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Magic reigns at Disney's resort stores

By John Frantz

In a conservative retail environment, not too many chains begin their store design process by asking "What if?" At Walt Disney World's retail stores division, the question is a given, and it has resulted in unique store designs at the resort.

"We have 300 locations and no two are alike," said Tony Mancini, vice president of retail store development for Walt Disney Attractions, Orlando, Fla. The division, which plans the retail stores at Walt Disney World, is separate from The Disney Store, Burbank, Calif.

Mr. Mancini discussed the magic behind Disney's retail store planning at the annual retail design exposition, GlobalShop, in Chicago in March.

His team is constantly challenging itself by straddling a fine line between visual magic and practicality. It was the "what if" approach that produced the story line for a Disney sports product store. The store sells sports apparel, but uses life-sized Disney characters to model the fashions or draw attention to them. A football-playing Disney character is a natural to sell National Football League jerseys, but what if the Disney character was being tackled by a menacing group of big linemen? Team members tossed that idea around in a typical brainstorming session, Mr. Mancini recalled. The "what if" process resulted in a ceiling that is a contorted, football field viewed from underneath. In the middle of the mural is a Disney character with football still in hand, but an army of linemen have him squashed face down on the ceiling.

The "what if" strategy created a dynamic visual at another Disney store, but one that challenged the physical limitations of glass windows. To create an eye-catching display, Disney store planners conceived of football players crashing through the front windows; mannequins actually protrude through the store's front windows.

Higher than normal ceilings also help with graphics and signage, which typically are oversized to draw the shopper's eye. Rarely does a Disney store miss an opportunity to fill an entire wall with either a photograph or hand-painted mural. The larger the wall the better, but only tall ceilings can help create Disney's larger-than-life displays.

Mr. Mancini heads a staff of store creators that he calls "story writers." Every Disney store is a new story that was conceived and written first, then later planned and constructed, he explained.

Initially, Mr. Mancini said, he doesn't want his staff to be limited by logistics, materials or space requirements. He wants ideas first. Then it is the rest of the department's job to take an idea and turn it into a store with hammers, nails, wood and plaster.

More so than other retailers, Disney World's retail division is looking for towering 40-foot-high ceilings, magnificent glass-clad storefronts and any other accoutrements to help turn each new location into a one-of-a-kind, magical store.

A Disney store is an environment that combines fixture design, murals, sculpting, technology, merchandise presentation and store design to identify and reinforce brand, he said.

Unlike the more frugal cookie-cutter approach many retail chains take today, Disney carefully analyzes each location's demographics and plans an experience that is unlike any other store in the area.

"We want our guests to have an experience in background music, video, a sense of smell, touch, an emotional experience, photo opportunities, flow of merchandise, presentation strategy and lighting as to the period of time it reflects," Mr. Mancini said.

While many retailers are content with low ceilings that function only as support structures for suspended ceilings, lighting and temporary signage, Disney's store planning has made the upper third of the store space as integral as the prime space at eye-level. For example, the 40-foot-high ceiling at the World of Disney store in Orlando has suspended displays that replicate flying machines from Disney movies.

High ceilings give a store a museum appearance and create a spectacle that keeps guests shopping longer, according to Mr. Mancini.

Most store fixtures are custom-made to complement the displayed product or accent the theme and story line of the store. One store that depicts a train station uses whimsical Art Deco replicas of a ticket window for point of purchase. Custom-made fixtures that depict 1930s train station luggage carts also serve as functional displays that hold plenty of merchandise. While a few store fixtures are stock items from manufacturers, most are custom-designed and either made by a Disney department or a custom fixture manufacturer.

One misconception other companies have about Disney stores is that there are no cost constraints.

"That's not so. We have budgets we have to meet, too," Mr. Mancini said. He did not say what those budgets are, however.

While most staff meetings in other businesses are staid, serious events, department meetings for Team Disney are fun-packed creative sessions where team members never know what to expect from Mr. Mancini.

"Don't let creative challenges defeat you," he said. "To create new and exciting stores, you must go into the fourth dimension where you see things that don't exist. You've got to climb into the shoppers' minds if you're going to create something that will prompt them to buy."