a trailer for Toy Story, for example, or a story told by Cinderella,” Gainer explained. “They will control the content.”
The decision to give up 200 sq. ft. of prime selling space to the theater was not an easy one.
“It feels a little counterintuitive to take 200 sq. ft. and not put product there,” Gainer admitted. “But we knew from a brand experience and from our filter of being the best 30 minutes of a child’s day, that it was the right thing to do.”
A high level of service will be crucial to the overall IP experience. The technology, elevated store experience and in-store events require a certain type of manager, according to Gainer. The company’s premium talent will run the stores.
“We’ve launched an intense training and development program for those managers identified as being among the first who will mange IP stores,” he added.
Merchandise-wise, the prototype is focused on Disney’s signature categories: toys, plush, role play and sleepwear. The assortment will be similar to what is currently available in existing Disney stores. About 10% will be unique to the prototype.
“The changes in our merchandise assortment were happening before the new design,” Gainer said. “Since we took back the stores, there’s been a big focus on elevating the merchandise quality, and that will continue to evolve as we move forward. We’re also growing our assortment in babies and older kids and adults.”
As to the timing of the launch, Disney thinks it couldn’t be better. Ten years ago, the niche occupied by Disney was a crowded space. It no longer is. Many of its former competitors, including Warner Bros. Studio Stores, KB Toys and FAO Schwarz, have disappeared from the mall scene.
“There is no one left in the children’s spa