Disney's E-Commerce Strategy.
Touro University International Kevin P. Beck BUS 401 - International Business Module 1 Case Assignment: Disney's E-Commerce Strategy Professor - Dr. Paul Watkins If the Walt Disney Company expects to achieve success as it pursues international markets, effectively integrating the Internet and e-commerce into its global strategy must become one of its prime considerations. In an article published on the website Forbes.com, Disney CEO Michael Eisner indeed states: "The Internet continues to be a central focus of our company's business strategy".1 This paper will address three key points: why Disney must expand its use of e-commerce to gain leverage in the global market, how it can be done, and what the potential benefits are. Let's begin by discussing why Disney should place increased emphasis on e-commerce. If it expects to remain competitive and attract new business, Disney should strive to raise its position in the e-commerce arena. This is an important challenge because, as a major media company, it lags far behind its competitors when it comes to controlling Internet user minutes. As of June 2001, Disney provided less than one percent of online usage minutes while top competitor AOL/Time-Warner captured a sizable 32 percent share.2 Based on those statistics, it's easy to conclude that the company's ability to generate worldwide business to business (B2B) and
