Target To Open Disney Shops Inside Select Stores

Target

Target is bringing some Disney magic into select stores starting this fall.

The retail chain’s CEO, Brian Cornell, told reporters on a conference call this weekend that Target will open 25 Disney-branded stores starting Oct. 4, with 40 more locations opening by October 2020.

In addition, Target launched a Disney-focused online experience on its site Sunday (Aug. 25), and will launch a new store near the entrance of the Walt Disney World Resort in 2021. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“This is a great fit for our brand and theirs,” Cornell said, according to the Associated Press.

The Disney shops in Target will be around 750 square feet, located near children’s clothing and toys. Each location will feature more than 450 items, including more than 100 products that were previously only available at Disney’s own retail stores. The shops will also have music, interactive displays, photo opportunities and a seating area playing Disney movie clips.

For Disney, the deal will help it reach new customers as it experiences weak traffic at the 300 stores it operates globally. Bob Chapek, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, said there’s a 90 percent overlap between Disney and Target customers.

Just last week Target reported earnings and revenue both ahead of analyst expectations, revising its estimates for the rest of the year upward. Target credited its recent upgrade of buy online, pickup in store and its Shipt same-day grocery delivery business among its leading drivers of growth, adding 1.5 percentage points to its overall same-store sales growth.

By the numbers, Target logged earnings per share of $1.82, well ahead of the $1.62 expected by analysts pre-release. All in, profit was up 17 percent year-on-year to $938 million, compared to $799 million, or $1.49 per share at this time in 2018. Revenue increase came in at $18.42 billion, ahead of the $18.34 billion in sales forecast.