Disney will close 20% of Disney stores because it will focus on e-commerce

Disney said Wednesday it will close 20 percent of its brick-and-mortar Disney Store locations before the end of the year as part of a stronger focus on its e-commerce business.

At least 60 of its North American locations will close, the company said, citing changing consumer behavior and a desire to link its online shopping experience to its Disney Parks apps and social media platforms. There are about 300 Disney stores worldwide.

“While consumer behavior has shifted to online shopping, the global pandemic has changed what consumers expect from a retailer,” said Stephanie Young, president of consumer products, games and publishing.

The pandemic has accelerated the transition from physical stores to digital shopping by about five years, according to data from IBM’s US Retail Index. Industry-wide e-commerce sales increased 32.4% to $ 791.7 billion in 2020, and this figure is expected to increase.

Disney’s plan is to start by closing a fifth of the Disney Store footprint and then assess where other closures may need to take place. The company looks at Europe in particular as a place where significant discounts can be made.

The company declined to provide financial details on how the closures will affect its results, but noted that there will be an undisclosed number of layoffs that coincide with store closures. Disney also declined to say which locations will be affected.

In particular, Disney’s other shopping experiences, which include more than 600 Disney Parks stores, store locations in stores such as Target, lifestyles and sales locations, and third-party retailers around the world will not be affected.

Disney’s partnership with Target, which has placed miniature Disney stores in the discount retailer, has grown from 25 stores to more than 50 in 2019. The company has refused to share plans for future locations.

The company says it will improve its current ShopDisney site and expand its product range to include more collections of adult clothing, streetwear, premium home products and collectibles. Disney stores tended to be a clean selection of clothing, toys, plush toys and children’s games. Disney online will be able to respond to a wider demographic number and expand its offerings.

Disney is expected to share more details about renovating its website and product launches in the future.