Disney Consumer Products (DCP) today announced that 2006 will bethe best year ever for boys. Driven by the tremendous success ofDisney*Pixar's "Cars," the establishment of "Pirates of the Caribbean"as a long-term franchise and the ongoing popularity of "PowerRangers," Disney is reaching boys with everything from die-cast,action figures and bikes to MP3 players, video games and books.
"With the strength of our entertainment, we knew 2006 would be theyear we became a power house boys player," said Andy Mooney, chairmanof Disney Consumer Products. "Similar to DCP's girl's portfolio, whichis the best in the industry, our boy's portfolio offers everythingfrom the whimsical 'Cars' and 'Toy Story' characters to the heroicrite of passage that is 'Power Rangers' for younger boys, to thecooler, more aspirational 'Pirates of the Caribbean' brand for theolder boy."
"Power Rangers" - DCP's #1 Boys Brand
DCP kicked-off its year experiencing strong demand for "PowerRangers" action figures, its perennial boy's property, during theHoliday 05 season. In 2005, "Power Rangers" was ranked second in theaction figure category behind "Star Wars," according to The NPD Group.Next year's theme will be called "Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive.""Power Rangers" airs more than 65 times each week in over 40territories worldwide, and continues to expand worldwide withsuccessful launches in Italy, India and other countries this year.
Disney*Pixar's "Cars" - phenomenal success
The tremendous anticipation of "Cars" before the film was releasedcombined with the huge box office opening resulted in record-breakingretail sales for merchandise based on a Disney*Pixar theatrical film.The film's humor, story and character personalities were incorporatedinto its products, which featured many category firsts for aDisney*Pixar film, including the first power ride-on, kids electronicsline and bedroom suite. Currently, "Cars" is recording 10 to 1 moreretail volume than "Finding Nemo" at the same point in its release.DCP plans to expand and refresh product with new creative style guidesfor fall and beyond. Large retailers have already committed to "Cars"feature shops for the entire months of November and December tomaximize the DVD release.
"Pirates of the Caribbean" - evergreen boy's franchise
On July 7, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" willrelease to theaters and reignite a pirate frenzy that started in 2003."Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" recorded morethan $650m in global box office sales, and "Dead Man's Chest" is oneof the most highly-anticipated events of the summer. With ongoingentertainment support, DCP is positioning "Pirates of the Caribbean"as an evergreen boy's franchise, comparable in opportunity to its"Disney Princess" franchise for girls.
Since the audience for "Pirates of the Caribbean" is so broad, DCPlooked to create innovative product and edgy creative designs formultiple consumers. Toy licensee, Zizzle's Black Pearl playset wasalready chosen for Toy Wishes "Hot Summer Toys" list, a high-endapparel and jewelry line tied into the current Pirates fashion trendwill launch to specialty stores, and Disney Publishing developed thelargest live-action publishing series ever -- including the latestnovel, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (junior novel),currently on the New York Times children's best-seller list. "Piratesof the Caribbean" product will be featured in all key categoriesrepresented at major retailers worldwide.
"Toy Story" - 10 Years Strong
And let's not forget about Woody and Buzz. Ten years from itsinitial release, the "Toy Story" franchise continues to show growth atretailers like Target, which showed double-digit growth in "Toy Story"merchandise sales this year. Additionally, "Toy Story" is thebest-selling boy's property at Disney Store North America, with newBuzz Lightyear and friends product in all key categories featured inmore than 100 stores.
For more information, please visit: www.disneyconsumerproducts.com
About Disney Consumer Products
Disney Consumer Products (DCP) is the business segment of The WaltDisney Company (NYSE:DIS) that extends the Disney brand to merchandiseranging from apparel, toys, home decor and books to interactive games,food and beverages, stationery, electronics and animation art. This isaccomplished through the work of DCP's various lines of business:Disney Toys, Disney Softlines, Disney Home, Disney Food, Health &Beauty, Disney Stationery, Disney Publishing, Buena Vista Games, BabyEinstein, the Muppets Holding Company and Disney Shopping, Inc.'scatalog and disneyshopping.com. The Disney Store, which debuted in1987, also falls under DCP, through stores currently owned andoperated by unaffiliated third parties under licensing agreements inNorth America and Japan, and wholly owned stores in Europe.
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