Disney Consumer Products (DCP) charted new territory in 2008 with a host of innovative products, including Disney’s first robotics toys, first Internet-connected toy line, first bilingual magazine and first English-language learning center. Momentum continued with growth in DCP’s nutritionally focused food licensing business and worldwide expansion of its apparel and home furnishings lines.
As the world’s leading licensor, DCP develops Disney entertainment franchises into 365-days-a-year product opportunities at retailers worldwide. This is evidenced by the explosive success of tween merchandise programs inspired by Disney Channel’s High School Musical, Hannah Montana and Camp Rock. More than 33 million books relating to the High School Musical and Hannah Montana franchises have sold to date worldwide. DCP is also at work on fresh opportunities presented by the Jonas Brothers series launching on Disney Channel in 2009.
With tween franchises generating new trends in the world of music, DCP saw an opportunity in the musical instruments market, which led to the creation of a brand-new product category at DCP – a line of professional-grade acoustic and electric guitars especially designed and sized for tweens. The line expanded in 2008 to include Camp Rock-themed guitars.
Disney Princess continues to thrive across the Company's businesses. This evergreen animated franchise continues to connect with girls universally through an assortment of products that sprinkles Disney Princess magic into everyday activities - from waking up in a royal Princess bed to using a Princess toothbrush at night-time. In 2008, DCP introduced an array of Sleeping Beauty merchandise at retailers to complement the Platinum Edition DVD release of the classic 1959 film. Currently, Disney Princess ranks as the No. 1 Disney franchise in Latin America, with significant momentum in Russia, China and India.
In 2009, the Disney Princess brand will celebrate its 10th anniversary. DCP’s licensees will create special product assortments leveraging Disney’s first princess fairy tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in support of the Platinum Edition DVD release that fall, and the newest fairy tale to join the Disney Princess legacy, The Princess and the Frog, which releases theatrically during holiday 2009.
