Looking back on the sentiment of the French during the construction of the park, Disney should have been

more careful. Reasons for Failure: Lack of adequate research: Going into a different market, whether its a neighboring city or a country on the other side of the ocean, needs to be taken seriously. One can never make assumptions about any aspect of that market that can be relevant for a particular business opportunity. In France, where nationalism is deeply embedded in the hearts of the people, the action of American businesses or individuals bringing something to their beloved country will most likely be associated with negative feelings of colonialism, and Americanization. Initial failure can be connected with the European Recession. Just as Euro Disney opened, Europe was in the middle of an economic slump. Disney felt that they could overcome this issue; however, Europeans had little spending power at that time (1992- 4) and the decline in Frances GDP resulted in a decrease of disposable income among the French population. Many other European countries were experiencing similar problems Lack of Upward Communication: There were major staffing problems too. Disney tried to use the same teamwork model with its staff that had worked so well in America and Japan, but it ran into trouble in France. In the first nine weeks of Euro-Disneyland's operation, roughly 1,000 employees, 10 percent of the total, left. Insufficient Customer Relationship focus: GAP 2: Poor service design: Employees of 75 nationalities were not able to deliver Absence of customer driven Std: American Driven culture Alcohol was not being served initially Inappropriate Physical evidence: Adv wer full of mickey mouse and Disney other characters

Corrective actions: Changed the co. name to Disneyland Paris Food & Fashion offerings changed Products in the boutique were changed to give it a more definite Disney image." Prices for day tickets and hotel rooms were cut by one-third The result was an attendance of 11.7 million in 1996, up from a low of 8.8 million in 1994.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Adapt to French standards & expectations Employee involvement in Euro Disney planning & Operations Single theme for Euro Disney; focus on French culture Promote winter attendance through reduced costs and package plans Identify additional target markets (i.e., student groups) Before expanding, understand Disney fit with European cultures Package Euro-Disney with other Paris destinations Prepare to contract buses if public transport is disrupted.

o o

o o

1. In an effort to seem more European , Disney pointed out that Pinocchio is Italian, Cindrella French, Peter Pan English . In terms of communication and presentation of the park as a global product and characters as universal , was this attribution of origin the best approach you can imagine ? Why or Why not? No. The attribution of origin was less impactful to change the French people perception about EuroDisney. For them it was a cultural imperialism . Critics also termed it as a Cultural Chernobyl. The approach should had been decided post a thorough /indepth study of the region/culture and other contributing factors. While planning communication strategy for a specific country they should ask questions whether: o o Brand name make sense outside of the country? Does the name have a positive, country specific image? The Adaptation approach is apt in the above situation.

2. When you develop a new product, you may stop the development of the product at any stage , as soon as you perceive that the cumulative cash inflow at some horizon will be smaller than the cumulative cash outflow. Do you feel that the project should have been stopped and if so by whom and when? We feel that the project should had rather been stalled by Michael Eisner when at the inception itself they had started facing criticism from French people, also considering that France was going through economic crisis which may affect them too. 3. Disney tried to perform every activity related to theme parks : hotels, convention center, advertising agency, travel agency, night club, golf courses, etc, to avoid any losses of revenues. What do you think are pros and cons of such an integration strategy? Pros: o o o Cons: o o o The prime focus is diluted Huge capital investment Higher risk in case of failure Maximum revenues Ownership rights as compared to other theme parks Increased market share in all type of entertainment activities