A widely circulated rumour speculates that all Disney stores in the UK could be closing - with the exception of their flagship shop in London.
The rumour that has been circulating states that Disney is set to close 33 stores in the UK by September - this would include the Disney store in Milton Keynes located at centre:mk.
Though no UK stores have been officially confirmed to be closing at this time, there is some evidence to support this claim.
In an announcement released earlier this March, Disney did confirm that they were planning to "significantly reduce its brick-and-mortar footprint" over the coming year.
Stephanie Young, the president of Consumer Products, Games and Publishing (CPGP) for Disney, explained the reasoning behind this move as she said: "While consumer behaviour has shifted toward online shopping, the global pandemic has changed what consumers expect from a retailer.
"Over the past few years, we’ve been focused on meeting consumers where they are already spending their time, such as the expansion of Disney store shop-in-shops around the world.
"We now plan to create a more flexible, interconnected e-commerce experience that gives consumers easy access to unique, high-quality products across all our franchises."
This move is expected to begin with the closure of around 60 Disney stores throughout North America and 18 in Canada as the company seemingly plans to move to primarily selling merchandise online going forward.
Disney's initial statement on this matter did not make any mention of their UK stores. However, a spokesperson for Disney has recently said that the company was "currently in consultation with an initial group of stores in the UK" regarding their future.
Which UK stores exactly, if any, will close remains to be seen as this is likely to be on a store by store basis.
MKFM has contacted Disney for comment.
