Walt Disney Co. has recently renovated its stores in tourist hotspots including New York and is now taking its new, highly interactive, retail format to upscale malls in newer markets.
The company is on target to open at least 25 new and remodeled locations in North America and Europe in 2011. The new retail format sports more features to entertain shoppers, such as a table where kids can assemble cars from the popular Disney-Pixar “Cars” movie to a two-story princess castle that kids can enter.

The strategy contrasts sharply with the route taken by U.S. retailers to move beyond their home turf and looking at rapidly growing economies such as India and China for future sales growth. Disney already has more than 200 North American stores, more than 40 locations in Japan and more than 100 outlets in Europe. The company aims to convert all of its current stores to the new format as part of a 5-year plan.