Disney Store Demise Continues

[exDS vet]

Day after Christmas at Disney Store SF
Well, I finally did it. I got to visit the Bay Area over the holiday, and today I went to the Disney Store at Union Square in SF. For those of you who don't know, this was once a "flagship" Disney Store. Over 5,000 square feet of retail space in 4 departments, including a gallery.

Since I used to work at that store, I thought I'd bump into a CM, and I did just that. But first, the store....I've grown to expect a big dissappointment whenever I go to DS, so I usually go there just to laugh at the decline. This time I was shocked. The gallery, which I worked in regularly was gone. Just like all other Disney Stores, plush, toys and kids clothes ruled.

The CM told me that their current manager was recruited from Joann Fabrics. Other new store managers had come from other low end retailers like The Gap, and the Limited. I guess the upper management (hmm. Bob Bell?) also came from those retailers, because they are responsible for the stores looking the way they do today.

I worked at this Disney Store on the day after Christmas in 1995, 1997 and 1999. I visited as a Guest in 1996, 1998 and 2000. Each year, you couldn't move inside this store. Anywhere from 500 to 600 guests were shopping, and the pre-opening line was always travelling down Post. St. Today, less than 2 hours after opening, I counted about 25 guests in the store.

In a store that usually staffed about 20 CM's per shift on this particular day, I counted 5 total CM's on stage today. The "semi annual" sale signs were everywhere. Exactly how many "semi annual" sales have they had this year anyway?

And the clothes racks. There were no less than 20 rolling clothes racks with sale stuff on them, cluttering the entire store. When people talk about Wal Mart possibly buying the Disney Store chain, you could understand why after visiting this store.

The CM that I spoke with told me about the low morale that they have experienced over the past year and a half. The CM also said that they didn't expect the store to last another year. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they won't last another 3 months, but they might still have a while left on their lease.

In order to be fair and balanced, I drove out to another Bay Area Disney Store. This store was quite crowded, as was the mall that it is located in. The store had been remodeled with the new "play" theme. It looked a bit nicer, but the selection was no different than any other store. I don't think the improvement are enough to keep the stores alive, and Disney will not spend the money to improve the whole chain. All of the Phoenix area stores have the same tired look that they always had.

 

[mitros]

What a sad demise to a once vibrant store. It's pitifull So long Disney store!

 

[TinaMedley]

As a DS CM are store has been bad of late, but we are gradually getting in new adult stuff (not T-shirts), and are starting to carry better stuff. If they can just lay off the T-shirts we will be in better shape. It takes time for us to get the stuff back in. I know for our Q2 stuff we received our popular denium (sp) shirts and jackets. I don't think we will carry the collectable stuff again they are trying to keep that in the catalog. Don't know why, but that what was said. We CM's are trying to keep our hopes up, and maybe the guests will start comming back. So, please don't count us out yet.

 

[King Triton]

It's very sad.

Michael Eisner killed the Disney Store's future by allowing other big chain stores sell Disney merchandise.

 

[sdamico71]

I used to love the store and spent lots of money there. However, it has declined in the last few years to a point where the workmanship on the clothes is shotty, at best. It is difficult to maneuver through the store because of all the clutter that is not worth the price!@

 

[HauntedMansionFan]

Originally posted by exDS vet
The CM told me that their current manager was recruited from Joann Fabrics. Other new store managers had come from other low end retailers like The Gap, and the Limited.

LOL!!! I didn't realize that in order to be a store manager at the "upper" and "high end" Disney store, that one needed to be manager of a Nordstrom's and have at least two college degrees under their belts.

 

[disney_parrothead]

It shows how anyone can turn a sure winner into a disaster.

Maybe their eventual plan (if they have one) is to blow it up and start over where they did before. Or maybe new management (meaning after Eisner leaves, whenever that happens) will breathe some life back in to it.

All I know is, it used to be a sure stop at our mall here in St Louis (I sometimes used to go to the mall only to visit the DS), but now I walk right past it.

 

[ohanafamily]

I have gone on record as to fighting the lowering standards of TDS, I had hoped that with the loss of Peter Whitford something positive would occur.

Without going on a 10 page rant (If you want I will post a link to my previous thread) When one of our stores (that did a big gallery business) was in a flux as to whether or not it would keep the gallery items, the Manager told some of her largest spending guests. Each one of us asked what we could do, and she said if we wrote a letter she would forward it on with the figures of what we spent (with our permission). I happened to be in the store when her Regional Manager called and told her that they were instructed not to forward the letters. I made several calls, sent registered letters etc... to no avail. If you want to ignore Guests, some of whom have spent upward of several thousand a year, then by all means you obviously know more about how to run your company into the ground than I do. I was trying to get responses back from the first round of letters...

Sorry for the rant, But I loved TDS of old, and have been to the Union Street store on several occasions. I get very depressed when I walk in there now. Here in Dallas, our NorthPark store is "An Airport Store" whatever that means. I would have hoped that someone with some marketing skill would have taken over and actually merchandised the store properly...Don't they understand that if all they have is Plush and Princess there is no reason for the Adult Add-On sales. ... Oops, sorry again...

Maybe they should listen to us on the Dis?

 

[exDS vet]

Originally posted by ohanafamily
Maybe they should listen to us on the Dis?

Fat chance at that. Since they did not even want to hear about that from you. I would love to read your original thread, but you obviously are very passionate about DS and that store manager was right to share information with you, although he/she could have lost thier job for doing so. And since you spoke of Dallas, I have a feeling I know who that regional director was. And if so, she is no longer with the company. Additionally, if it is the same person, she was the regional director for my area as well.

My store at Pier 39 was an "airport store" too. This meant a severely reduced merchandise assortment, focusing on t-shirts and small souvenirs, as well as plush. When they did this, it drastically dropped my business down to almost nothing. When they took away my collectibles, and threatened to take away my tourist (San Francisco) clothing, the told me that I would have to make-up the business in other areas. Like selling $10,000 extra in plush each week to make up for the loss of one category.

I don't excuse Peter Whitford for the mistakes made by the company, but they started before he was in the picture. Bob Bell had a lot to do with the demise of DS. He was behind the streamlining of the stores to nothing. But of course it was the licensing that really started the ball rolling downhill.

 

[PatMcDuck]

It may be a case of too little too late, but there is much improvement in the stores.......... some of the most important changes are invisible to the guest, though. The control over inventory, the elimination of most off site storage this Q1 was a HUGE improvement over the last 2 years. At this time last year, we had off sites stuffed with Halloween AND kids fleece sweatshirts. We left it there until summer, as the spring stuff began to roll in and bury us.......... they made crazy decisions like "don't put out any Valentine product until Feb 1st" They controlled shipments this Q1 (Oct-Dec) by making them arrive daily, vs 2-3 a week getting 350 boxes at a time........ Someone knows what they are doing now, in many areas that only CMs would recognize.

Don't count us out, we are very nervous, but trying to hang in there. My store is not jammed with rolling racks, and does not have CMs with low morale.

 

[disney_parrothead]

It may be a case of too little too late, but there is much improvement in the stores ... Someone knows what they are doing now, in many areas that only CMs would recognize.

Is there a movement towards new management from way on high, or is this a local change brought on by a regional manager with some knowledge of what works and what doesn't? In other words, could this be a sign of a new start for all the DS's or is it just a local person with some savvy?

 

[mickey4ver]

All directions/directives come from "higher" than local or regional managers. They only implement/relay/carry out what is directed from the home office. Not much is left to a whim of store manager/district manager/regional manager that does not come from WAY up. For the most part (and some will disagree) that is why you will find most (I'll use this word cause someone will disagree) everything that happens in a Disney store is happening at all Disney stores, they are all supposed to be on the same page in the same book.

 

[exDS vet]

Originally posted by PatMcDuck
The control over inventory, the elimination of most off site storage this Q1 was a HUGE improvement over the last 2 years. At this time last year, we had off sites stuffed with Halloween AND kids fleece sweatshirts.

Eliminating the off site storage is a huge sign of something. I was told to clear out my (2) off site storage units before I found out "officially" that my store was closing. The DM's and RD's as well as most SM's at DS don't want you to know what's going on, nor will they allow you to question it. I was always up front and honest with my CM's, much to the dismay of my DM and RD.

The assistant managers are even worse off, because they are often more clueless than the hourly CM's.

Many stores still had full off-sites last year and now most of them are gone. Hmmm. If I recall correctly, the company was not looking to sell off the DS chain and all of that excess merchandise last year. Were they?

Were you with the company when they got rid of the millennium pins? It pained me to have to throw away thousands of those pins. There were so many of them, that I had to take a special trip to the dump to get rid of them. And the hundreds of bean bags. What a waste.

 

[PatMcDuck]

There have been many mis-steps in the last few years. As for the off-sites, I was not saying that we cleared them out already, I was saying most stores never even HAD them this Q1. We are being run by Consumer Products, no one replaced Whitford as far as I know. They laid off many at home base, there was way too much staffing at that level compared to other retailers.

There are great new products that will be in the stores by mid-January..........

 

[Another Voice]

The rumblings in Burbank continue to be that the Disney Stores just "need to be gone". They continue to try and sell the chain (shareholder value and all that), but the chances of sealing a deal remain problematic: why complete against the Disney/WalMart partnership? There's little incentive for anyone to take over the stores and pay Disney's tremendous license costs when the company as already told everyone all "the good stuff" is going thousands of mass merchants across the country. High-end retail can exist only when their products are exclusive, much as Disney Stores themselves found out.

The other whisper in the wind is that Eisner is getting ready to make a "bold move". He's been in a bit of pinch recently and nothing fills his ego more than lots of press about what a hard nosed businessman he can be. Slamming the doors shut on the Stores would be instantly spun as "making a tough decision about a faltering business unit". It's also safe (another ultra-important aspect of any move he makes) because Disney can point to the closing of the Warner Brothers stores. Disney is not a leader at anything these days so following someone else's move is "good". Innovation, hard work, foresight, talent, creativity and originality are avoided at any cost.

The timing remains a mystery. A lot of the gossip had mentioned October 1 as the deadline. But perhaps the brewing showdown with Roy threw off the timing of "bold business moves".

 

[doombuggy]

Many stores still had full off-sites last year and now most of them are gone.

Patmcduck is speaking about how last spring we were holding on to TONS of old merchandise, mostly put in these off site facilities or where ever we could fit them. Part of that problem was a result of that strike in the west coast ports the previous fall. Some items we were supposed to receive for Black Friday, we didn't get until almost Christmas. When Whitford left in the spring, we started getting rid of this merch, and eventually the offsites (to a point).

Were you with the company when they got rid of the millennium pins

I seem to remember boxing these up and sending them to WDW. They were selling them in the outlet stores.

 

[JudithM]

Originally posted by PatMcDuck
There are great new products that will be in the stores by mid-January..........

Unfortunately there are (former) guests of the Disney Stores who won't be aware of the new products. Since the Stores did not have anything for me to buy for quite awhile (& have closed stores), I stopped going into any Disney Store. I have not made a purchase in a Disney Store in well over a year. I continue to find Disney licensed merchandise in other retail stores.

Originally posted by Doombuggy
I seem to remember boxing these up and sending them to WDW. They were selling them in the outlet stores.

Yes, some pins went to outlet sotres, but somewere intentionally scratched & thrown in the trash.

 

[PatMcDuck]

The new product continues to stream into the stores.......... there is a very nice adult denium shirt, Fab 5. A denium jacket, too. NEW line of adult t shirts, unisex and the smaller womens/juniors sizes. Frames, cookie jars, etc. Lots of new adult PJs.

It may not be all out onstage until mid-January, but many stores are putting it out now.........

 

[mobmilli]

I'm a little late on the beginning of this post but 2nd on Pat's post. Disney Stores have listened to their guest's and are striving to meet their needs. There have been many of request's for a full line of adults again, infants /toddler clothing. This q2 we have many of that if not more, even going as far as carrying items you've only seen in Disney Catalog Outlet stores and Online.

We may be struggling but we are not down and out and we won't go down without a fight!!


Lead DSCM

 

[SeaSpray]

Until this past October I hadn't been in a Disney Store in years because I had 2 "older" sons (not todders or pre-schoolers which is all I'd find boy's clothing sizes in), no daughters for whom to buy "princess" stuff, and they had NO adult sized clothing either. In October I happened to be in a mall in NJ and stopped in for the heck of it, not expecting to find anything. 20 minutes later I came out with a cute pink and white t-shirt for myself with Mickey and Minnie on it (sort of a baseball style t-shirt), a t-shirt with Goofy on it for DS15, and 2 gray t-shirts for DH and I, with Mickey riding on a motorcycle.

Then in December I went to a Disney Store here in MA and bought a pair of flannel PJ's for myself with Tinkerbell on them, a well-made, heavyweight gray zip-up hooded sweatshirt with Mickey on it, 2 fleece throws with Mickey and Minnie on them, and 2 white t-shirts with "classic" Mickey on them.

EVERY single item I bought was on sale. I was happy to see that they finally had some adult sized clothing, AND that I didn't have to pay a small fortune for them. Also, they all seem to be very well-made items.

I hope this is the direction the Disney Stores are turning in. But I'd still love to see other items back like they had when they first opened, such as the framed art cells, watches, etc. Any chance of these items coming back??