Disney To Close Down Sixty Locations In The United States.

After 33 years in business, Disney has decided to downsize on its physical stores.

On Wednesday, Disney announced that it will be closing sixty retail locations within the United States by the end of this year, after which other locations worldwide will be reviewed.

There are around 300 Disney retail stores worldwide, with approximately 200 located in North America, according to the company. The closures will cut Disney's in-person retail presence in the U.S. and Canada by around 25 percent.

According to a statement by the company's President of Consumer Product Games, Stephanie Young, the goal now is to focus on a "more seamless, personalized and franchise-focused e-commerce experience through its shopDisney platform."

ShopDisney, the company’s online store, will expand over the next year and become more integrated with Disney’s theme park apps and social media platforms.

While these changes were definitely amplified by the pandemic, they were not caused by it. The shift from retail locations to online shopping had already begun before the Covid-19 pandemic swept the globe and shifted consumer behavior towards online shopping.

Aside from an increased focus on their ShopDisney website, the company is also maintaining its successful retail partnership with Target, which provides them a physical footprint in more than fifty Target stores.

Disney also plans to shift much of its retail focus and introduce more adult apparel, streetwear, premium home products, and collectibles, a shift from their previous focus on children’s clothes, games, and toys.

It's not clear how many jobs will be lost due to the move. Last September, twenty-eight thousand workers were laid off in the United States alone due to the coronavirus pandemic.