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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Disney Consumer Products

The first licensed product under the Walt Disney brand was a children’s writing tablet featuring an image of Mickey Mouse— and that hit store shelves in 1929. Fast-forward 80 years and the company licenses and develops products that cater to just about every existing consumer market, generating about $2.7 billion in global annual revenue. Disney Consumer Products, a division of The Walt Disney Co., leads the pack in innovation for the toy industry. But it doesn’t work alone. It relies on its partnerships with its thousands of licensees worldwide to stay in tune with a wide range of markets that range from toddlers to grandmothers, said Mary Beech, Disney Consumer Product’s vice president and general manager, toys and social expressions, North America. “It’s the perfect marriage,” Beech said. “They bring the expertise in their category, and we bring the expertise in the property.” Six key franchises under the division: Disney•Pixar’s Cars, Disney Fairies, Disney Princess, Mickey Mouse, Disney•Pixar’s Toy Story and Winnie The Pooh. And there are newer licenses targeting the boys market, including Marvel and TRON. “We remain focused on merchandising every piece of intellectual property,” Beech said. “Everything still has a market.” Targeting younger consumers can be easy, while appealing to older generations presents challenges for many toy and game companies. Not for Disney. “I think the nostalgia factor has helped us in our sales,” Beech said. “Mothers and grandmothers still remember loving movies like Cinderella and the Little Mermaid. We’re connecting generations.” The popularity of the Disney Princess franchise has been a prime example of how older properties can still have legs. Although the first princess, Disney’s Snow White, was introduced to audiences in 1937, Disney revived all of its princesses 10 years ago with a collection that included fantasy-based toys and entertainment. The response was massive, generating more than $4 billion in global retail sales. And although the company’s licenses are based around its animated movies and television shows, Beech said the success of a product is not dependent on the success of a film. “It’s really about how appealing characters are as toys,” she said. One of the company’s most recent films and hottest properties, Disney•Pixar’s Cars, has had success in both the box office and retail market. To date, the brand’s thriving toys line has resulted in the sale of more than 200 million Cars die-cast vehicles. Disney Consumer Products recently capitalized on the property’s popularity when launching its new application for Apple’s iPad. The interactive e-book’s features allow consumers to record their voice while reading the story and hear it played back as narration. It also includes interactive games such as jigsaw puzzles and coloring pages.

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