Disney plans to launch community business

Disney plans to launch community business

Disney plans to launch community business. Disney will develop a residential community in Rancho Mirage in the Coachella Valley, California, USA. and is considering other locations in the United States for future development. Disney plans community business. Disney plans to develop community business 1

Disney (DIS), which is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary, will expand new businesses.

On February 16, Disney announced that the company plans to develop residential projects across the United States and create Disney residential communities. This new community business will be named "Storyliving by Disney" (Storyliving by Disney) .

It is reported that the first project of this community business is currently being planned.

Bai Wenxi, chief economist of IPG China, analyzed that Disney’s real estate deployment may be an attempt to find new business growth points in addition to the entertainment and media business to solve the current decline and decline in its own development. Dilemma problem.

Can the second test of housing be successful?

According to Disney, its first community will be built in Rancho Mirage in the Coachella Valley, California, because company founder Walt Disney once lived here with his family. .

The project is named Cotino and is developed by Disney in partnership with DMB Development, a professional community planning company.

Brent Herrington, CEO of DMB Developmentmen, said they were delighted to be working with Disney on this groundbreaking concept.

Cotino is a residential project for all ages, with housing types ranging from estates, single-family homes and apartments, and will also include at least one area dedicated to residents aged 55 and over.

According to the development plan, the community will be built around a large oasis of about 24 acres, and professional technology will be used to make the clear turquoise water a supporting resource for the community. In the future, the community will provide club members with an oceanfront clubhouse, members-only beach, water recreation and year-round Disney programming.

Image source: Disney official website

In addition, Cotino has also planned a mixed-use area, including shopping, dining, entertainment, beachfront hotels and professional management. Beach parks, etc., where the public can enjoy water leisure and entertainment activities by purchasing a day pass.

In addition to the first community, Disney is also exploring other areas of the United States for future development.

Disney stated that each of the company’s future projects will work with respected developers and home builders in the industry to explore, engage and create stories belonging to community residents through unique designs.

At the same time, in each community, Disney will arrange actors who have received the company's professional guest service training to run the community association. Through the club membership model, Disney will provide planned services such as wellness programs, entertainment events, philanthropy and seminars.

In fact, the residential business proposed by Disney this time is not its first trial in this field.

As early as 1994, in Osceola County, Florida, Walt Disney planned and built a residential community called Celebratio. Currently, the community has approximately 10,000 residents and 4,300 homes and apartments.

Bai Wenxi said that under the current market structure of the United States, whether the real estate business can help Disney achieve new performance growth, and whether the plan announced by Disney to enter the real estate business can finally be implemented and implemented. It still takes time to verify how effective it is.

Want to transform into streaming media to break the situation

In fact, since 2020, due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus in many countries and regions around the world, some Disney theme parks and resorts have been closed. Many of its business segments, including cinemas and theaters, have been affected.

In the third and fourth quarters of 2020, Disney’s net profit continued to decline.

As of the end of fiscal year 2020, Disney's net profit loss was US$2.864 billion (approximately 17.902 billion yuan), a year-on-year decrease of 125.91%.

Judging from the stock price, Disney’s overall stock price has also shown a downward trend in the past year.

Wind data shows that as of January 18, 2022, Disney’s closing stock price was US$151.39 per share, with a total market value of US$275.6 billion (approximately 1.74 trillion yuan) compared with its February 2021 The highest value since then was US$203.02 per share, a drop of 25.43%, and the total market value decreased by US$94.018 billion (approximately 594.673 billion yuan).

Against this background, Disney has accelerated its transformation layout in the streaming media field in the past two years. According to its official website, Disney has four major streaming media platforms, namely Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu and Hotstar.

On October 12, 2020, Disney announced that it would restructure its media and entertainment division to focus more on its streaming business.

Disney said that under the reorganized new structure, Disney’s three content teams will focus on developing and producing original content for the company’s streaming services and traditional platforms, while distribution and commercialization activities will be concentrated in another group called Global Media and Entertainment Distribution.

According to the Financial Associated Press, on August 31, 2021, Disney further proposed new actions to integrate the streaming media landscape, transferring the sports content of the Hotstar platform to ESPN+, and moving movies and TV programs to ESPN+. to Hulu. Next, Disney plans to gradually integrate its four streaming services into one platform, the Disney Bundle.

In early February this year, Disney released its first quarter financial report for fiscal year 2022. In terms of overall revenue in the latest quarter, Disney's performance has improved.

As of January 1, 2022, Disney has achieved revenue of US$21.819 billion (approximately 138.188 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 34%; it has achieved net profit of US$1.15 billion, an increase of more than 100% compared with the same period last year.

Image source: Disney Financial Report

From a specific business perspective, during the reporting period, Disney’s park, experience and product business revenue was US$7.234 billion. (approximately 45.756 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 101.62%; direct-to-consumer (streaming media business) revenue was US$4.69 billion (approximately 29.665 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 33.85%. In addition, Disney's total revenue from online sexual networks, content sales/licensing and other businesses was US$10.139 billion (approximately 64.13 billion yuan), which was also on an upward trend compared with US$9.395 billion (approximately 59.424 billion yuan) in the same period last year.

A detailed analysis of the number of users of the streaming media platform shows that as of January 1, 2022, Disney's streaming media platform has 196 million users. Among them, the number of users of Disney+ (including Hotstar) alone has reached 130 million, a year-on-year increase of 36.78%, and an increase of approximately 11.7 million users in a single quarter.

In addition, the number of ESPN+ users was 21.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 76.03%; the number of Hulu users was 45.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 14.97%.

During the period, its competitor Netflix had 222 million global paid subscribers. Although the user growth of 8.28 million in a single quarter was slightly lower than Disney, Netflix still maintained its leading position in overall user scale.

It is worth noting that Disney has previously been involved in controversy when its heirs publicly called for a boycott. In January, Abigail Disney, one of the Disney heirs, suggested in an online interview that consumers should stay away from businesses that treat their workers poorly, including Disney's theme parks, as part of a push for change. key ways.

Can we continue to dominate the Central Plains?

In Disney’s global layout, China plays a pivotal role. In September 2005, China's first Disneyland officially opened in Hong Kong.

On June 16, 2016, 11 years after the establishment of Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, the second in China and the sixth in the world, officially opened to the public.

Shanghai Disneyland

The theme park has set two records in less than two years since its establishment.

First of all, Shanghai Disneyland has received 10 million visitors after 11 months of operation, becoming the first Disney theme park in the world to welcome 10 million visitors less than its first anniversary. In addition, Shanghai Disney is the first theme park in Disney history to achieve financial balance in its first year of operation.

The financial report shows that as of September 30, 2017, Disney’s Disney Parks and Resorts’ annual revenue was US$18.415 billion (approximately 116.482 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 8.49%; department revenue was 37.74 billion US dollars (approximately 23.872 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 14.43%.

In this regard, Disney said that internationally, its performance growth for the year benefited from the year-round operations of Shanghai Disney Resort and the 25th anniversary celebration of Disneyland Paris.

On June 16, 2021, according to the "Liberation Daily" report, as Shanghai Disneyland celebrates its fifth anniversary, the Shanghai International Tourism Resort with it as its core has received a total of more than 83 million tourists. tourists, achieving tourism revenue of over 40 billion yuan.

In addition to Shanghai Disneyland, theme parks in other parts of the country have also developed rapidly in recent years.

According to the "2021 China Theme Park Competitiveness Evaluation Report", among the top ten most competitive theme parks in China in 2021, 5 theme parks in Guangdong Province alone are on the list, accounting for as much as 50%.

In this regard, Lin Huanjie, president of the China Theme Park Research Institute, said in an interview with Guangzhou Daily that Guangdong is the birthplace of domestic theme parks, and theme park brands have been formed in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai and other places. Influence and agglomeration effects. Moreover, Guangdong has climate advantages and convenient regional transportation. Not only is it convenient for local tourists to travel, but it is also very convenient for foreign tourists to visit Guangdong.

In addition, Universal Studios Beijing, which opened in September 2021, was frequently searched on social media last year and has become a new popular check-in place for tourists visiting Beijing.

Picture source: Can Gallery

According to statistics from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, only on the first day of the National Day holiday, Beijing Universal Studios Resort received attracted 25,000 tourists.

Liu Simin, vice president of the Tourism Branch of the China Future Research Society, analyzed in the "Daily Economic News" report that although Beijing Universal Studios Resort is five years later than Shanghai Disneyland, the latter's success is also Increases Universal Studios' chances of success. Disney's success shows that the Chinese market is very receptive to similar projects, and projects of this caliber are easily accepted by the market. Disney plans to launch community business 2

Everyone who walks into Disneyland will hear the park’s slogan: “I wish you a magical day.” This international company, which focuses on telling stories and promoting "miracle magic", announced to the outside world that it is returning to residential real estate while actively expanding its resort business.

Market news on February 17 showed that Disney will develop a residential community in Rancho Mirage in the Coachella Valley, California, USA. The new residential development will be called Storyliving by Disney (the Disney Story Living community project there is also known as Cotino), and other locations across the United States are being considered for future development.

Disney’s “Fantasy Island”

Looking back at Landsea’s overseas expansion in 2013, all the companies that followed the goal of “going global” have failed without exception. It has become one of the few “single-ocean seedlings” that chooses to stay and delve into the local market.

According to relevant reports, Disney is working with DMB Development to develop the Rancho Mirage community. The 24-acre project will include at least one area for residents 55 and older, with residential buildings, single-family homes and *** Managed apartments for home buyers to choose from.

Based on the specific plan approval of the development, the community is expected to be centered around a large oasis of approximately 24 acres, using unique crystal lake technology to create an environmentally friendly and sustainable lake environment. Club members in the park also enjoy access to an oceanfront clubhouse, beach area and recreational water activities, as well as year-round Disney programming, entertainment and activities. Cotino also has an array of shopping, dining and entertainment, oceanfront hotels and a professionally managed beach park where the public can enjoy water recreation by purchasing a day pass.

On the official Storyliving website, this community is called “the ultimate destination for curious dreamers and doers seeking exploration, innovation and inspiration.” Employees "trained in Disney's legendary customer service" will run the community association.

As we all know, Disney’s experience design that is far from reality has always been one of the biggest selling points. This time, they finally brought their “story” to residential communities, hoping to extend the “magic story” into life experience In its vision, fans who are immersed in it will be "passionate" about it. However, this move received unsatisfactory reviews on the Internet.

Many netizens said that if they lived in a community controlled by corporate culture, they would feel very creepy (uncomfortable), joking that they would be kicked out of the community for not renewing their Disney video membership. Some netizens compared this community to Disney's EPCOT (Experimental Society) and felt uneasy about the expansion of corporate culture. It can be seen that there seems to be a gap in the target group Disney is looking forward to.

In the words of Josh D'Amaro, chairman of Disneyland, after a century of development, they are entering the company's "next century" and the community they chose to build near the founder's residence can "tell the story." Story" was upgraded to "Living in the story".

Although the idea of ????this community seems to be "snowy", Disney, as a businessman, will not lack consideration. This leads to Disney’s important partner DMB Development. This Scottsdale-based developer specializes in developing unique community buildings in the western United States. Its business scope mainly includes resort areas, commercial facilities and related clubs. The company has been developing for 30 years and has successfully developed 21 projects in the western United States. It is a relatively mature "living community" developer and is relatively recognized by the industry.

Take their latest Silverwood project developed in the Hesperia Scenic Area in southern California, USA. This project incorporates the mountains and lakes of the San Bernardino Forest Park into the planning. More than 9,000 acres are planned to build more than 15,000 homes to create a natural resort community with a unique concept that integrates natural sightseeing with exclusive properties. For DMB Development, developing creative tourist communities based on local conditions is part of its business.

Therefore, when the news about Disney came out, many people on the Internet also speculated that the construction of the community will be led by DMB Development. Industry insiders revealed that Disney will be mainly responsible for the catering and dining in the park. Recreational facilities. This kind of cooperation undoubtedly reveals that the actual core of Disney’s “Fantasy Island” is community housing, with Walt Disney’s “fairy tales” superimposed as cultural “soft furnishings”.

It is worth noting that the land developed for this project is owned by EC Rancho Mirage Holdings. The person in charge of this company is the CEO of the Canadian City Office Real Estate Investment Trust. At the same time, Blackstone has a stake in this company. The company has 7% investment.

Rediscovering real estate

This is not the first time Disney has told stories in real estate.

According to the British "Daily Mail" report on November 12, 2013, Disneyland in Florida, USA, is developing real estate. The Disney Company has developed a project called "Golden Oak" on the Lake of Good Hope. Oak" residential community, covering a total area of ??980 acres, is the only real estate in the world located within Disneyland.

According to reports at the time, the Disney residential community was almost sold out as soon as it opened.

The prices of these residences range from a minimum of US$1.7 million (approximately RMB 10.4 million) to a maximum of US$7 million (approximately RMB 43 million). But there is no doubt that "Golden Oak" is a traditional luxury community. The related clubhouse design and property services are closer to the configuration of a high-end community, and there are very few Disney elements in it.

After the great success of "Golden Oak", Disney has since expanded the area of ??this residential area and developed multiple phases of high-end communities with different main bodies. Including the Marceline community with 50 customized villas... This is just a taste of it, and it may not be able to complete Walt Disney's ambitions.

Disney has been looking to acquire related resort construction companies for a long time, starting with the acquisition of resort developer Arvida Corporation for US$200 million in the 1980s. Then in August 2021, reports surfaced that Disney was in talks with Tavistock Development to develop an age-restricted community as part of the approximately 27,000-acre Sunbridge development near the Lake Nona community in southeast Orlando.

Finally, Disney announced its cooperation with DMB Development on February 17 this year. Through these years of exploration, it may be said that Disney has been seeking a larger "Disney World".

On February 9, The Walt Disney Company released its first fiscal quarter performance report as of January 1, 2022. The report shows that during the reporting period, the company achieved total revenue of US$21.819 billion, an increase of 34% from US$16.249 billion in 2021; net profit rose from US$18 million in 2021 to US$1.152 billion in 2022, a sharp increase 64 times.

Disney’s profits surged this quarter, mainly due to the improvement in the operation of experiential projects such as parks. Revenue from Disney's main parks, experiences and products reached US$7.234 billion, compared with US$3.588 billion in the previous quarter; operating profit was approximately US$2.45 billion, compared with a loss of US$119 million in the previous quarter.

Disney, which relies on substantial revenue from streaming media and park businesses, has still not given up its efforts in the field of residential real estate. However, for residential real estate, residential facilities, community construction and transportation convenience are the primary factors in consumer choice.

From a domestic perspective, the arrival of Shanghai Disney has not significantly increased housing prices in the Chuansha area; the success of residential projects in the United States depends on the quality of its own luxury homes; the park in Orlando, the United States, has only promoted development of related businesses. Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether Disney’s cultural additions can be realized in this “dream” community.

From the high-end residential area "Golden Oak" that pays tribute to the founder's farm, to "Storyliving" that commemorates the founder's original site, when selling houses becomes storytelling, can Disney's dream continue in residential real estate? Disney plans to develop community business 3

Recently, the Walt Disney Company disclosed a residential development plan "Storyliving by Disney". The first project of the plan will be launched in California and is expected to include estates, single-family homes and apartments.

Disney's "high-profile" house sale

On February 16, local time, the Walt Disney Company announced a residential development plan "Storyliving by Disney". The first project of the plan is named "Cotino" and is located in Rancho Mirage in the Checora Valley, California, USA, where Disney founder Walt Disney once lived.

Cotino concept design drawing. Picture/Screenshot of Storyliving by Disney official website

In the announcement, Josh D'Amaro, president of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, said that as Disney is about to enter its next 100 years, the company hopes to Bring the magic of Disney to the public in a way that evolves from "telling stories" to letting people "live in stories." The way Disney found it was the "Storyliving by Disney" program.

According to reports, the community operation of each project under "Storyliving by Disney" will be handled by trained Disney cast members. Through the membership club model, Disney will provide entertainment services, charity events, wellness services, and more, ranging from live performances to cooking classes. Imagineers, who are responsible for the design and planning of Disneyland, will play a key role in the creative design of the community and work with other developers and builders, but the community will not have any affiliation with the Disneyland they design.

The partner of Cotino, the first project of "Storyliving by Disney", is DMB Development, which specializes in large-scale community development. Information shows that Cotino will be built around a 24-acre oasis, including manors, single-family homes and apartments, and will have at least one area dedicated to middle-aged and elderly residents over 55 years old. Cotino has also designed a comprehensive area that provides shopping, dining, entertainment and hotel accommodation, as well as a beach park that the public can buy tickets to enter.

According to foreign media reports, Cotino is expected to have 1,900 residential units, but Disney refused to disclose the total investment in this huge project. Judging from public reports, the overall project may become an asset-light model, with Disney responsible for marketing and club operations, and developers and builders responsible for construction and pricing.

Building a utopia or selling houses?

"Living in a story" may be the dream of many people, and it is also one of Disney's goals.

In the 1960s, Walt Disney proposed the concept of "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (hereinafter referred to as "EPCOT"). Data show that at that time, the United States was suffering from rapid urban expansion and the failure to follow up on the construction of infrastructure in a timely manner. The EPCOT proposed by Walt Disney was based on modernism and futurism and aimed to build a utopian city that integrated commercial, residential, industrial and entertainment functions and was connected through a large-scale, multi-modal transportation system in order to solve the problems of the time. Real dilemma.

However, after Walt Disney's death in 1966, Disney decided that maintaining, managing and operating a city was unrealistic and abandoned the idea. Subsequently, the assets related to the plan were incorporated into the Walt Disney World Resort and became the source of the resort's famous park "EPCOT" (Future World). Some of the ideas in the concept are still used today, such as the unique Disneyland Monorail in the park.

Epcot Campus. Picture/Screenshot of the official website of Walt Disney World Resort

Although the original plan was abandoned, Disney has not stopped related attempts. In 1996, the first residents moved into a small town called "Celebration". It is understood that this town is located near Walt Disney World and was built by Disney in the 1990s. It has shops, restaurants, apartments and office buildings. Although it seems to have "learned from" EPCOT, there are also opinions that the town is more inclined to "new urbanism". Not only does the building design have a uniform appearance, but there are even relevant regulations on the color of residential lawns and curtains. Shining under the aura of Disney, the development attracted so many homebuyers as soon as it was announced that a lottery had to be held to determine who would be eligible to buy the land and build the homes. However, Disney then began to divest the town-related assets one after another. In 2004, Disney announced that it would sell the town's central business district. It is worth noting that Disney is still closely related to the town, and the Disney Cruise Line headquarters is also located in this town.

Following the town of Celebration, the construction of the high-end residential area "Golden Oak" further demonstrates Disney's real estate "ambitions." In 2010, Disney announced the launch of Golden Oak under the slogan "Buy a Home at Walt Disney World Resort."

Disney’s high-end residential area Golden Oak.

Picture/Screenshot of Golden Oak official website

Information shows that the community has six blocks, approximately 300 residential units, and covers an area of ??980 acres. It was also designed with the help of Imagineers, and the residential price is US$1.5 million. -$8 million, first homes completed in 2011. It takes about 10 minutes to drive from this residential area to various parks of the park. The Golden Oak Club provides members with a range of services including Disneyland and special event tickets, dining reservations, family dinners and parties, and more. According to foreign media reports, as of the end of last year, Golden Oak properties accounted for five of the top ten most expensive homes in Orlando.

According to Disney’s latest first quarter report for fiscal year 2022, Disney achieved revenue of US$21.819 billion, a year-on-year increase of 34%; the Disney Parks, Experience and Products Department achieved revenue of US$7.234 billion, a year-on-year increase of 101.62%. As Disney’s latest real estate project, Cotino has not yet disclosed its price range. Taking Cotino as a starting point, Disney’s “Storyliving by Disney” plan will continue to look for suitable project locations in the United States for development. By then, will Disney tourists be willing to "pay" for their dreams?