Visual Merchandising Project: Disney Store

Alexandra Gonzalez Baldwin BA Fashion Marketing & Communication Level 5, 2017-18 5FAMK004 Marketing Techniques and Strategy 2 CWK4 Prof. Ana Adell Word Count: 2115

1

Table of Contents: Key Findings----------------------------------------P. 3 Part 1: Analysis-------------------------------------P. 4

Disney Identity-------------------------------P. 5

Old Store vs. New Store---------------------P. 6-7

Part 2: Field Research-----------------------------P. 8-24

A. Point of Sale------------------------------P. 8-9 B. Window Dressing & External Design-------P. 10 C. Internal Design of Store-------------------P. 11-21 D. Products & Placement--------------------P. 22-24

Part 3: Analysis & Proposal------------------------P. 25-28 Annex-----------------------------------------------P. 29-31

Marketing Mix---------------------------------P. 29

Competition Analysis---------------------------P. 30

PEST-----------------------------------------P.31 Work C ited-----------------------------------------P. 32-33 2

Key Findings

This document analyzes the visual merchandising techniques of a Disney store both in Barcelona and internationally. Based on research, it is shown that Disney stores have always adapted a determined store design. Currently, a new prototype is changing Disney store’s layouts once again. As the world, and particularly Spain, is becoming more tech-savy, simplistic, and more minimalistic the chosen Barcelona store should adapt some features from the new prototype to remain current; especially in the now threatened enviornment of physical retail stores.

3

Part 1: Analysis Since 1987, Disney stores have brought “joy and excitement to families around the world (Disney store, n.d.)”.Their main mission is to create “magical moments for guests of all ages (Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media, n.d.)”. Disney Store is one of The Walt Disney Company’s premier retail destinations which sells only Disney related items, many of them exclusive (The Disney Wiki, n.d.). It is said that 9/10 Disney products available are only available at Disney stores (Disney store, n.d.); and all of their products are labeled with a “stamp of approval”, which is the Disney store insignia. Disney stores offer a wide product range that incorporates not only Disney but Pixar, Marvel and Star wars characters (Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media, n.d.) into fashion, accessories, toys, home and more. The brand aims at creating the most magical store experience through “extraordinary Guest Service, engaging Cast Members and quality products (Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media, n.d.)”.

There are currently more than 200 Disney store locations in North America; more than 40 Disney store locations in Japan; one flagship location in Shanghai, China; and more than 70 Disney store locations in Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, plus online stores (Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media, 2017) . Paul Gainer, executive VP for Disney Retail states that “Our stores are destinations and gathering places for fans of our iconic brands, and are often their closest physical Disney touch-point so creating an authentic brand experience is key (Business wire, 2017)”. Disney Store aims at expressing their storytelling values and heritage in all of their stores.

As Disney store are a place of engagement and entertainment, their visual merchandising strategies have always been one of their top priorities. In 2010 (Retail Customer Experience, 2010), Disney introduced a new visual direction of sparkly blue pathways, colorful storytelling walls, color-changing fiberglass trees, and walk through mini-castle displays. Although, recently a new prototype has been tested in a handful of locations in “Century City, Calif. Northridge, Calif. Miami, Fla. Nagoya, Japan and Shanghai, China (Business wire, 2017)”, where the aim is to “bring the magic of Disney to retail through innovative technology, storytelling and cast member interaction (The Walt Disney Company, 2017)”.

The new trends of this prototype include giant LED screens, which provide custom-designed customer experiences, store employees and characters opening the store each day with a special celebration, as well as engaging with customer’s activities in the store’s play room, and lastly live streaming the iconic signature parade from a Disney park and displaying digital fireworks display on a giant storefront screen before closing (Wilson, 2017). This new prototype also includes having a more simplified store plan, white walls and more items for fashion-conscious adults.

4

Changes are being made as Disney recognizes the danger of malls being turned into ghost towns. As Disney stores exist as a brand touchpoint, for those unavailable to attend a Disney park, their stores need to reinvent themselves in order to attract customers. Furthering their efforts, Disney also is incorporating more product for shoppers of all ages. Disney store’s online website, ShopDisney.com, now carries designer merchandise aimed at adults. Although, this feature is not yet updated on the Spanish website which has remained Disneystore.es. Disney’s target consumers are children from 4-12 and adults who are 35-55 (Advergators2, n.d.). Executive VP for Disney Stores worldwide says “We have been very focused on families and kids. We really want to expand that audience (Barnes, 2017)”. ShopDisney will even offer Halloween costumes for adults (and pets) (Barnes, 2017). Overall, the new look and feel of both their physical and online POS is light and contemporary, allowing product and content to shine (Wilson, 2017).

Disney Identity

5

Old Store Design vs.

New Store Design 6

7

Part 2: Field Research A. Point of Sale In 2014, The Disney Store opened their now second store in Barcelona, of 500 sqm, (elperiodico, 2014) on Portal de l’Angel 9. Portal d’Angel street is the most expensive shopping street in Spain following Passeig de Gracia and Serrano in Madrid. The average rental price of a 2,000 sqm store is 280 euros/ sqm (Cushman & Wakefield, n.d.) . It is said that it “is the street with the highest commercial income of Spain, due to its strategic location and the massive influx of visitors it receives regularly (Happybarcelona.eu, n.d.)”. The street ranks sixth in europe’s top mass-market high streets with, an average of, 10,216 pedestrians an hour (PAN-EUROPEAN FOOTFALL ANALYSIS: Key global and lifestyle cities 2017-2018, 2017). Portal d’Angel includes stores such as El Corte Inglés, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear, Cortefiel, Stradivarius, Oysho, Tezenis, Bershka, H&M, Benetton, Shana, Calzedonia, Yamamay, and Parfois. Disney’s closest neighbors are Tezenis, across the street, and H&M which is next door. The street attracts tourists and locals all year round (Wikipedia, n.d.), as it has many reputable and accessible shops while being in the center of Barcelona. The street is surrounded by prime shopping and touristic areas, such as Placa Catalunya, Las Ramblas, Passeig de Gracia and El Borne. Also, Portal d’Angel is a pedestrian street meaning cars are not allowed.

8

9

B. Window Dressing & External Design of Store The Disney Store on Portal de l’Angel 9 is introduced on the street with a medium sized red “Disney” store sign above their main entrance. There are 2 double doors that are opened from opening to closing. Portal de l’Angel and the corner window of Canuda are exposed to natural light and therefore give the front of the store warm lighting. On the exterior there are 3 open windows, on the first level of the store, that show the inside of the store. On those windows are Disney and it’s other brands, such as Marvel and Star Wars, decal logos. In addition there are sparkle decals on each window. The window on the left of the entrance, is used for a large promotional sign decal. There are also 3 extra windows on Career de la Canuda’s side which cover the inside of the store, as they are covered with Disney character posters. On the second level of the store, facing both Portal d’Angel and Canuda, there are 5 windows, overall, with balconies that display headless child mannequins, wearing princess dresses, and cone trees. Overall, there is no creative effort put into their window displays. The downstairs windows, excluding the poster covered windows, solely shows a glared inside of the store. While upstairs the window displays cover half of the window, and are hardly visible or recognizable from a street view.

10

C. Internal Design of Store The internal design of the store is rectangle shaped, self service, and has a free flow layout.

There are two levels to the store. The walkways of the store are not that clear as both sides of the bottom floor are attractive. Although, the intended pathway, of the first floor, is probably that of the left side of the entrance to the back of the store and around, while the second floor is made for walking straight and to the right to the back of the store. The sections of the store seem uncategorized. The identity of which area is for which target group is difficult to figure out, as the store is overall packed with product and customers. Also, there are hardly any product category signs, only for that of Star Wars, Marvel, and Spider Man. Although, the first floor seems to be dedicated towards a wider target audience while the second floor is Princess themed and also for babies. The hot zones of the store seemed to be all areas of the store, except for the corner displays and products stored on the floors, which were the cold zones. Strong focal points of the store were the sparkly blue stairway, animated and interactive displays, as well as the 2 chandeliers upstairs. Overall, the experience was Disney-like, although overcrowded and confusing.

11

12

13

Walls,Floors, & Stairwat: Blue storytelling wallpaper

Sparkly blue stairway

Light blue, gold, & white walls with chandeleir

Sparkly blue & natural oak floor

14

Sparkly blue, white, & gold floor

Room 1: Downstairs

15

Room 2: Downstairs

16

Room 3: Downstairs

17

Room 4: Downstairs

18

Room 1: Upstairs

19

Room 1: Upstairs cont..

20

Room 2: Upstairs

21

D. Products & Placement

Shown above, is the categories and product available for Spain’s online website (disneystore.es) and physical Disney stores. This product range is smaller and less expensive than that of the United States’ (shopDisney, n.d.). Also, Portal de l’Angel’s selection is not as wide as it’s online selection, due to it’s size and space. The store does carry all product categories, although not all products. Spain’s Disney store’s product prices range from 1.50-330 euros (Disneystore.es, n.d.). On Pages 21 and 22 is the store layout’s of Portal de l’Angel 69.

Overall, there are 4 rooms on the first floor and 2 on the second. In both the first and second floor product is displayed on either multi-leveled tables, circular tables, and floor and wall racks, pegs, and shelves. The amount of product displayed is plentiful, and ensures availability. Also, products are placed from floor to high levels in an equal horizantal to vertical manner. Visual examples of how product is displayed is shown previously, on pages 13-19. Overall, product is placed in almost every squaremeter of the store.

22

Bottom Floor Planogram:

23

Upper Floor Planogram:

24

Part 3: Analysis & Proposal

Objectives: 1. Improve digital interaction 2. Attain a more simplistic store layout 3. Make exterior view of the store more attractive

25

1. Improve Digital Interaction Disney store’s new prototype store’s are implementing giant LED screens in their stores. They are supposed to reflect Disney’s storytelling tradition by “featuring videos from various Disney films and special magical mentions for those celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, and first visits (Bohn, 2017)”. Guests are also able to view live streams of Disney parades at Disney Parks. This feature is attractive as the goal of Disney stores is to replicate a Disney and Disneypark experience, for those who are not able to physically go. The new stores also feature an “interactive play and storytelling area for kids while parents browse the merchandise (Medina, 2017). By implementing larger and more interactive LED screens into the Portal de l’Angel’s store, guests of all ages will feel more connected and intrigued. Also, the technological use, from people of all ages, is exponentially growing. Therefore it should be expected for Disney stores, who originate from digital entertainers, to entertain their guests through such a now natural form of entertainment. By placing at least one large LED screen towards the entrance of the store, on-looking pedestrians will probably be more inclined to enter the store.

26

2. Attain A More Simplistic Store Layout Disney store’s new store prototype, that has been tested and approved, is calling for a more lighter and contemporary look. The walls, floors, and product holder’s are whiter and modernized.

This allows for product and content to shine easier. Currently, the stores that have not changed, such as Portal de l’Angel use darker tones, such as blue, which can make the store and it’s products seem smaller and claustrophobic. This store design is also more attractive to Disney’s older target audience. The old Disney store design is of a fairytale theme, which seems more youthful, while the new design is more universally attractive. By renovating Portal de l’Angel’s walls, floors, and product holder’s to being lighter in color, the size of the store will automatically feel grander and more up-to-date. As Disney is already renovating it’s stores in North America to this design, it is only natural for Barcelona to.

27

3. Make Exterior View Of The Store More Attractive The Disney store on Portal de l’Angel has 7 large windows on the bottom floor and upstairs facing both Portal de l’Angel and Canuda streets. Although none of them have exciting window displays. On the bottom floor, 2 of them give a full in-store view, 1 of them displays a rectangular store promotional sign, while the other 4 are covered with a poster of an animated disney character. Upstairs, the other 7 windows, are covered with a backside view of a mannequin and a cone tree. Although more elaborate window displays are not a part of the new store prototype, implementing creative and unique displays would catch more pedestrians attention on a storefilled street. The window displays should semi cover the window and have a central focal point.

Examples of what Portal de l’Angel should use are decals to promote an upcoming Disney movie, lifesized Disney characters to promote its new products, and eye-catching decals of in-store promotions/sales. Window displays have always played an important role in visual merchandising; and a brand such as Disney should implement them to make the outside of the store just as engaging as the inside.

28

Annex Figure 1: Marketing Mix

29

Figure 2: Competition Analysis In Barcelona, the Disney Store only sells its products at their two locations as well as El Corte Ingles. Therefore Portal de l’Angel’s main competitors are Disney Store L’illa and the El Corte Ingles stores who carry Disney products. Popular toy stores such as Imaginarium, Bateau Lune,and Abitare Kids are indirect competitors. Although they carry similar products aimed at a similar target, Disney’s products are not generic and are therefore unique. Each product available for sale has an internationally recognized story behind them, with internationally recognized and adored characters. Also, Amazon.com is becoming one of Disney’s greatest competitors as they sell Disney products at lower price points. A perceptual map is shown below based on Google online reviews of each store with their given price average. This shows how Disney’s store experience is average, and can be improved on.

30

Figure 3: PEST

31

Work Cited: Advergators2. (n.d.). Consumer Analysis. [online] Available at: https://advergators2.weebly.com/ consumer-analysis.html [Accessed 11 May 2018].

Barcelona-tourist-guide. (n.d.). Disney Shops in Barcelona. [online] Available at: https://www. barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/shopping/disney-shops-in-barcelona.html [Accessed 17 May 2018].

Barnes, B. (2017). Disney Reimagines Its Stores to Be More Like a Vacation. [online] The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/business/media/disney-stores. html [Accessed 11 May 2018].

Bohn, M. (2017). Disney Store Grand Re-Opening Event Wows Guests. [online] Socalthrills.

Available at: https://socalsite.socalthrills.com/disney-store-reopening-event-wows-guests/ [Accessed 12 May 2018].

Buck, T. (2016). Spanish economy prospers despite continued political stalemate. [online] Financial Times. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/4a09a4e6-706e-11e6-9ac1-1055824ca907 [Accessed 14 May 2018].

Business wire. (2017). Disney Reimagines Retail with New E-commerce Destination and Prototype Store Design. [online] Available at: https://www.businesswire.com/news/ home/20170926005739/en/Disney-Reimagines-Retail-New-E-commerce-Destination-Prototype [Accessed 10 May 2018].

Cushman & Wakefield. (n.d.). Barcelona. [online] Available at: http://cwglobalretailguide.com/ barcelona/ [Accessed 11 May. 2018].

Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media. (n.d.). Disney Store. [online] Available at: https://dcpi.disney.com/disney-store/ [Accessed 10 May 2018].

Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media. (2017). Disney Reimagines Retail with New E-commerce Destination and Prototype Store Design |. [online] Available at: https://dcpi.disney. com/disney-reimagines-retail-new-e-commerce-destination-prototype-store-design/ [Accessed 10 May 2018].

Disney store. (n.d.). About Us. [online] Available at: https://www.disneystore.co.uk/ewd-95about-us/ewd-95-about-us.html [Accessed 10 May 2018].

Disneystore.es. (n.d.). Disney Store online. [online] Available at: https://www.disneystore.es/ home-show [Accessed 6 May 2018].

Disneystore.es. (n.d.). Store Finder. [online] Available at: https://www.disneystore.es/encontrar-tiendas [Accessed 21 May 2018].

32

elperiodico. (2014). Disney abre una nueva tienda en el Portal de l’Àngel de Barcelona. [online] Available at: https://www.elperiodico.com/es/gente/20140403/disney-abre-su-tercera-tienda-en-elportal-de-langel-3240548 [Accessed 11 May 2018].

Facebook. (n.d.). Disneystore.es. [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/Disney StoreES/?brand_redir=59526724529 [Accessed 14 May 2018].

Flux Trends. (2018). 6 Trends of 2018. [online] Available at: https://www.fluxtrends.com/6trends-2018/ [Accessed 17 May 2018].

Happybarcelona.eu. (n.d.). Portal de l’Angel. [online] Available at: http://www.happybarcelona.eu/ en/portal-del-angel.html [Accessed 11 May 2018].

Instagram. (n.d.). shopDisney. [online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/shopdisney/ [Accessed 14 May 2018].

Market report Spain Retail. (2018). [ebook] Savills Aguirre Newman. Available at: http://pdf.euro. savills.co.uk/spain/nat-eng-2018/savills-retail-spain-january2018-eng.pdf [Accessed 15 May 2018].

Medina, M. (2017). Disney Unveils New E-Comm Platform ShopDisney, Century City Prototype Store. [online] WWD. Available at: http://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/disney-new-ecomm-platform-shop-disney-century-city-prototype-store-11004599/ [Accessed 12 May 2018].

PAN-EUROPEAN FOOTFALL ANALYSIS: Key global and lifestyle cities 2017-2018. (2017). [ebook] Paris: BNP Paribas Real Estate, p.7. Available at: https://prowly-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ uploads/landing_page_image/image/84622/Pan-European_Footfall_2017_-_2018.pdf [Accessed 11 May 2018].

Pinterest. (n.d.). shopDisney. [online] Available at: https://www.pinterest.es/shopdisney/ [Accessed 14 May 2018].

Retail Customer Experience. (2010). New Disney Store is ‘immersive, one-of-a-kind retail experience’. [online] Available at: https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/articles/new-disney-store-isimmersive-one-of-a-kind-retail-experience/ [Accessed 10 May 2018].

Shannon, S. (2017). Spain’s Political Crisis Stokes Uncertainty Over Retail Revival. [online] The Business of Fashion. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/ spains-political-upheaval-stokes-uncertainty-over-retail-revival [Accessed 14 May 2018].

Shenker, M. (2018). The Minimalist Design Trend: Why Less Is More. [online] Creative Market.

Available at: https://creativemarket.com/blog/minimalist-design-trend [Accessed 17 May 2018].

33

shopDisney. (n.d.). shopDisney | Official Site for Disney Merchandise. [online] Available at: https://www.shopdisney.com/ [Accessed 14 May 2018].

The Disney Wiki. (n.d.). Disney Store. [online] Available at: http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Disney_Store [Accessed 10 May 2018].

The Walt Disney Company. (2017). Disney Launches Innovative New E-commerce Destination and Prototype Store Design - The Walt Disney Company. [online] Available at: https://www. thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-launches-innovative-new-e-commerce-destination-prototype-store-design/ [Accessed 10 May 2018].

Twitter. (n.d.). shopDisney. [online] Available at: https://twitter.com/shopdisney [Accessed 14 May 2018].

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Disney Store. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_ Store [Accessed 15 May 2018].

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Portal de l’Àngel. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_ de_l%27%C3%80ngel [Accessed 11 May 2018].

Wilson, M. (2017). Disney testing new store design as part of omnichannel update. [online] Chain Store Age. Available at: https://www.chainstoreage.com/article/disney-testing-new-store-design-part-omnichannel-update/ [Accessed 11 May 2018].

34