Disney in Tokyo and Paris
When opening a business in an international realm, one must examine many factors including cultural differences and geographical locations. When opening a business in a foreign nation, one must examine the need for the product being offered, the acceptance of the product into the culture, and the most effective means of advertising. Disney opened its doors in Japan with much success; much of the success can be attributed to the Japanese culture being very fond of Disney characters. Disney decided to take the same methodology to Paris to open its new park in 1992, EuroDisney (Cateora & Graham, 2007).
Disney failed to realize that while its strategy in Japan worked for Japan, its Japan strategy was not going to work in Paris. Disney decided to photo copy their operation and learned that was not acceptable. In 1992, several unforeseen issues arose that Disney was not prepared to handle. There were transatlantic airfare wars and currency movements that lead people to avoid traveling to Paris. Also, Disney was expecting a flocking of French people to visit the park; yet again basing their assumptions on the performance of the Japanese park (Cateora & Graham, 2007).
The French had resentment against the American fairy tale characters because they had their own to love. However, the Japanese had great admiration for the American icons. Disney advertised their park with an emphasis on the size and glamour of "the Disney experience" rather than showing the French their exciting rides and attractions. Disney wanted to out do any other French attraction and wanted it on their terms; the French do not react well to arrogant Americans (Cateora & Graham, 2007).
For example, French people dine with wine at every meal; Disney outlawed alcohol at their park, a blatant disrespect of French culture. Disney had to build kennels for park goers pets, and relax their restrictions on personal grooming, such as red finger nail polish for women. Disney continued to design and build
Disney failed to realize that while its strategy in Japan worked for Japan, its Japan strategy was not going to work in Paris. Disney decided to photo copy their operation and learned that was not acceptable. In 1992, several unforeseen issues arose that Disney was not prepared to handle. There were transatlantic airfare wars and currency movements that lead people to avoid traveling to Paris. Also, Disney was expecting a flocking of French people to visit the park; yet again basing their assumptions on the performance of the Japanese park (Cateora & Graham, 2007).
The French had resentment against the American fairy tale characters because they had their own to love. However, the Japanese had great admiration for the American icons. Disney advertised their park with an emphasis on the size and glamour of "the Disney experience" rather than showing the French their exciting rides and attractions. Disney wanted to out do any other French attraction and wanted it on their terms; the French do not react well to arrogant Americans (Cateora & Graham, 2007).
For example, French people dine with wine at every meal; Disney outlawed alcohol at their park, a blatant disrespect of French culture. Disney had to build kennels for park goers pets, and relax their restrictions on personal grooming, such as red finger nail polish for women. Disney continued to design and build
References: (2006). Hong kong Disneyland attracts 5m visitors in first year of operation. Retrieved February 23, 2008, from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/corporatenews/views/228477/1/.htm Cateora, P.R., & Graham, J.L. (2006). International Marketing (13th ed.). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.