Construction of Disneyland in Shanghai forced nearby factories to close down. (Photo : Reuters)
The Walt Disney Co. has recently opened its biggest store, in terms of size, in Shanghai in its effort to market the Shanghai Disney Resort scheduled to be launched next spring.
The store, which was unveiled on Wednesday, is the first establishment opened by the company in the mainland. It is strategically located in the landmark financial area of Shanghai Disney Resort.
The Disney store is expected to lead the firm's massive merchandising efforts, including over 2,000 products. 90 percent of these items will be sold exclusively at the area.
The newly launched establishment seats in a 5,000-square-meter land, with an indoor area of 860 square meters.
According to Walt Disney Co. Asia president Paul Candland, "the shopping experience is designed to be entertaining and to be complementary to what we do in our parks."
Globally, the company owns 300 stores. While its Shanghai branch is fully owned, the upcoming resort will be a joint venture with the local firm Shanghai Shendi Group.
Candland revealed that the new shop will be particularly appealing to young female buyers albeit the products "broadly targeting consumers of all ages." Traditionally, this market segment comprises a large fraction of Disney's interntational merchandising sales.
Some of the store's features include a 5.8-meter-tall Disney Magic Kingdom Castle, designated areas for its beloved characters, Mickey and Minnie mouse, and other Pixar and Star Wars icons.
It also has life-size sculptures of some of the Marvel heroes in the hit movie "Avengers," including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Hulk.
A show involving 13 Disney characters will also be held soon.
Candland said that "the store will become a destination . . . it is meant to be aspirational."
China Market research Group analyst Ben Cavender said that the flagship store is Disney's way of marketing its theme park and its means of regaining control in the merchandise and control quality aspect of the firm in China.
"Disney is very concerned about branding and about developing its image in China," Cavender said.
The analyst also pointed out another issue facing Disney in the country: its mainland prices compared with that of Japan.
"The company thinks the market can bear these prices, but we are still to see how sales go over a longer period of time to see if this proves the case," he said.
But as per Candland, "[Disney] want to offer [its 2,000 products] at attractive prices to our customers."
