Walt Disney opened its first Disneyland in mainland China Wednesday, with the theme park being described as “authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese.”
CEO Bob Iger spoke with CNBC’s Eunice Yoon about the event, which Iger called the “biggest step” the company has taken in an overseas market. Read the full exchange below.
CNBC: Why is the park so important for Disney’s ambitions in China?
Iger: Well, China represents a great market for the Walt Disney because our stories are not only known here but they are universal in appeal, they touch people’s hearts all over the world, no matter what country, no matter what culture. So this is, I think, a great market for Disney and a growth market as well. Obviously the size of the market, the number of people, is another reason, but , and this is an extremely [big] step —or the biggest step, actually — that we’ve ever taken anywhere to grow in a market.
CNBC: What is the next step for Disney in this market?
Iger: Well, I don’t know that there is a next step; there are a number of steps. We continue to grow our motion picture business. So far, most of that has been exporting films that we make in other parts of the world into China; that’s delivered great growth. China is now the No. 2 movie market in the world. We also plan to make Disney movies here; we’ve actually started that process. With the strength of the Disney brand and the knowledge of Disney characters, there’s a growing retail business here. And, in part because of digital technology but in part just because of the growth of the market, there are all sorts of opportunities in television, although there we continue to face regulation that makes it a little more difficult.
CNBC: So, how does this park help with the other parts of the business in this market?
Iger: Well, it clearly will serve as sort of a booster rocket for people’s appreciation of Disney, the knowledge that Disney is universal in appeal to people, appreciation and knowledge of characters and stories. An immersive park experience the Disney way is something that people will remember for the rest of their lives, and that goes a long way in terms of not just creating word of mouth, but in terms of creating people’s interest in passion for our brand and everything that it stands for and everything that bears its name, as a for instance. So it becomes very, very important, not just in terms of awareness but appreciation.
Walt Disney opened its first Disneyland in mainland China Wednesday, with the theme park being described as “authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese.”
CEO Bob Iger spoke with CNBC’s Eunice Yoon about the event, which Iger called the “biggest step” the company has taken in an overseas market. Read the full exchange below.
CNBC: Why is the park so important for Disney’s ambitions in China?
Iger: Well, China represents a great market for the Walt Disney because our stories are not only known here but they are universal in appeal, they touch people’s hearts all over the world, no matter what country, no matter what culture. So this is, I think, a great market for Disney and a growth market as well. Obviously the size of the market, the number of people, is another reason, but , and this is an extremely [big] step —or the biggest step, actually — that we’ve ever taken anywhere to grow in a market.
CNBC: What is the next step for Disney in this market?
Iger: Well, I don’t know that there is a next step; there are a number of steps. We continue to grow our motion picture business. So far, most of that has been exporting films that we make in other parts of the world into China; that’s delivered great growth. China is now the No. 2 movie market in the world. We also plan to make Disney movies here; we’ve actually started that process. With the strength of the Disney brand and the knowledge of Disney characters, there’s a growing retail business here. And, in part because of digital technology but in part just because of the growth of the market, there are all sorts of opportunities in television, although there we continue to face regulation that makes it a little more difficult.
CNBC: So, how does this park help with the other parts of the business in this market?
Iger: Well, it clearly will serve as sort of a booster rocket for people’s appreciation of Disney, the knowledge that Disney is universal in appeal to people, appreciation and knowledge of characters and stories. An immersive park experience the Disney way is something that people will remember for the rest of their lives, and that goes a long way in terms of not just creating word of mouth, but in terms of creating people’s interest in passion for our brand and everything that it stands for and everything that bears its name, as a for instance. So it becomes very, very important, not just in terms of awareness but appreciation.
CNBC: How are Chinese consumers different from others?
Iger: Well, in many respects as it relates to Disney, they’re not different at all. In fact, they’ve confirmed to us what our founder Walt Disney believed all the way back in his day, and that is that our stories are designed not just for one age group —children or parents or grandparents—not just one nationality, not just for one religion, nor generation; they’re designed for everybody, and he was right. And because of that, the consumer we’re seeing now is really behaving as it relates to interest in Disney the same way consumers behave when interest in Disney is ignited all over the world.
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