SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
A major strength that is obvious is popularity. The Walt Disney Company has branded itself very successfully in the past. It is known as one of the best entertainment companies and its parks are known as one of the most entertaining places in the world. Another strength are The Walt Disney Company’s assets. They own multiple channels (for example, ESPN and ABC), amusement parks, and stores. It receives revenue from all these places. Another asset that many overlook is goodwill, because of Walt Disney’s great reputation consumers like to buy their products and as a result, their products sell more than their competitors. It is also very diverse, Walt Disney’s amusement parks are located in major cities all around the world; there is one in Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris, Hong Kong, California, and Florida. Now it even has a cruise line, for customers that want to explore far destinations and have a great time travelling to those destinations. The Walt Disney Company also has diverse products and service, it sells clothes, plates and toys and provides services such as cruises, movies, and amusement park rides. Another major strength of the Walt Disney Company is it’s creative process; it has great ideas and knows how to make profits from those ideas. For example, it combined cruise ships and amusement parks to make travelling to far destinations amusing. The Walt Disney Company also has standards of quality that its branches meet. This makes the experience the same in Tokyo and California and people like that because it makes them feel like they are not far from their home. The last strength is the Walt Disney Company’s ability to produce successful products in a short amount of time. The Walt Disney Company created ESPN Classics in a short span of time and it became a success because older generations wanted to watch their favorite sport games repeatedly.
Weaknesses:
The Walt Disney Company is not perfect so it does have weaknesses. A major weakness is the cost of the Walt Disney Company’s products and services. Its plates, clothes and toys are more expensive than its competitors’, its amusement parks are also very expensive and many cable companies do not provide ESPN and the Disney Channel on their basic package. The Walt Disney Company loses a lot of customers because of its high prices. The Walt Disney Company has a weak research and development department, because the movies that Disney makes are not as popular as they were before. The reoccurring theme of “a princess finding her prince charming” needs to change into something that is appealing to the new generations. Recently, Frozen received positive reviews and increased gross revenue since it was slightly different. Another weakness is the target audience, the amusement parks are appealing to teenagers as well, but the Walt Disney Company still only targets youth. It needs to expand its targeted audience. There is a high risk factor in the Walt Disney Company’s investments, because they do not know if their products are going to be hits. For example, their movies have a reoccurring theme, which can be attractive or unattractive to consumers. Lastly, the Walt Disney Company needs to improve its human resources department. In the early 1990s EuroDisney lost US$500 million due to miscalculations. The human resources department needs to improve; in order to recruit sufficient staff members.
Opportunities:
The Walt Disney Company holds a lot of opportunities for its workers and for the company to grow. Many celebrities started from small shows created by the Walt Disney Company. Young actors have the opportunity to grow and get roles because of Walt Disney’s huge network of directors, producers and actors. With Walt Disney’s special offers to students, it has the potential to grow economically since its amusement parks are not very expensive with the special offers. The Walt Disney Company has the opportunity to grow further through diversification. It can make more cruise ships, and it could make amusement parks in other major cities in the world. For example, it can open an amusement park in Dubai, because it is a rapidly growing city, in the past ten years it has become a world-renowned city. The Walt Disney Company also has a chance to improve its branding through technology. Nowadays more and more children are starting to spend most of their time on the Internet, specifically social media websites. The Walt Disney Company can brand itself on these websites instead of branding themselves on T.V because les children watch T.V now. The Walt Disney Company also has the opportunity to expand to more industries, because consumers will want to buy its products because of its popularity all around the world. The Walt Disney Company should research and find out what other industries are easy for it to enter.
Threats:
There are many threats that emerge as time goes on. The Walt Disney Company is vulnerable to recessions. When there is an economic recession, people have less money to spend on vacations due to loss of jobs or increased prices of essential items such as clothing and food. Research and development in healthy active living is also a threat to companies like the Walt Disney Company. According to Center of Disease Control and Prevention, children need at least sixty minutes of physical exercise everyday. This type of information from research and development influence children to play outside more rather than watch T.V. The Walt Disney Company makes most of its money from children shows and movies, if children are not watching them then their parents will not purchase the Walt Disney Company’s movies or channels. The expansion of technology is also a threat for the Walt Disney Company. The advancement of technology has made it easier for people to watch pirated movies and shows and it is becoming more accessible along with the quality of pirated movies and shows also improving. This is a major threat because this can make the Walt Disney Company lose money from the entertainment industry; it will spend money on creating shows and movies and no one will pay to watch them. Finally, the Walt Disney Company has competitors that are threats to their company’s success. Companies like Universal Studios compete with the Walt Disney Company in the entertainment industry. Universal Studios also makes movies that appeal to children.
A major strength that is obvious is popularity. The Walt Disney Company has branded itself very successfully in the past. It is known as one of the best entertainment companies and its parks are known as one of the most entertaining places in the world. Another strength are The Walt Disney Company’s assets. They own multiple channels (for example, ESPN and ABC), amusement parks, and stores. It receives revenue from all these places. Another asset that many overlook is goodwill, because of Walt Disney’s great reputation consumers like to buy their products and as a result, their products sell more than their competitors. It is also very diverse, Walt Disney’s amusement parks are located in major cities all around the world; there is one in Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris, Hong Kong, California, and Florida. Now it even has a cruise line, for customers that want to explore far destinations and have a great time travelling to those destinations. The Walt Disney Company also has diverse products and service, it sells clothes, plates and toys and provides services such as cruises, movies, and amusement park rides. Another major strength of the Walt Disney Company is it’s creative process; it has great ideas and knows how to make profits from those ideas. For example, it combined cruise ships and amusement parks to make travelling to far destinations amusing. The Walt Disney Company also has standards of quality that its branches meet. This makes the experience the same in Tokyo and California and people like that because it makes them feel like they are not far from their home. The last strength is the Walt Disney Company’s ability to produce successful products in a short amount of time. The Walt Disney Company created ESPN Classics in a short span of time and it became a success because older generations wanted to watch their favorite sport games repeatedly.
Weaknesses:
The Walt Disney Company is not perfect so it does have weaknesses. A major weakness is the cost of the Walt Disney Company’s products and services. Its plates, clothes and toys are more expensive than its competitors’, its amusement parks are also very expensive and many cable companies do not provide ESPN and the Disney Channel on their basic package. The Walt Disney Company loses a lot of customers because of its high prices. The Walt Disney Company has a weak research and development department, because the movies that Disney makes are not as popular as they were before. The reoccurring theme of “a princess finding her prince charming” needs to change into something that is appealing to the new generations. Recently, Frozen received positive reviews and increased gross revenue since it was slightly different. Another weakness is the target audience, the amusement parks are appealing to teenagers as well, but the Walt Disney Company still only targets youth. It needs to expand its targeted audience. There is a high risk factor in the Walt Disney Company’s investments, because they do not know if their products are going to be hits. For example, their movies have a reoccurring theme, which can be attractive or unattractive to consumers. Lastly, the Walt Disney Company needs to improve its human resources department. In the early 1990s EuroDisney lost US$500 million due to miscalculations. The human resources department needs to improve; in order to recruit sufficient staff members.
Opportunities:
The Walt Disney Company holds a lot of opportunities for its workers and for the company to grow. Many celebrities started from small shows created by the Walt Disney Company. Young actors have the opportunity to grow and get roles because of Walt Disney’s huge network of directors, producers and actors. With Walt Disney’s special offers to students, it has the potential to grow economically since its amusement parks are not very expensive with the special offers. The Walt Disney Company has the opportunity to grow further through diversification. It can make more cruise ships, and it could make amusement parks in other major cities in the world. For example, it can open an amusement park in Dubai, because it is a rapidly growing city, in the past ten years it has become a world-renowned city. The Walt Disney Company also has a chance to improve its branding through technology. Nowadays more and more children are starting to spend most of their time on the Internet, specifically social media websites. The Walt Disney Company can brand itself on these websites instead of branding themselves on T.V because les children watch T.V now. The Walt Disney Company also has the opportunity to expand to more industries, because consumers will want to buy its products because of its popularity all around the world. The Walt Disney Company should research and find out what other industries are easy for it to enter.
Threats:
There are many threats that emerge as time goes on. The Walt Disney Company is vulnerable to recessions. When there is an economic recession, people have less money to spend on vacations due to loss of jobs or increased prices of essential items such as clothing and food. Research and development in healthy active living is also a threat to companies like the Walt Disney Company. According to Center of Disease Control and Prevention, children need at least sixty minutes of physical exercise everyday. This type of information from research and development influence children to play outside more rather than watch T.V. The Walt Disney Company makes most of its money from children shows and movies, if children are not watching them then their parents will not purchase the Walt Disney Company’s movies or channels. The expansion of technology is also a threat for the Walt Disney Company. The advancement of technology has made it easier for people to watch pirated movies and shows and it is becoming more accessible along with the quality of pirated movies and shows also improving. This is a major threat because this can make the Walt Disney Company lose money from the entertainment industry; it will spend money on creating shows and movies and no one will pay to watch them. Finally, the Walt Disney Company has competitors that are threats to their company’s success. Companies like Universal Studios compete with the Walt Disney Company in the entertainment industry. Universal Studios also makes movies that appeal to children.