50 Disney Stores to Shut Down

[allirae]

I'm a Cast Member at a Disney Store in Michigan. Just a few quick responses to some of the things that I've read here: Most stores that are closing are doing so when their leases are up. Specialty retail in general is hurting right now, so that means that the malls are hurting. Mall management -in their infinite wisdom- is becoming near unreasonable in their new leasing rates and requirements. Our Traverse City store's last day is today - I wish them all well. That means the store furthest north in Michigan is now Grand Rapids. Our adult line has diminished quite a bit, but to be perfectly honest it hardly sold when we did have it. A lot of people come in saying that they miss it - I just wish it would have sold better when we did have it. They're starting to gear a lot of the stores in different directions. My store is a core store - which most of them are. Our store in Troy was changed to a Play/Kid's Home store, and our store in Novi was changed to a play store. They do VERY well selling exclusively children's merchandise. Laurel Park and Sterling Heights are now Spotlight stores. They are very similar to core stores, but their inventory and selection are better, and they tend to carry more adult lines. On the issue of free shipping: If your catalog does not say "free shipping" on the cover, call your DS and ask if their's does. Store copies usually do. If it does, just ask for the source code off of the back and use that when placing your order. We are always happy to help our guests out!

 

[JudithM]

The Disney Store at Tysons reopened after being remodeled. I've heard mixed reviews about it, but I have not seen it myself.