Nearly all Disney Stores in US, Canada to close: industry publication Retail-Insider.com

Virtually all locations of the Disney Store in North America will close this summer, a major Canadian publication has reported.

All stores in Canada, and most stores in the United States will close at the end of this summer, reports Retail Insider. The online publication broke the story today, Monday.

DisKingdom has not independently verified the claim, but has no reason to doubt its authenticity.

Disney is paying 18 malls in Canada a fee to break their leases, according to multiple sources that spoke to Retail-Insider. One source tipped them as to the American closure, sharing that only locations like Times Square will stay open.

This is hard to take, and is particularly devastating for the Cast Members, some of whom have worked at the store for decades. It seems so short-sighted, to get rid of what Disney once called their “cultural outposts.”

If you want to read more, just head straight to the source, they sum it up far better than any other outlet could or will. Far be it for DisKingdom.com to regurgitate their reporting.

But what you might be asking is:

“Why should you believe this news? Disney hasn’t confirmed it.”

“And who is Retail Insider, anyway, I’ve never heard of them,” some of you might be saying.

Retail Insider is a publication primarily for retailers and the shopping centre industry themselves, not for the general public. The various Canadian mall landlords stand to gain nothing by saying that Disney has paid to break their leases, unless it’s true.

But what if the reporter was talking to the wrong people at the malls? Very, very unlikely. The story was written by Craig Patterson, the publication’s editor. He’s a retail analyst and consultant at the Retail Council of Canada, a non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of the industry. He’s as “inside” as you can come, so the people he talked to, while anonymous, are legit.

His research was also assisted by Dustin Fuhs, a writer who publishes StepstoMagic.com, and co-hosts The Universal Joint podcast with Jim Hill Media.

Why wasn’t this reported first by CNN? CBC? The New York Times? The Globe and Mail? How did they get the scoop? Simply, the other outlets have business reporters, but those reporters don’t have as deep roots with the retail industry.

More on the story

Best Edmonton Mall, a YouTube channel devoted to the history and future of Canada’s largest mall, created a video today about the closure. It was posted tonight, along with a livestream interview of Patterson and Fuhs.

If you’ve scrolled this far, and still not read the source article, I strongly suggest you do so. It’s the article that every other outlet will be copying, inevitably, at least until Disney finally fesses up.

 

On Sunday, DisKingdom requested comment from Disney about the most recent slate of announced closures, including Mall of America. They have not replied. Today, DisKingdom requested confirmation from Disney on the Retail-Insider.com story. They have not replied.