Walt Disney Case Study

Executive Summary: The entertainment industry holds the immense potential for growth and development. The industry is constantly evolving and Walt Disney has emerged as a global leader and recognized as the world’s second largest media conglomerate in the terms of revenue after Comcast. The Walt Disney Company is a multinational entertainment conglomerate headquartered in California, United States. The company integrated its products into five target segments as follows: (1) Media Networks (2) Parks and Resorts (3) Walt Disney Studios (4) Disney Consumer Products (5) Disney Interactive. The company has strong diversified product portfolios and generate high returns and revenues from all the target segments, but the media networks contributes highest to the overall revenues generated by the company. The average dividend per share growth rate of the company was 44.50% in 2014.
The company also sees consumer product lines as one of its important revenue generation streams. Other major revenue platforms for the Disney Company include the Social Games based on famous characters such as Avengers. Furthermore, the introduction of the TV series and kid channels provides an immense opportunity for the company to expand its presence and generate a mammoth income from it. Walt Disney plans to expand its presence in other countries too, mainly the emerging markets like China that offer great opportunities. Due to its highly advanced infrastructure and higher population, the Disney has already made the biggest investment till date in the development and construction of Disneyland theme park in Shanghai, China. The success of Disneyland Hong Kong and the presence of 330 million people that reside within the 3-hour commute to Shanghai allows the Disney to invest $5.5 billion in this theme park. The Disney CEO stated that the park will be open for the visitors in the early 2016. Key Problems: High Risk: One of the key problems that the Walt Disney might face is the involvement of higher risk in such huge investment theme parks.
Moreover, the company should focus on building cultural-based theme parks in the emerging markets like China. This is because, the social indicators are not strong enough, therefore the theme parks should reflect their culture, traditions etc. In this way, the consumers will easily adapt and accept theme parks and resorts. Also, the company should plan to manage the macroeconomic conditions with political support. The organized meeting with bureaucrat officials and proper consultation with political parties will allow the company to get hassle-free clearances for such big projects.