DISNEY MAY SLOW SHOP TRIP; RETAIL EXPANSION COULD WIND DOWN.Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer After more than a decade of aggressive expansion, The Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co. appears to be tapping the brakes on the growth of its 684-outlet Disney Store chain. The entertainment giant, which opened the first Disney Store in 1987 at the Glendale Galleria The Glendale Galleria is a large 3 story regional shopping mall located in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California. It is the second largest mall in Los Angeles County. It is located in Downtown Glendale. , has been launching new stores at the rate of one a week in recent years, but that pace may be slowing in the coming year. A slow-down in the chain's expansion pace was reportedly under review during a recent meeting of top Disney executives at Chairman Michael Eisner's farm in Vermont. Disney representatives this week would not comment on store expansion plans beyond saying that 10 new outlets will open by the end of this year. Analysts said they would not be surprised if Disney began moderating the growth rate of the stores, which use a movie-set motif and sell a dizzying variety of merchandise, from Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse Famous character of Walt Disney's animated cartoons. He was introduced in Steamboat Willie (1928), the first animated cartoon with sound. Mickey was created by Disney, who also provided his high-pitched voice, and was usually drawn by the studio's head animator, backpacks to action figures based on the new Disney movie, ``A Bug's Life.'' ``Even if there is a slow-down, that does not suggest it's not a strong business,'' said Stewart Halpern of ING Barings Furman Selz. ``It would be no surprise to anyone that they would be close to being built out in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , but there's still plenty of opportunity for growth in Western Europe Western Europe The countries of western Europe, especially those that are allied with the United States and Canada in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (established 1949 and usually known as NATO). . In Asia, short-term growth is going to be tempered by the economic situation, but I don't see a fundamental change.'' Disney operates 465 U.S. stores, 16 in Canada and 203 in nine other countries, including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. ``If they're talking about slowing, it's probably on the international side because of the well-known problems in Asia and Europe,'' said analyst Linda Bannister of Edward Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones is the name of: Edward Jones:
Retail consultant Mark Kissel This article is about a dessert. For the car company, see Kissel Motor Car Company. Kissel (Kisiel in Polish, kiisseli in Finnish) is a popular dessert in Eastern and Northern Europe. of Rockville, Md., said Disney has lost none of its allure to shopping mall developers. ``There really is a cat-and-mouse game between retailers and developers that determines who has more power,'' he said. ``As long as Disney is perceived as a top tenant, developers seek them out, and they can negotiate favorable lease deals. So Disney would be wise to slow down well prior to saturation.'' The stores have been at the core of Eisner's strategy of synergy - using the strengths of core animated characters like Mickey Mouse, the Little Mermaid little mermaid the sacrifices her own life to save her beloved prince. [Dan. Lit.: Andersen’s Fairy Tales] See : Self-Sacrifice , the Lion King and Winnie the Pooh - to promote existing Disney businesses and move into new areas of business. The stores usually operate in upscale malls and shopping districts with sharply dressed sales staffers greeting customers as they walk in stores. ``The stores perform at a very high level of sales per square foot,'' Bannister said. ``Additionally, they help to reinforce the different aspects of Disney.'' The possible slowdown in store growth comes against a backdrop of lagging performance at Disney's ABC television ABC Television may refer to:
in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. and has cut the number of movies it releases to about 18 per year. Halpern noted that Disney is expected to open a 7,000-square-foot Disney Store - about double the typical size - next year in the high-rent North Michigan Avenue district in Chicago. ``They don't want to be in every place that has a McDonald's, but there still are opportunities such as in Chicago,'' he said. |
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