Disney Reportedly Planning To Close Most North American Disney Stores

On March 3, Disney announced the closure of at least 60 stores in North America this year (out of roughly 200), as part of a shift to its e-commerce business, ShopDisney. By that point, the House of Mouse had already closed 30 stores worldwide in the pandemic, including 25 in U.S.

Since then, more than 50 branches have been closed or officially earmarked for closure. The report of the Canadian closures, if confirmed, will push the tally beyond 60.

As part of the March 3 announcement, Stephanie Young, Disney’s president of consumer products, games, and publishing, said in a statement:

While consumer behavior has shifted toward online shopping, the global pandemic has changed what consumers expect from a retailer. Over the past few years, we’ve been focused on meeting consumers where they are already spending their time, such as the expansion of Disney store shop-in-shops around the world. We now plan to create a more flexible, interconnected ecommerce experience that gives consumers easy access to unique, high-quality products across all our franchises.