In 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland was opened. Before the open of Hong Kong Disneyland, the public always had a heat debate on whether the park would bring any problems to Hong Kong from the perspective of livelihood and economy. However, nobody realized that disneyization has already been affecting our daily lives. In the following essay, shopping centre Langham Place of Hong Kong will be used as an example to illustrate how shopping culture in Hong Kong are influenced by disneyization. Disneyization was a term brought up by Alan Bryman in 1999. He divided this culture into four parts: theming, dedifferentiation of consumption, merchandising and emotional labour. He argued that these four attributes worked together and built up the success of Disney (Bryman, 1999). To begin with, theming was a tool to attract tourists. In Hong Kong Disneyland, there are different areas with specific theme, such as Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland and Fantasyland. The Park tried to sell unique products suiting these themes. On special festivals like Christmas and Halloween, Disneyland also decorated the park with decorations suiting the festival and introduced different products so as to bring freshness to tourists. Apart from enjoying products they bought, customers could also enjoy …show more content…
There are different themes for different area, such as beauty, causal wear, food court and restaurants. Each area groups shops with the same characteristics. Theming of Langham Place, on one hand, provides convenience to customers who have clear target on what they want to buy. On the other hand, the classification of different shops could build up a unique atmosphere for customers so as to enjoy the process of shopping. Besides, in Chinese New Year, shopping centre would decorate with auspicious messages and arrange activities to build a joyful atmosphere so that customers will be more willing to consume in the
Over the years, the American department store has developed and evolved as not only a commercial business but also a cultural institution. While it has weathered many storms and changes since its inception and throughout history, its most predominant enemy has been a change in the lifestyle of the American people (Whitaker, 2013). As the customer’s needs and wants have shifted, department stores have struggled to keep up with demands. It has been argued that the decline of the department store has been ongoing for the last 50 years (Whitaker, 2013). This dissertation aims to understand how the department store has historically played a role in consumer culture and spending, and additionally, how this has evolved and changed in today’s retail market. Although department stores may not be able to take all the credit for inventing modern shopping, they certainly made its conventions and conveniences commonplace. They set a new standard for the way the consumer should expect to be treated, the type of services that should be provided, and the convenience that should attend the process of acquiring the necessities and niceties of life all in one place. They made shopping into a leisure pastime. This environment meant shopping was a means of freedom to look around, pick up objects with no obligations to buy. As one historian remarked, department stores: “encouraged a perception of the building as a public place, where consumption itself was almost incidental to the delights of a sheltered promenade in a densely crowded, middle-class urban space” (Whitaker, 2006). Although this perception and view of the department store has changed over the years, this paper aims to follow the trail of how and why that happened.
The Disney corporation is easily the greatest empire of entertainment in the world thanks to the creator Walt Disney and his brother. Disney’s influence has been great within culture and society and I learned how much of an influence Disney has had through our course this semester. This influence is reflected and broadcasted through the many works and readings that we examined in class. The articles gave me new knowledge about Disney that I was previously unaware of.
This paper will assess the corporate culture of Walt Disney, addressing the background of the organization, training and teaching, stories, legends and myths associated with the company, philosophy, values, mission statement and the organizational goals of the company.
A basic of Disney theme parks is the Main Street USA zone. This section features highly in all of the parks, usually coming right after the entrance. Key services like Guest Relations are located in this section, inside the "City Hall" (HK Disney Source, 2014). There are a number of elements to the Main Street, USA exhibit, and these will be discussed along with the history of Main Street USA in this paper. In particular, how the different elements of Main Street USA work together are covered. The concept has proven to be long-lasting, even across cultures, because of its magical portrayal of idealized American life, which draws heavily on Walt Disney's own childhood experiences.
Similarly, it is impossible to stay current with the demands of the ever changing shopping environment. As the retail market becomes more and more saturated with an endless string of pop-up stores and emerging brands, retailers are constantly searching for new ways to appeal to different markets. Daniel Herman explains how ‘retail architecture doesn't age; it rises young.’ The ones that grow through expansion and renewal are the opens that keep their originality, the ones that keep their youth and meet the needs of any new generation these are the shops of the future. Furthermore, the retail establishments seem to follow a
Whenever we go out shopping or relaxing at malls, we actually don’t see or recognize any effects of malls as we mostly go there for these two reasons. Malls are an integral part in the lives of America. They are shopping centers that have created a lot of buzz in many writers. This is because we have more malls in America than high schools. Malls have received praises from people like James J. Farrell, Jon Pahl and George Lewis who view malls as not only shopping centers but also as places that provide a reflection of the American culture and serve as centers of pleasure and entertainment. In contrast, William Kowinski and David Gutterson criticize malls for just being an artificial environment that creates disorientation among American shoppers. In my opinion, malls are just magnificent commercial buildings that create a sense of false dreams and imagination.
Disneyland marked the onset of theme parks in the nation, which was carved out of a fantasy tale and it has been the leader for 60 years. And, there was virtually no competition to the attraction quotient that attracted people and tourists to visit the theme park.
In designing the buildings, the storefront is a key focus, with its large public doors, heavy use of glass, display windows, and entrance signage. Much like today, a storefront often serves as its own advertisement to pedestrians or drivers passing by and as such becomes a heavy focus for a store’s design. As in the case of the Kress stores they established their brand in a shiny gold handwritten font over a green back...
The Walt Disney plans to expand its presence in other countries too mainly the emerging market like China that offers great opportunity. Due to its highly advanced infrastructure and higher population, the Disney already made a biggest investment till date on a development and construction of Disneyland theme park in Shanghai, China. The success of Disneyland Hong Kong and the presence of 330 million people that resides within the 3 hour commute to Shanghai allows the Disney to invest $5.5 billion on this theme park. The Disney CEO states that the park will be open for the visitors in the early The company know its various revenue generating streams very well.
Goss argues that developers and designers of the built environment, specifically shopping centers and malls, use the power of place and understanding the structural layout of the space to boost consumption of the retail profits. Shopping centers are separated from the downtown area of shopping, either by distance and/or design. These establishments emerge for many to be the new heart and location for public and social life. In his article The "Magic of the Mall": An Analysis of Form, Function, and Meaning in the Contemporary Retail Built Environment, Goss also argues that the regulation of the spaces within the mall creates an atmosphere of "community" rather than one that is "public". This article’s main argument is that developers manufacture an illusion of doing more than just shopping when designing malls and shopping centers.
That is to say, Hong Kong Disneyland offers a uniquely western experience within the confines of Asia. The perception of Hong Kong Disneyland as a global brand can vary depending on the social groups that each consumer identifies as. Mainland Chinese visitors that are unaccustomed to western culture and modernity can feel as though they’ve stepped into a separate western sanctuary where they can fully experience another way of life. The more modern and westernised Hong Kong Chinese visiting the park are able to enjoy their visit in a relaxing
Who knew that the creation of one cartoon mouse would result in one of the greatest success stories all time, and it all started with an entrepreneur named Walt Disney. Walt Disney was a man who changed the world between his multibillionaire dollar companies including Disney movies, resorts and theme parks. He was a man who started from humble beginnings and has grown into a business mogul that set a standard for business and entrepreneurs for generations to come. The “American Dream” is viewed as success and accomplishment, usually associated with great amounts of money or assets. Although Walt Disney seemed like an idealist, was a true pioneer of the “American Dream”. Disney’s upbringing, business sense, ideas and personality all played a part in Disney becoming a model of the “American Dream.”
Consumer culture plays a key role in the economy. Today, the ways in which urban spaces are arranged facilitate the consumption of goods. One only needs to look to modern cities such as New York, London or Tokyo in order to recognise the countless forms of advertisement intended to lure the mass population into spending money on various merchandises, from novelty items to luxury products. The use of built structures to facilitate the display of retail products for the consumption of the masses is nothing new. After its renovation, Paris became a model innovative city planning and construction for a lot of modern cities that exist today. The wide boulevards and open spaces engaged the mass population and encouraged consumerism.
For example, Chinatown at Kuala Lumpur is one of the most visited tourist spot due to its local heritage and unique character. However, the economic growth in Malaysia is getting better year by year and problem of commercialisation is overriding the heritage elements in Chinatown. The number of pre-war shophouses reducing, the sign of deterioration by lack of maintenance, replacement by new tall buildings. There is a need to revisiting users’ devaluation of pre-war shophouses in Chinatown. It is not merely a famous tourist spot but also having its historical and heritage values, especially the facades elements. These facades referred as tangible heritage element which has formed the uniqueness to the city of Kuala Lumpur. If there has no protection carry out towards these old shophouse it will diminished
Warden, C. A., Stanworth, J., Chen, J. F., & Chi-Tsun Huang, S. (2012). Strangers in Strange Lands: Hypermarkets and Chinese Consumer Culture Misalignment. International Journal of Market Research, 54(6), 799-820.