The Walt Disney Company on Wednesday said it plans to start closing dozens of its brick-and-mortar Disney stores this year as it shifts its focus to e-commerce.


What You Need To Know

  • Disney to begin closing some of its Disney store locations

  • At least 60 North American locations will close this year

  • Disney said it's shifting its focus to e-commerce

  • The company did not say which locations are slated for closure

The company, which operates more than 300 Disney stores around the world, will close at least 60 locations in North America. Disney did not say which stores were slated for closure, or how many jobs would be affected by the move.

Disney cited changing consumer behavior and the pandemic as the main reasons behind its decision.

“While consumer behavior has shifted toward online shopping, the global pandemic has changed what consumers expect from a retailer,” said Stephanie Young, president of Consumer Products Games and Publishing, in a statement. “Over the past few years, we’ve been focused on meeting consumers where they are already spending their time, such as the expansion of Disney store shop-in-shops around the world. We now plan to create a more flexible, interconnected ecommerce experience that gives consumers easy access to unique, high-quality products across all of our franchises.”

Disney’s other retail ventures, including third-party retailers, outlet locations, and Disney Parks stores will not be impacted.

In the next year, Disney will revamp its shopDisney platform and introduce new merchandise from the company’s various brands.

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