WALT DISNEY IN PARIS

Prepared By:Md. Gyasuddin (40) Mohit Makker (41) Mohit Verma (42) Nidhi Bhatia (43)

 It was founded on 16th October, 1923 by Walt and Roy Disney. It is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world. In 1955, Walts dream of an amusement park came true and Disney Land emerged in California. Soon, Disney World opened in Florida, and Tokyo Disney

became the companys first excursion across the Atlantic.

After Disneylands prior success, its new theme park named Euro Disney in Paris in 1992.

1992 - INITIAL EURO DISNEYS SITUATION

Euro Disney in Paris, France.
Strategy: Transplant an American-style park in

Europe.
Disney believed that the American way

would work everywhere.

Faced problems from Day 1

Problems
1. Name: Euro Disney

Concept: Euro
Pan-European branding As Americans, the word Euro is believed to mean glamorous or exciting BUT For Europeans, it turned out to be a term they associated with business, currency and commerce.

Solution: Name changed to Disneyland Paris in 1994. Concept: Paris

Makes the theme park more French To make it feel their own Disneyland

Problems
2. Transplant an American-style park to Europe i. Cultural Imperialism ii. The park did not fit into the local culture. iii. Self Reference Criterion: unconscious reference to ones own cultural values, experiences, and knowledge as a basis for decisions. iv. Ethnocentricism:
the notion that ones own culture or company knows best how to do things. Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one's own culture.

Problems
3. Ethnocentric

Recruiting Practice: Most Euro Disneys positions were filled by Americans having strong ties with France.

They did not realize the fact that having strong ties with France did not mean that they thought like the French. Because of this, they went on running Euro Disney without giving much importance to the local culture.

Problems
4. Miscalculation and misunderstanding eating and

drinking habits:
i. No alcohol policy: But French meals were incomplete without wine. ii. Provided only snacks and thus downsized their restaurants. iii. Downsizing of the breakfast iv. Restaurants lacked enough seating capacity: Europeans like eating their meals sitting down unlike the Americans who like to eat fast food on the move.

Problems
5. Didnt comply to French traditions: Celebrated

Halloween instead of French festivals. 6. Rigid Disney Dress code: American executives at Euro Disney imposed a strict dress code that required extremely short hair and banned beards and moustaches. Disney's dress code was based on Walt Disney's highly individualized, clean American family values. As a result, many of the highly individualistic French refused to work at Euro Disney.

Problems
7. Miscalculation

of transportation preferences: Europeans are used to walking whilst Americans drive everywhere. Hence, visitors did not use the expensive tramway system on which the Americans had invested millions of dollars.
Most of the Europeans came by buses and bicycles so the parking space for the buses and the rest came out be inadequate and as a result the company was forced to reduce the space for parking lots and provide more space for the buses and the bicycles.

Problems
8. Misunderstanding of vacation habits: Americans take

several short vacations throughout the year whilst Europeans take fewer but longer vacations. Disney had based its planning on the U.S. vacation model. 9. Miscalculation of per-capita spending
Euro Disneys admission price was 30% higher than Orlandos park The European visitors wanted to spend more time on the rides rather than shopping for food and souvenirs which resulted in lower expected revenue.

Hofstedes Dimensions
1. Power Distance: Incorrect staffing policies showed that

there was High Power Distance in the US culture.

2. Individualism: The strict dress code implemented is

viewed as a breach of privacy and individualism by the French. French guests were also very uncomfortable when pushed against each other without private space. Generally, Americans are more individualistic than French.

Hofstedes Dimensions
3. Uncertainty Avoidance Index: For French, it is very

high compared to the Americans.

4. Feminity: France has a more feminine culture, i.e.,

they are caring, friendly, etc. unlike the Americans. Hence, Americans masculinity could not match up to French feminine culture.

Trompenaars Dimensions
1. Universalism

vs Particularism: US has a universalistic culture as they believed that the rules and regulations are universal and can be applied anywhere but Disney did not realize that France had a Particularistic culture. 2. Neutral vs Emotional: French people were very much emotional about their culture and they didnt like the American style theme park.

Corrections & improvements

Incorporated more aspects of the European culture and less of the American culture. Signs became multilingual. Food was changed to reflect the tastes of Europeans. Cast members were trained to be more cordial with the French culture. Disneyland Paris was Europeanized.