The Los Angeles Times reports that "Walt Disney Co. plans to close 60 of its Disney Store locations throughout North America while the entertainment giant overhauls its online shopping platforms." The stores being closed represent close to one-third of its US fleet, and 20 percent of its global retail footprint.
“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,” Stephanie Young, Disney’s president of consumer products, games and publishing, said in a statement.
- KC's View:
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It wasn't all that long ago that Disney stores were everywhere … and then, a few years ago, they overhauled the concept to make it more relevant for the 21st century. These closures aren't just expected, but inevitable … and I'd guess that we'll see a lot more closures before long as bricks-and-mortar becomes less important and malls - where many of these stores are located - start to have more cobwebs than customers.
