Walt Disney and Roy Disney–both brothers founded the Walt Disney Company at the back of a small office belonging to Holly-Vermont Realty in Los Angeles in 1923. Together with a small group of staff, they produced their first animated films titled the Alice Comedies. In 1929 after the leadership success at Walt Disney, the company restructured to a corporation. This action incorporated the Walt Disney Productions, Disney Film Recording Company, Walt Disney Enterprises, and Liled Realty and Investment Company. The company renamed to Walt Disney Productions expanded its operations into real estates and the merchandise divisions (De Groote, 2011). The Company was officially incorporated in 1938 and traded issued its first stock of preferred shares to the public in 1940. In 1954 the company launched an original series by the name Disneyland which inspired the idea of developing a place where children and their parents could have fun at the same time. This lead to the construction of Disneyland in Anaheim, California which opened to the public in 1955.
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The success of Disneyland as a major attraction for visitors from all over the world prompted an expansion of the project which leads to the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971. After a series of releasing various PG-rated films from 1979, Walt Disney launched The Disney Channel in 1983 as a subscription channel that provided a wide catalog of classic films together with other third-party materials. The company name was officially changed to Walt Disney Company in 1986, and it opened its first Disney store the following year in Glendale, California where they sold exclusive Disney character merchandise. Walt Disney Company acquired Cities Capital which was a successful television network for $19 billion in 1995 after board members and stakeholders from both groups agreed to the acquisition plan (Bohas, 2014). In March 2005, Eisner who was the current Chief Executive officer at the Walt Disney Company resigned from his position after a series of accusations leveled against him by the son of the company’s co-founder Roy Disney. Eisner was replaced by his assistant Robert Iger who is still the current Chief Executive Officer.
The Walt Disney Company is remarkably one of the largest media companies around the globe. It operates four segments which include: media networks, resorts and parks, consumer merchandise and studio entertainment. The media network operates various cable services such as ESPN and Disney channels that produce their channels and acquire rights to air programs from other parties (Bohas, 2014). The Studio entertainment segment is tasked with the production and distribution of animated and action motion pictures worldwide. The consumer segment engages in the delivery of Disney products through the Disney stores. The section also licenses its brand name to other publishers, game developers, and retailers through media platforms globally. Walt Disney owns parks and resorts in the United States, Japan, France among other countries that generate revenue from sales of tickets, beverages, and merchandise. They also provide accommodation services and rent out vacation properties. All these hotels and parks are managed by the parks and resorts segment of the Walt Disney Company.
Currently, the market capitalization of the Walt Disney companies together with its subsidiaries and associates stands at $154.5 billion according to the securities exchange
Walt Disney Company is a global enterprise that faces competition from other well-established brands. In the cable network industry, Walt Disney has the most market share at 11.92% followed closely by the twentieth fox century incorporated at 10.27%. The company’s market share of the studio entertainment stands at 6.49% with the Time Warner Incorporated taking the most significant share at a combined percentage of 18.79%. The consumer products of the company are the second most preferred with a share of 10.94% losing out to Mattel Inc which has a share of 11.55% (Peteraf, Gamble, & Thompson, 2014). The company’s share of the interactive media is the least among all segments at 1.24% being overshadowed by the dominant Microsoft Corporation at 62.78%. Parks and resorts command a market share of 25.09% with their closest rivals being Carnival Corporation at 20.9%. The company reported a net income of $8,98 billion for 2017 which is a drop from 2016’s $9.39 billion, but there is still anticipation for the profits to rise as the year has not yet ended. The shares of the company are traded at a high of$102.61 and a low of $102.81. Fortune 500 companies ranked the Walt Disney Company at position 52 in the year 2017. This is a reliable indicator of how a lucrative venture the company has become over the years. The ranking was an improvement from 2016 when the company stood at position fifty-three.
The Walt Disney Company has continued to be a success story over the years since its inception in 1923. However, this should not be a reason for them to relax on their affairs in the hope that a more formidable corporation will not arise and dethrone them from the position they currently enjoy. Their theme parks’ which is one of their pillar segments have continued to be a global attraction for individuals across the world. It is therefore paramount for the company to continue upgrading and updating their parks with other attractions and innovations that will boost the attendance to the parks by attracting other clients and retaining the existing ones (De Groote, 2011). The surge in the number of people arriving at the parks will create a demand for hotels. Disney can tap into this opportunity by developing more resorts to cater for the client’s accommodation needs through their parks and resorts well known worldwide, therefore, boosting their market visibility even in the absence of aggressive promotion campaigns. The demand for sports viewership and programming is expected to grow due to the technological advances that continue to occur in the world. ESPN management should expand its acquisition of programming rights as much as possible so that the channel can benefit from increased subscription fees when the demand soars. The revenues from this channel will increase further due to the growth in advertising revenues from the platform.
In conclusion, the popularity of streaming videos on handheld devices as opposed to streaming on televisions is gaining traction in the world. Many advertisers are shifting from paid advertisements on television sets to advertising streaming services on handheld devices. This change in consumer behavior necessitated Walt Disney Company to launch a streaming service, Disney Life, in the United Kingdom to adapt to these changes (Collins, Montgomery, 1997). Expansion of this streaming service to other countries will be a crucial fuel of growth for the Walt Disney Company as it is still growing and many organizations are embracing the idea. The necessary resources should be deployed to make these goals achievable.
- Bohas, A. (2014). Transnational Firms and the Knowledge Structure: The Case of the Walt Disney Company. Global Society, 29(1), 23-41.
- Collis, D. J., & Montgomery, C. A. (1997). Corporate strategy: Resources and the scope of the firm.
- De Groote, P. (2011). Globalisation Of Commercial Theme Parks Case: the Walt Disney Company. Applied Studies In Agribusiness And Commerce, 5(3-4), 21-28.
- Peteraf, M., Gamble, J., & Thompson Jr, A. (2014). Essentials of strategic management: The quest for competitive advantage. McGraw-Hill Education.