| # | Author | Message |
1
| Admin
Thu 3/20/2008 6:57a | This topic is for Discussion of Latest: Children's Place to Exit Disney Stores |
2
| Rebekah
Thu 3/20/2008 6:57a | I wonder what types of changes will happen to the Disney Stores if they return to Disney control. Will they remain Disney Stores? Perhaps some be transformed into Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique locations?
I'm so excited about this news. Although I can't recall if I selected it for my annual Disney prediction list that Doobie and I create. I sure hope so.
I still have catalogs from the Store's hey day back when I was fresh out of college and had no money so I couldn't afford the fantastic stuff. I really liked their embroidered henleys and button up shirts but I only ever purchased one.
Doobie has dozens and dozens watches that he purchased there. While watches are not the fashion accessory they once were perhaps there's something new that Disney Stores could launch into to capture adult dollars. I'd like to see fun & fancy Disney sneakers. Not just embroidered Keds looking things. I'm thinking Pastry Shoes but Disney-fied but maybe I'm the only adult who would buy them. I was told by the salesperson when I bought my Pastrys that I was the oldest person she'd seen buying them. I was just happy to find a shoe that had some style & fun that my AFO would fit into.
R. |
3
| leemac
Thu 3/20/2008 7:07a | Full details at The Children's Place Investor Relations site:
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/ph
oenix.zhtml?c=120577&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1120484&highlight=
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4
| leemac
Thu 3/20/2008 7:07a | From the SEC filing:
1. Exiting the Disney Store North America Business
The Company has decided to exit the Disney Store North America ("DSNA") business after a thorough review of the operation, its potential for earnings growth, its capital needs and its ability to fund such needs from its own resources. The DSNA business is conducted by the Company's subsidiaries Hoop Holdings LLC and Hoop Holding Canada, Inc. under a license from The Walt Disney Company.
The Company and Hoop are actively pursuing alternatives for immediately implementing the exit from the DSNA business. These include a possible disposition by Hoop of a substantial portion of the business or other means to terminate its operations. The Company and Hoop are in an advanced phase of discussions with The Walt Disney Company regarding the terms under which Disney might regain ownership and control of approximately two-thirds of the existing stores. Hoop and the Company intend to disclose the arrangements for exiting the DSNA business in the very near term.
In addition to costs that will be incurred by the Hoop subsidiaries in connection with exiting the DSNA business, at this time the Company expects that it may incur pre-tax cash exit costs in the range of $50 million to $100 million, payable over a period of time. Reflecting its decision to exit the business, the Company recognized a pre-tax asset impairment charge of $80.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, as described below.
Unrelated to the Company's decision to exit the business, Hoop recently received notices of several material breaches under its license agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Hoop believes it has cured some of the asserted breaches and intends to cure or to assert defenses to other asserted breaches.
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5
| leemac
Thu 3/20/2008 7:08a | My understanding is that the material breaches are on the refurbishment schedule - it was renegotiated last year but they have subsequently failed to proceed with the amended plan.
In light of the fact that Paul Pressler has been at numerous TWDC events recently I wonder if......... |
6
| FerretAfros
Thu 3/20/2008 10:05a | I hope they turn them back into what they used to be. It seems the ones I've seen recently have just sort of become a Disney outlet with everything on sale. They're all really bright and kind of tacky, where the old ones were darker and more mysterious. The new ones look a little too much like the Apple store to capture the Disney magic (the dark, quiet kind) for me. |
7
| Kar2oonMan
Thu 3/20/2008 10:15a | I have to wonder if these stores are simply even a viable concept at this point in time.
With no shortage of similar Disney merchandise available practically anywhere, what makes purchasing something at The Disney Store unique?
At some point, I remember reading that one thing being considered was making "Disney Stores" more of a feature within larger stores -- a themed area of Sears or Wal-Mart or Target. This makes the most sense to me. |
8
| gottaluvdavillains
Thu 3/20/2008 10:24a | There is an article in the spring backstage pass about some of the upgrades they are doing to the stores -however it doesn't mention an improvement of the merchandising.
I have many of the embrodiered henleys they used to carry - whenever I wear them in the park I am always stopped and asked where I got it!! It would be nice if they would go back to that - and back to the old sizing! |
9
| DBitz2
Thu 3/20/2008 12:44p | The place where the merchandise is apparently designed for The Disney Stores is in Pasadena in an old building. (I met someone who works there that told me it was a Children's Place Disney Store facility.) It's on the street where I park my car to ride the Gold Line commuter train to work, so I pass by it every day. You can see all kinds of Disney stuff through the windows and there is a mouse ear shaped hedge archway inside the fence. I hope they stay there! |
10
| schnebs
Thu 3/20/2008 1:32p | Interesting. The fact that disney Disney only wants two-thirds of their stores back while Children's Place wants out of the Disney Stores completely is especially interesting - is that an acknowledgment by Disney that they over-expanded the chain or is it a sweetener of the deal by giving Children's Place the locations they think they could most likely run as Children's Place stores?
In any case, I really hope they work on the merchandise mix. I haven't bought anything from a Disney Store in at least two to three years because I could never find anything that really appealed to me or my fiancee. |
