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Tag: disney

  • Disney’s Netflix competitor to debut November 12th

    Disney’s Netflix competitor to debut November 12th

    Disney+, the entertainment giant’s video streaming service, will launch on November 12th. The service will be priced at $6.99 per month or $69.99 for a year. Company CEO Bob Iger shared a screenshot of the Disney+ UI on his Twitter site, and it features rows of rectangular icons. While each rectangle represents a different movie or show, there are also rectangles for different categories of content including those produced by Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.

    Subscribers to Disney+ will be able to set up different profiles for those living under one roof. Profiles for kids will automatically feature parental controls. All content can be downloaded for offline viewing, and the service will be available for smartphones and tablets, desktop browsers, game consoles, and smart TVs. Since Disney now owns a majority stake in video streamer Hulu following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox, it plans to offer a combined subscription price for Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu.

    Iger has said previously that Disney would take things slow in regard to its streaming venture. As a result, a previous report stated that Disney+ will launch with 500 films from the Disney library along with over 7,000 episodes from Disney TV. In addition, there will be original programming including a show based on Disney’s successful High School Musical franchise and another one based on Monster Inc. There also will be a series based on Star Wars that focuses on a bounty hunter like Boba Fett, and one produced by Marvel that has to do with the Avengers characters. Some proprietary programming will come from Pixar. One forecast has Disney spending $1 billion on original programming in 2020, rising to $2 billion by 2024.

    Some of the programming will make use of the Disney and 21st Century Fox television libraries. All episodes of The Simpsons will be on the platform from the first day, and episodes of Malcolm in the Middle will also be available.

    Just before Disney+ launches in November, the company will blow up the Disney Vault. This is where classic Disney movies were kept from public release until they were each made available for a limited time. Disney CEO Iger says that all Disney movies will be available to be exclusively streamed on Disney+. Disney films released this year will make their way to Disney+ after all theater and home entertainment options have expired. Frozen II, the sequel to the hugely popular animated movie, is expected in theaters this November. It will be a Disney+ exclusive when it is offered on the platform during the summer of 2020.

    The company expects to have 60 million to 90 million subscribers by the end of 2024, with U.S. consumers accounting for one-third of subscribers.

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  • Disney’s video streaming service will be a dream come true

    Disney’s video streaming service will be a dream come true

    Back in November, we told you that Disney’s video streaming service, which will compete with Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and Apple, is going to be called Disney+. According to Polygon, during the entertainment giant’s stockholders meeting last week, company CEO Bob Iger passed along some information related to the streaming service. Perhaps the most exciting bit of news that the executive revealed is something that will make Disney fans open their wallets as soon as the service is launched. Disney+ will offer “the entire Disney motion picture library.”
    If you’ve ever watched the Disney Channel, you know that Disney only offers a title on DVD for a limited time, and then locks it back into the Disney Vault for a number of years before it is released again. But once Disney+ is launched, the Vault gets blown up. Besides all of those classics and more recent hits (including Frozen), Iger says that there will be some original programming including a live action Star Wars series called The Mandalorian.
    In case you were wondering, Iger says that new theatrical releases will take about a year to go from silver screen to your phone screen. Disney+ will “combine both the old and the new,” the CEO said. “All of the films that we’re releasing this year, starting with Captain Marvel, will also be on the service.”
    “The service, which I mentioned earlier is going to launch later in the year, is going to combine what we call library product, movies, and television, with a lot of original product as well, movies and television. And at some point fairly soon after launch it will house the entire Disney motion picture library, so the movies that you speak of that traditionally have been kept in a ‘vault’ and brought out basically every few years will be on the service. And then, of course, we’re producing a number of original movies and original television shows as well that will be Disney-branded.”-Bog Iger, CEO, Disney
    While Iger didn’t reveal a launch date for Disney+, he did say that the service will debut later this year.
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  • Shanghai Disney Resort opens out-of-town store in Suzhou

    Shanghai Disney Resort opens out-of-town store in Suzhou

    Shanghai Disney Resort has opened its first retail store outside of Shanghai in nearby Suzhou.

    The Suzhou Village Shanghai Disney Resort Store offers more than 500 items of merchandise (some of it exclusive to the Shanghai location), immersive ambience and entertainment, with a focus on extending the brand’s current market.

    The Suzhou store is the third Disney Resort location outside of the main resort premises.

    Shanghai Disney Resort comprises a Disneyland theme park and two themed hotels, as well as a Disneytown dining and retail district and Wishing Star Park recreation area.

  • Find the Perfect Piece of Pokémon Jewelry at U-TREASURE

    Find the Perfect Piece of Pokémon Jewelry at U-TREASURE

    Japanese jewellery brand U-Treasure has released a series of Pokemon-themed merchandise.

    The firm launched the “Pikachu Electric Motif” collection of rings for men and women to be available from the U-Treasure Shinjuku store in Tokyo and the K.uno Meitetsu store in Nagoya, as well as online. The rings will be available in platinum, yellow gold, and white gold as well as blends, and diamond-studded engagement and wedding rings are available. All the rings feature the Pikachu character.

    U-Treasure has also announced the re-release of its popular “Poke Ball” accessory case.

    The accessory brand has also released branded jewellery featuring Sailor Moon, Disney, and Star Wars.

    View the gallery below (6 images) :

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  • Global Brands to Sell US Licensing Businesses to Differential Brands

    Global Brands to Sell US Licensing Businesses to Differential Brands

    Global Brands Group is to sell a substantial part of its North American branded business to Differential Brands Group for US$1.38 billion.

    The move, announced at the release of its annual results yesterday, will allow it to cut debt, pay a modest special dividend to shareholders and free capital to grow “a more focused business”, the company said. It will also result in about half of its 7000 staff leaving the company.

    Global Brands Group is currently carrying about $1.1 billion of debt, much of it related to its 2014 spin-off from Li & Fung and subsequent listing.

    The assets to be transferred include licences for Disney, Star Wars, Calvin Klein, Under Armour, Tommy Hilfiger, Bebe, Joe’s, Buffalo David Bitton, Frye, Michael Kors, Cole Haan, Kenneth Cole and the BCBG Max Azria label which it bought last year for $27.4 million after the company filed for bankruptcy.

    CEO Bruce Rockowitz said the sale was the outcome of a strategic review of the business.

    “We concluded that divesting the portion of our business that has a high present-day value, was the way to move forward. With this transaction, the group will be able to improve our balance sheet significantly and simplify our organisation, while focusing on the less established lines of business where we see high growth potential going forward.”

    Subject to shareholder approval, the deal will see Global Brands Group become “simpler, flatter and more nimble”.

    The company said that on the branded product side, the group’s European and Asian businesses will remain as before, while its US business will now focus on footwear and its remaining fashion business. Brand Management will continue to be managed on a global basis.

    “Looking ahead, we will continue to attract new licenses to our portfolio with a tighter and deeper focus on our businesses,” said Rockowitz. “At the same time, we will continue to improve the efficiency of our existing businesses, delivering synergies across our platforms. In addition, we have embarked on a significant cost reduction program across the organisation and we are committed to improving our cash flow via a combination of tighter working capital management, and even stronger cost discipline.”

    Revenue up but write-downs cost

    For the year to March 31, Global Brands Group increased its revenue by 3.4 per cent to $4.023 billion.

    However sales were impacted by Coach taking its footwear business in-house after their licence expired in June last year, and the cessation of the Quiksilver kids fashion licence when the company declared bankruptcy.

    Total margin increased from 28.5 per cent to 31.2 per cent, however operating costs increased by 37.3 per cent to $1.254 billion, driven largely by transition costs for new licenses in men’s and women’s fashion and additional operation expenses for running the new brands.

    The group also made one-off, non-cash adjustments in relation to impairments from the write-off of a receivable arising from a loan made by the company, and various intangible assets, which totalled $94 million.

    “In addition, taking into account this strategic divestment, the external market condition and business performance, the group performed an impairment test and recognised a non-cash goodwill impairment of $1.05 billion during the financial year,” the company said. That resulted in a net loss of $887 million for the year, however earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation was steady at $379 million.

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  • Disney toys return to McDonald’s Happy Meals

    Disney toys return to McDonald’s Happy Meals

    McDonald’s USA and the Walt Disney on Tuesday announced their first Happy Meal promotion partnership since ending a previous relationship in 2006, after the fast-food chain slimmed down its menu for kids.

    Their last exclusive, 10-year cross-promotional deal was reportedly worth US$1 billion to Disney, according to the Los Angeles Times. McDonald’s Corp paid US$100 million in royalties and conducted 11 promotions a year for Disney movies and television shows and opened restaurants inside its theme parks, the Times reported.

    The new multi-year, non-exclusive agreement will begin in June with promotions, including Disney movie-themed Happy Meal toys, for “Incredibles 2,” followed in the autumn by “Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2.”

    Executives from both companies declined to disclose the duration or value of the new deal.

    A McDonald’s spokeswoman said the new pact does not include any agreement on restaurants in parks but added: “We will continue to explore ways to bring this alliance to life.”

    Disney introduced voluntary guidelines in 2006 that prohibited licensing of Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters for foods that fail to meet minimum nutrition requirements.

    That same year, an Institute of Medicine report said junk food marketing contributed to childhood obesity.

    McDonald’s since 2006 has taken numerous steps to make Happy Meals more nutritious and less fattening. Changes included adding fruit side options, cutting french fry portions and using menus to encourage consumers to order water rather than sugary soda.

    In June 2018, all Happy Meals offered on McDonald’s U.S. menu boards in the United States will contain 600 calories or less, 10 percent of calories from saturated fat and 10 percent of calories from added sugar. More than three-quarters will have 650 mg of sodium or less.

    Consultants and franchisees say Happy Meals account for roughly 15 percent of McDonald’s U.S. sales. The company does not break out product sales, but said family trips represent 30 percent of all visits to McDonald’s around the world.

  • Disney And Alibaba’s Youku Sign Licensing Deal For Animation Shows

    Disney And Alibaba’s Youku Sign Licensing Deal For Animation Shows

    Chinese online retail giant Alibaba and U.S. media and entertainment giant Walt Disney have inked a licensing deal which will see animation series from the latter become available on the Youku online video streaming service owned by the former. The multi-year agreement was signed by a unit of Disney, Buena Vista International, and Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group.

    Besides subscribers of the Youku streaming service, Chinese households numbering nearly 30 million who use the set-top boxes of Alibaba as well as SmartTV platforms will access the Disney content. Episodes numbering over 1,000 are expected to be streamed on Youku. Besides the television shows Disney films such as Mulan, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, and Pirates of the Caribbean are also part of the deal.

    More international content

    “We look forward to further cooperation with global entertainment companies, which will help increase our penetration in the family entertainment segment and strengthen Youku’s position as a leading multi-screen entertainment and media platform in China,” Youku’s president, Yang Weidong, said in a statement.

    Other U.S. entertainment companies that Youku has previously struck licensing deals with include NBCUniversal, Fox, Paramount and Warner Bros. Youku also has a licensing deal with Sony Pictures Television. Last year in November Youku inked a licensing agreement with Netflix allowing its subscribers to view the show Day and Night on its platform. Per Alibaba, about 580 devices are reached by Youku daily and this translates to about 1.2 billion views.

    Joint venture

    Two years ago Walt Disney and Alibaba launched a joint venture known as DisneyLife which gave the Chinese online access to content from the media and entertainment giant. However regulators shut down DisneyLife after months after launch. Last year in May Walt Disney set up an online store on the Alibaba-owned e-commerce website, Tmall, to sell its merchandise in China.

    The deal with Youku comes at a time when Walt Disney is preparing to unveil an online video streaming service in the United States as consumers increasingly abandon traditional cable and satellite services for platforms such as Netflix. The chief executive officer of Walt Disney, Bob Iger, has indicated that the planned online streaming platform won’t be expensive to start since the media and entertainment giant already has lots of existing content.

    Alibaba’s licensing agreement with Disney coincides with the Chinese online retail giant acquiring a 15% in retail firm Easyhome as it expands on its ‘click and mortar’ retailing strategy. Easyhome has a total of 223 brick and mortar stores in China.

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  • Cath Kidston to change focus on expansion

    Cath Kidston to change focus on expansion

    As Cath Kidston China scales back because of diluted profits, the British handmade accessory chain is rolling out an expansion in other parts of Asia.

    It’s prime focus is Japan, where it plans to nearly double its presence over the next three years. South Korea and Thailand are the next two markets flagged for growth.

    CEO Kenny Wilson says the company plans to expand to about 55 stores in Japan, a decision based on two independent studies. Known for its flowery prints, the brand is likely to pop up soon in prime spots such as Tokyo’s Shibuya and Shinjuku shopping districts as well as cities like Chiba and Shizuoka.

    Cath Kidston also plans to bolster its online presence by creating synergy between its physical stores and e-commerce shop.

    Wilson believes the brand’s initial success in Japan comes from its “pretty, feminine, cute and colourful” products. “I think people in Japan like our business, because they love handcraft.” Each Cath Kidston print is hand drawn.

    Meanwhile, the brand has been growing about 20 per cent on average across Asia Pacific and expects the demand for design-focused accessories to increase against a backdrop of continued economic growth.

    It has upped its output of leather products, tapping into the business market, while collaborative items with Disney have also helped boost sales.

    As high rents cut into profitability, the company has shifted its strategy in China. This will see it close more shops and concentrate on e-commerce.

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  • Disney tests new prototype stores online and offline

    Disney tests new prototype stores online and offline

    Disney is testing a new prototype store design in Shanghai, China and Nagoya, Japan as well as other cities in the US and Europe.

    According to the company, the new design combines innovative technology, storytelling and cast-member interaction to take “Disney magic to retail” through special learning and play activities, personalised celebrations for guests and a daily live stream of a Disney Parks parade.

    The US stores are in Century City and Northridge in California and Miami, Florida, with another scheduled to open in Munich, Germany, later this year.

    “No one creates experiences like Disney, and our pilot stores will be testing grounds for interactive features that will differentiate the Disney shopping experience in the changing retail landscape,” said Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media chairman Jimmy Pitaro.

    Meanwhile, Disney has revamped its online experiencing, launching ShopDisney.com which it says offers an unparalleled assortment of Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel products across categories that include fashion, accessories, toys and home. It sells “best-in-class brands,” as well as authentic products from Disney Parks and Disney Store.

    “Online, ShopDisney is the ultimate destination for the most extensive collection of curated merchandise from our stores, parks and licensed partners,” said Pitaro. “This combination creates a powerful omnichannel experience that represents the next generation of Disney retail.”

    The website and prototype stores are both designed with dynamic layouts that spotlight product and content but allow the flexibility to feature the different worlds of Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel as new content debuts. Both also offer expanded product assortments for guests of all ages.

    “ShopDisney’s vast selection of merchandise across a wide range of categories reflects the Company’s commitment to creating products tailored for different audience demographics, from kids and families to millennials, as well as to innovating beyond the traditional and expected,” the company said.

    “The online destination features co-branded products and elevated collaborations from top brands such as Coach, Le Creuset, Spyder, Steiff and more, as well as new and exclusive capsule collections from fashion-forward brands on ShopDisney’s “The IT List,” home to “new, now and noteworthy” items guests won’t find anywhere else.

    “We know our fans are looking for a one-stop shop to find the most compelling product out there and with shopDisney we are uniquely positioned to curate the very best of Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel merchandise,” said Paul Gainer, executive VP for Disney retail. “We’ve also added product categories and brands that speak to new audiences following the success of our collaborations in the fashion space.”

    There will also be new items geared toward an expanded audience in the prototype stores, which go beyond their traditionally child-centric assortment to incorporate more product for guests of all ages. The prototype stores will use digital elements, such as giant LED screens, to present custom-designed guest experiences – including the Live from Disney Parks parade stream every afternoon and a nightly digital fireworks display on the store’s giant storefront screen – to reflect Disney’s storytelling tradition and create magical experiences for local communities that, in many cases, may be far from a Disney theme park.

    “We are a storytelling company and our vision was to create a retail space that reflected our heritage,” said Gainer. “Our stores are destinations and gathering places for fans of our iconic brands, and are often their closest physical Disney touch point so creating an authentic brand experience is key.”

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  • Disney’s created in Japan franchise reaches US$2 billion revenue worldwide

    Disney’s created in Japan franchise reaches US$2 billion revenue worldwide

    “We couldn’t be more proud of Tsum Tsum’s Japanese-origins and its international appeal,” said Paul Candland, President, Walt Disney Asia. “Tsum Tsum connects with fans across multiple platforms and experiences and is proving to be a successful channel to introduce new intellectual property.”

    – According to LINE the game has been played over 165.4 billion times worldwide since its debut, with nearly 61.8 trillion Tsums cleared in the course of the gameplay.
    – With Tsum’s measuring an average of 7mm across (the size when played on a 4.7-inch smartphone), then 61.8 trillion Tsums would form a line 432 million kilometers long the distance from Earth to Mars and back.
    – The Tsum that players spent the most skill tickets to level up is Cinderella, followed by Beast (from “Beauty and the Beast”) and Maleficent Dragon (from “Sleeping Beauty”).

    From its humble beginnings as a popular plush toy from the Disney Store Japan, Tsum Tsum’s expanded franchise experience now spans every Disney consumer touch point including fashion, lifestyle and consumer electronics attracting a wide consumer base from boys and girls, as well as young adults. The stackable toys also have their own show with animated episodes available online and on Disney Channel as well as Tsum Tsum Tuesdays, which is now a popular subscription service in the U.S. From classic Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Princess to Buzz Lightyear and Darth Vader, Tsum Tsum encompasses the appeal and affinity of Disney’s key brands – Disney, Disney•Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars.

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  • Some bright future for Bossini International

    Some bright future for Bossini International

    Overall revenue fell 11 per cent for apparel retailer Bossini International during the first half of its financial year.

    However, its interim results to December 31, showed an improvement in gross margin – by four points to 51 per cent, attributed to more effective sales and marketing strategies. Profit for the period attributable to the owners increased by 20 per cent.

    The Hong Kong and Macau market, the Mainland China market and the Taiwan market showed signs of having bottomed out, says the company, with same-store gross profit level after a period of negative growth for more than a year.

    With a footprint across 28 countries, the group says it is still optimistic in the long run, adding 16 shops during the half-year.

    Its revenue for the six months was HK$1.022 billion (US$131.6 million), down 11 per cent from HK$1.146 billion in the same period a year earlier. Gross profit slipped 4 per cent to HK$519
    million.

    For directly managed stores, same-store sales in Hong Kong and Macau fell 6 per cent, a slight improvement, and Mainland China and Taiwan stores performed similarly, declining by 2 per cent. Same-store sales in Singapore dropped by 8 per cent compared to per cent in the previous first half. The group’s overall same-store sales slipped 6 per cent.

    At December 31, the Group had 952 stores, up five from six months earlier. Directly managed stores grew to 287 from 280, while franchised stores dropped by two to 665.

    The group continued its strategy of working with licensing partners to strengthen brand recognition and boost sales. Three licensing programs were launched in the first half of the financial year, working with Disney and Universal Studios.

  • Disney Resort expected to bring realty-and-retail boom to Shanghai

    Disney Resort expected to bring realty-and-retail boom to Shanghai

    Lu Jianxin, a real estate agent with Shanghai Huayu Property Ltd, has had some of his busiest business weeks in January since he joined the sector in 2002. Lu receives more than 50 phone calls every day asking him if he can find unoccupied retail properties near Shanghai Disney Resort, the long-anticipated multi-billion-dollar amusement project that is scheduled to open this summer (June).

    Typically, Lu tells his callers they should have acted earlier. “Supplies of retail properties are really limited now and prices have more than doubled in the past 12 months. Obviously, investors believe that even a 10 square meter space for a noodle stand will be really profitable if it is close enough to Disneyland,” said Lu.

    Disney Resort expected to bring realty-and-retail boom to Shanghai

    It’s not just business-minded people who are all excited about Shanghai Disney. Even 13-year-old Zhang Zihao in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, can’t wait for Disney to open its gates. He has been saving his pocket money for a long time so he could visit Shanghai Disney Resort during the summer vacation.

    “The admission ticket price is expected to be announced this week. I have saved 500 yuan ($75.92) so far for the ticket alone, and another 1,000 yuan for dining and accommodation, and another 500 yuan for merchandise like stuffed animals, stationery, T-shirts and gifts for friends. That’s about 2,000 yuan in total.”

    The project has been under construction for more than six years now. Jun 16－that is, 6-16-2016－has been apparently chosen as the date of opening because the three 6s are believed to be auspicious, heralding success.

    Real estate professionals believe any success of Shanghai Disney Resort would entail all-round benefits for the area. For example, visitors in huge numbers would likely spark a retail boom in Shanghai.

    According to Centaline Property Agency, the average price of commercial properties within a 5 kilometer radius of Shanghai Disney Resort, including shops and restaurants, has grown more than 300 percent in the past five years.

    What used to cost some 20,000 yuan per square meter in 2011 would now command a price of more than 60,000 yuan per square meter. Some properties are even priced more than 72,000 yuan per square meter, about 50 percent higher than that of other suburban areas in Shanghai.

    The growth rate is among the highest for premier locations such as Nanjing Road, Huaihai Road and Lujiazui.

    In comparison, the average price of residential properties in the same area doubled from 20,000 yuan per square meter to 40,000 yuan per square meter in the same period, similar to that of the city’s average growth rate.

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  • This Mickey Mouse-shaped streaming device will bring Disney to China

    This Mickey Mouse-shaped streaming device will bring Disney to China

    Call it a Trojan mouse if you like: this is the streaming device that will bring Disney content to China. The $125 Mickey Mouse-shaped gadget was unveiled this week as part of a multiyear licensing agreement between The Walt Disney Company and China’s retailing giant Alibaba, offering access to everything Disney, from films to e-books.

    The gadget is superficially similar to devices like Google’s Chromecast or Amazon’s Fire TV, plugging into customers’ TVs and streaming digital content from the internet. However, instead of offering TV shows and movies from a range of different publishers, it’s only connected to a single subscription service: DisneyLife. This on-demand digital library first launched in the UK in November, and offers access not only to Disney’s films, cartoons, games, e-books, and songs, but also lets customers buy Disney merchandise and plan trips to Disneyland theme parks.

    The devices will ship from December 28th, and the $125 retail price will include a year’s subscription to DisneyLife. Neither Alibaba nor Disney revealed how much subscriptions would cost after this initial period, but in the UK — where the service launched without a Mickey Mouse-shaped streaming box — the fee is $15 a month.

  • Pandora extends alliance with Disney

    Pandora extends alliance with Disney

    Danish jewellery giant Pandora announced it has expanded its strategic alliance with The Walt Disney Company (Disney) to include the Asia Pacific.

    Beginning in November 2015, Pandora will launch its Disney jewellery collection in 13 markets including Australia, China and Japan.

    Pandora chief executive Anders Colding Friis said: “The reception of the Pandora Disney collection in North America has been amazing, and following discussions with Disney, we have together decided to expand the collaboration to include the Asia Pacific.

    “We believe that the collection will fit well with the population in Asia and Australia, and look forward to offer our Disney inspired products to our customers in the region.”

    As part of the alliance, Pandora will be the designated official charm bracelet of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and the upcoming Shanghai Disney Resort.

    In August 2014 Pandora and Disney entered into a strategic alliance to create an original Pandora collection of Disney-themed jewellery.

    The collection is currently sold in Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort and Pandora stores throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central America and the Caribbean.

    The news is reported by the company to have no impact on its outlook for 2015, as latest communicated to the market in connection with its Q2 2015 report on August 11.

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  • Japan’s value fashion brand basks in Disney tie-up

    Japan’s value fashion brand basks in Disney tie-up

    Fast Retailing Company Chairman Tadashi Yanai said Walt Disney’s new park in Shanghai will help his Uniqlo casual wear brand expand in China, shrugging off concerns over an economic slowdown in the Japanese retailer’s largest overseas market.

    “The opening of the Shanghai Disneyland gives both of us, Uniqlo and Disney, a business opportunity,” Chairman Tadashi Yanai said in Shanghai, where Uniqlo will open a new Disney-inspired concept store. “Our business is getting absolutely no impact” from China’s slowdown, he said.

    Uniqlo will devote an entire floor at its six-storey China flagship store in central Shanghai to products co-designed with Disney. A human-sized Mickey Mouse statue greets visitors to the store, where T-shirts and toys depicting characters such as Tinker Bell, Woody of Disney Pixar’s ‘Toy Story’ animated films, and Darth Vader from the ‘Star Wars’ movies are on display.

    Japan’s richest person, Yanai plans to open 100 stores a year in China as Uniqlo competes with Hennes & Mauritz AB’s H & M and Inditex Sa’s Zara to win over consumers in the world’s most-populous country. The Japanese retailer’s design tie-up comes as Disney prepares to open its $5.5 billion Shanghai theme park next year, its biggest foreign investment and a bet on the country’s booming middle-class.

    The Disney collaboration should help Uniqlo boost sales in China “as buzz builds around the opening of Shanghai Disneyland,” said Bloomberg Intelligence retail analyst Thomas Jastrzab. “Expanding store-specific limited edition merchandise offerings should help Uniqlo increase regular foot traffic and improve customer loyalty.”

    Fast Retailing shares are up by 6.3 per cent so far this year, compared with the 3.3 per cent gain in the benchmark Topix index.

    Uniqlo has about 360 stores in mainland China, the most by country outside Japan, where it has almost 850 shops. The company plans to expand its Greater China network, including mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, to 1,000 outlets.

    China is a key market for Fast Retailing as Yanai targets to build Asia’s biggest clothing retailer into the world leader, with a target of 5 trillion yen in sales by 2020 from its forecast of 1.65 trillion yen for the fiscal year ended August 31.

    Yanai said demand for Uniqlo products will increase amid an economic slowdown in China. Everyday clothes with basic designs and advanced materials that Uniqlo sells at affordable prices fit well as China shifts its focus to consumer purchasing from manufacturing, he said.

    “An economic slowdown in China could boost Uniqlo’s sales, particularly as shoppers increasingly look for value-for-money when purchasing clothing essentials such as T-shirts and pants,” Bloomberg’s Jastrzab said.

    China’s apparel and footwear market is highly fragmented, with market leader Bestseller AS, owner of brands such as Jack & Jones and Vera Moda, holding a 1.7 per cent market share by value in 2014, according to Euromonitor International. Uniqlo ranks eighth with 0.6 per cent, while Inditex is ninth with 0.5 per cent and H & M is out of the top 10 with 0.4 per cent.

    “Our concept of manufacturing is fundamentally different and unique,” said Yanai. “We don’t chase trends, but we would rather want to incorporate fashion into our basic clothes.”