DVC Sold?

[Blackunicorn]

I went to work at the Disney Store today, and one of the other cast members--NOT a manager--told me that DVC has been sold. She said that they had called an emergency meeting at the resorts and asked all of the cast members to turn in their id's. She was unable to tell me who bought DVC.

Now, I've been unable to find ANY confirmation of this rumor. Has anyone else heard anything to this effect?

[KNWVIKING]

News that big couldn't go unnoticed.

[KidDurango]

They may have picked up on a small piece of information and spun it wildly out of control. DVC cat members have been told to turn in their IDs. This however is not because they have been sold, but because the company is altering the look of the IDs to reflect the business unit you work for. DVC cast members are getting new IDs that bear the DVC logo.

[pkgman]

I thougt DVC was one of the most profitable divisions for Disney?

[mitros]

I thought the Disney store, as we all knew it, no longer exists.

[Horace Horsecollar]

I thought the Disney store, as we all knew it, no longer exists.
The Disney Store chain still exists, and the stores are still pretty much the same as they were before The Chidren's Place acquired the chain from Disney. The stores will undoubtedly evolve over time, but the concept will continue to be a place to buy Disney character merchandise, primarily for children. Of course, many individual Disney Stores no longer exist, because Disney closed a good number of stores in the past few years.

As to the "DVC has been sold" story, somebody is wrong. As to DVC being one of the most profitable divisions for Disney, that's probably true, but Disney does not report profit and loss at such a granular level.

[Blackunicorn]

They may have picked up on a small piece of information and spun it wildly out of control. DVC cat members have been told to turn in their IDs. This however is not because they have been sold, but because the company is altering the look of the IDs to reflect the business unit you work for. DVC cast members are getting new IDs that bear the DVC logo.

Ah! This makes sense! Thank you for clearing that up for me.

I thought the Disney store, as we all knew it, no longer exists.

Horace Horsecollar already answered this one, but I also wanted to put my 2 cents in...at my store, we have continued business just as we did before the purchase. We won't even see products ordered by TCP until fall, I've been told, because they order so far in advance. We are no longer affiliated with the catalogue, and the online Disney shopping site has changed to Disneydirect.com to distance it from the Disney Store. But we still sell park tickets, we still sell Disney Dollars, and we still strive for a Disney atmosphere.

[mitros]

It's been a while since I've been to a Disney store, as we live close enough to WDW to get our Disney stuff there, but I was wondering if the stores are still called Disney stores, and is all of the signage the same, and do the stores still look the same inside?

[raidermatt]

Its been sold.

To me.

New name is Raidermatt Vacation Club.

All WDW properties will be divested. Points will only be good at Oakland Raiders games.

20 points = seat to one game.

5 extra points for police escort.

[KNWVIKING]

but since da Raiders strayed from the Davis "philosophy" they've lost all their point value.

[mitros]

Now what? I HATE sports! Can I have my money back? :rolleyes:

[raidermatt]

but since da Raiders strayed from the Davis "philosophy" they've lost all their point value.

Well...

I'd say the problem is more that he hasn't altered key parts of his philosophy, which will likely lead to the diminished DVC, er, RVC point values.

Now what? I HATE sports! Can I have my money back?

No.

[Terry S]

Mitros.... Yes. The stores are still called the Disney Store and still look the exact same inside. All the CM's are still wearing the same costume with the same nametags. Basically everything for the guest is the exact same thing. We have been told that they will do some much needed remodeling of some of the stores that have not been remodeled since opening and that we are going to get new register/computer systems. I am looking forward to that.

[DancingBear]

Here's what the 2004 Annual Report has to say:

"Disney Vacation Club was created to serve the growing demand for long-term ownership in Disney vacations. By the end of 2004, some 84,000 members had made a 50-year commitment to Disney Vacation Club — highlighting the enduring appeal of Disney destinations. With its ability to leverage existing real estate assets and sell memberships quickly, Disney Vacation Club has become an important element of the Parks and Resorts growth strategy."

[alsipd]

I cannot imagine Disney parting with the DVC resorts for two reasons:
1. It is a tremendous revenue generator
2. they still own and control the resorts and their infrastructure

Profits are always a good motivator to retain a product

[mobmilli]

It's been a while since I've been to a Disney store, as we live close enough to WDW to get our Disney stuff there, but I was wondering if the stores are still called Disney stores, and is all of the signage the same, and do the stores still look the same inside?

Yes we still look the same on the inside and still called The Disney Store.
Many stores will be getting remodels. TCP wants to make all stores uniformed. So more than likely we'll all start to look like Millenium Stores instead of 5 different floor layouts. The remodel design or which stores has yet to be released.

[disrailfan]

As to DVC being one of the most profitable divisions for Disney, that's probably true, but Disney does not report profit and loss at such a granular level.

Read the Disney Annuall Report if you want the granularity down to the division it is in there but you have to look for it.

[Horace Horsecollar]

Read the Disney Annuall Report if you want the granularity down to the division it is in there but you have to look for it.
You are mistaken if you think that Disney publishes the results of Disney Vacation Club (or Disney Vacation Development). Those results are lumped into the results for the Parks and Resorts busienss segment.

See the 2004 Annual Report (http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/annual_reports/2004/index.html) of The Walt Disney Company.

Please prove me wrong, if you can.

[Horace Horsecollar]

Just to add to what I just posted...

Disney's busienss segments are Media Networks, Parks and Resorts, Studio Entertainment, and Consumer Products. For Parks and Resorts, Disney publishes domestic and international totals.

There's a lot lumped into Parks and Resorts:
<blockquote>PARKS AND RESORTS
The Company owns and operates the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and the Disneyland Resort in California. The Walt Disney World Resort includes four theme parks (the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom), seventeen resort hotels, a retail, dining and entertainment complex, a sports complex, conference centers, campgrounds, golf courses, water parks and other recreational facilities. In addition, Disney Cruise Line is operated out of Port Canaveral, Florida. The Disneyland Resort includes two theme parks (Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure), three resort hotels and Downtown Disney. The Company earns royalties on revenues generated by the Tokyo Disneyland Resort, which includes two theme parks and two Disney-branded hotels, near Tokyo, Japan, and is owned and operated by an unrelated Japanese corporation. The Company manages and has a 41% equity investment in Euro Disney S.C.A. (Euro Disney), a publicly held French entity that operates Disneyland Resort Paris, which includes the Disneyland Park, the Walt Disney Studios Park, seven themed hotels, two convention centers, the Disney Village, a shopping, dining and entertainment center and a 27 hole golf facility. The Company also manages and has a 43% equity interest in Hong Kong Disneyland which is under construction and is scheduled to open in fiscal 2005. During fiscal 2004, the Company began consolidating Euro Disney and Hong Kong Disneyland (see Note 2). The Company’s Walt Disney Imagineering unit designs and develops new theme park concepts and attractions, as well as resort properties. The Company also manages and markets vacation ownership interests through the Disney Vacation Club. Included in Parks and Resorts is the Company’s NHLfranchise, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and ESPN Zone which operates sports-themed dining and entertainment facilities. </blockquote>
Obviously, Disney keeps ledgers at a more granular level internally. But, whenever somebody writes that a particular component of Parks and Resorts is "highly profitable" or "most profitable," remember that such claims cannot be backed up by numbers.

Better evidence of profitabilty is to see where Disney continues to invest. By that measure, it's clear that DVC/DVD is more profitable than something like Disney Quest. And DCL is probably quite profitable, but Disney Corporate has thus far held off on contracting for a fleet expansion.