Chapter 489: Mickey Mouse in a Kimono

[Chapter 489: Mickey Mouse in a Kimono]

Seeing Allen's expression, Eric realized that the survey results were far from optimistic. Although he had already prepared himself for the worst, he still furrowed his brows tightly when he opened the folder Allen had sent him in his hotel room, looking at the compiled statistics.

The survey was not something Eric had come up with arbitrarily; it was based on some forward-looking data from Disney's initial project proposal. Setting the materials aside for a moment, Eric opened his Apple PowerBook laptop again, retrieving the original data he had excerpted that night and comparing it with the real data from the survey.

Usually, Eric would easily fall asleep after a few drinks, but after seeing the juxtaposed data, he found himself wide awake, with even the slightest buzz from the alcohol completely gone.

After pacing in the study for a moment, Eric picked up the phone, intending to call Katzenberg, who had already returned to Los Angeles. However, after a moment's thought, he hung up the receiver and grabbed the stack of documents, leaving his room to find the fax machine in the hotel manager's office. He faxed all the documents directly to Katzenberg's office.

Even though it was already late at night in Paris, it was still only three in the afternoon in Los Angeles -- prime working hours. Given Katzenberg's workaholic nature, even if he was not personally in the office, his assistant would ensure the materials reached him as quickly as possible.

Once he sent all the documents, Eric returned to his suite and sat down at his desk to review the survey results again. After typing away at his laptop for a while, it was just past one in the morning when he finally decided it was time to rest.

Just as he was about to wash up, the room's phone rang.

Eric picked up the phone on instinct.

"Eric, it's me." Although the transatlantic connection made Katzenberg's voice slightly distorted, Eric could still sense the seriousness in his tone. "I've seen the materials you sent over. I'll be in Paris tomorrow."

...

A week after the opening of Euro Disney, not only did the park attract over a hundred thousand visitors on its opening day, but its total attendance for the first week also exceeded five hundred thousand. Although the management was aware that this surge was due to the initial excitement surrounding the park's opening, they remained optimistic, estimating that the total number of visitors could surpass ten million in the next four months of 1992.

At least that was what Patrick Schneider, CEO of Euro Disney, believed. The French investors involved in the park's construction shared his confidence as well. After the initial hustle and bustle, Patrick had been busy attending various commercial and private parties, basking in the compliments he received from investors eager for project cooperation with Euro Disney.

At the banquet hall of the Hilton Paris, adjacent to the Champs-Elysees, a large gathering was taking place. Patrick Schneider was engrossed in conversation with an executive from the Vivendi group when his assistant rushed through the crowd towards him, an anxious expression on his face as he gestured towards Patrick.

Patrick felt a twinge of annoyance, but seeing his assistant's demeanor, he had no choice but to address the middle-aged man in front of him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Melson, but I may need to step away for a moment. I'll give the partnership with AL+ serious consideration," he said.

The man named Melson noticed Patrick's assistant's actions and wisely took his leave.

After raising his glass to bid the man farewell, Patrick turned to his assistant. "Carl, is there something urgent that needs to be said?"

"Mr. Schneider, Mr. Katzenberg has arrived," Carl, the young assistant, said with urgency.

Patrick raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Katzenberg? Didn't he just return to Los Angeles three days ago?"

Carl shook his head, panic evident in his gestures. "Mr. Schneider, I'm not sure about the specifics, but I just received a call from Mr. Katzenberg himself. He's already at Disney headquarters, and he said you need to get back there within an hour, or... well, you won't need to return."

Patrick was taken aback, mouth agape as he looked at his assistant, searching for confirmation that this wasn't a joke. But seconds later, he bolted toward the exit of the banquet hall, completely forgetting to put down his wine glass.

...

Due to the agreement signed with the French side, Euro Disney was fully operated by the Disney company. Thus, almost all managerial-level executives were Americans, while the French partners only had nominal positions.

Patrick rushed into the meeting room just as Katzenberg had indicated. The moment he entered, all eyes turned to him in the packed room. Katzenberg was seated next to Eric, quietly engaged in conversation. Upon spotting Patrick, Katzenberg simply nodded and gestured to an empty seat beside him, then returned to his conversation with Eric.

Although it was just a brief glance, Patrick noticed the dark bags under Katzenberg's eyes behind his glasses.

Besides the two bosses whispering to each other, the other high-level executives in the room sat quietly, feeling the tension in the air. After taking his seat, Patrick did not dare to wipe the beads of sweat off his forehead. Instead, he cast a questioning glance at the operations director across from him but received nothing but a blank stare in return.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, let's begin," Katzenberg said after a few more quiet exchanges with Eric, then lightly clapped his hands. The administrative secretary, sitting nearby, distributed the prepared materials.

Eric remained quietly seated, playing with a pencil while observing the surroundings. Since he had already identified the issues, it was best to leave the resolution to the more business-savvy Katzenberg. Eric always recognized his strengths; while he had a natural advantage in film production, running a massive film company was well beyond his capacity. He also lacked the energy to manage everything himself; it was best to leave professional matters to professionals. His accumulated wisdom from two lifetimes taught him not to resent subordinates whose abilities exceeded his own.

As the pages of documents were turned, the atmosphere in the meeting room relaxed somewhat, accompanied by quiet murmurs. However, this low-level chatter barely lasted two minutes before the room fell silent again as everyone pored over the data.

Katzenberg looked around at the group of executives, patiently waiting for over ten minutes until he was sure everyone had finished their readings before speaking. "Alright, I trust you all can see the gravity of the situation given your expertise. If not, you are free to leave the room now; the company will provide two years' salary as severance for anyone who chooses to depart."

No one spoke up, and certainly, no one chose to leave.

As one of the highest-ranking members of the meeting aside from the two bosses, Patrick felt a sense of impending doom. He shot a covert glance at Eric, but withdrew it quickly before Eric could catch him. Patrick knew the survey results were crafted under Eric's direct supervision, and given that Euro Disney was part of Disney's operations, he hardly believed Eric would fabricate the numbers.

However...

Lowering his gaze back to the data, Patrick felt a wave of emptiness wash over him. The survey's most important question pertained to visitor satisfaction at the theme park, which was divided into five levels: very satisfied, satisfied, neutral, dissatisfied, and very dissatisfied. Of approximately ten thousand survey respondents, only about nine hundred reported being very satisfied, while over three thousand stated they were very dissatisfied. The middle three categories showed dissatisfaction in the largest numbers and satisfaction in the least.

If these scores were converted into a ten-point scale, the results would show far below the six-point passing mark.

That opening batch of visitors were likely the most enthusiastic and hopeful fans of Disney movies. If they had such a poor impression, one could only imagine how subsequent visitors would feel about Euro Disney.

"Twenty-three percent of visitors reported a satisfactory experience, while seventy-six percent indicated they would not return for a second visit. Ninety percent found the park's pricing completely unreasonable. Additionally, numerous freeform comments from visitors cited communication issues, merchandise pricing, and even parking, all of which were minor details but not to be overlooked. If it weren't for this survey, we might have only discovered the severity of these problems at the quarterly summary. By then, all the visitors who approached Euro Disney with high hopes would have left feeling disappointed. Once word of mouth spreads, reversing that perception will be a long and arduous process."

After finishing his statement, Katzenberg paused for a moment before continuing. "At the same time, I had the operations department conduct a rough estimate of the average spend per visitor. Initially, we had expected it to be around three hundred dollars per guest, but the actual figure was only one hundred twenty dollars, and that's based on a significant number of visitors feeling the ticket prices were exorbitant. Furthermore, the occupancy rate at our seven themed hotels was only thirty-seven percent, which is far below the seventy-five percent we had initially projected. This means that even if we maintain the current favorable trends, Euro Disney's revenue would only reach forty percent of what was projected. If we completely ignore this situation, it is certain that this new Disney theme park will not turn a profit like Tokyo Disney but will instead run a loss of over one hundred fifty million dollars."

With these words, the management team from Euro Disney fell silent, and it was clear to all that Katzenberg's tone bore a suppressed anger -- an anger stemming from a sense of betrayal. He had invested significant energy into overseeing the Euro Disney project since taking control of Disney at the start of the year. He had flown to Paris multiple times during this half-year to observe the park's progress. Yet, through all the reports submitted by Euro Disney's management, he had found no issues. Based on the reactions before him, Katzenberg sensed that it wasn't so much a case of intentional concealment as it was the blinded overconfidence that had allowed various problems to slip past unnoticed.

Glimpsing at Eric beside him somewhat defused Katzenberg's fury. He moved his lips and finally spoke. "While I need to share some responsibility for the current situation, you all cannot escape this one. I also happen to have an opinion letter submitted by local employees at the park in France, detailing many of the issues mentioned in the survey report. This highlights that these problems have been present since the beginning but were overlooked by you. As a penalty, everyone present here will see a fifty percent reduction in your salaries for the next four months. Of course, I will share in that penalty, too. If anyone disagrees, my previous offer still stands, and you can leave the office at this moment."

The executives exchanged glances, and although several people cast covert looks at Eric, no one dared point out any flaws in Katzenberg's statements while he was in such a rage, nor did anyone oppose the punishment.

"Alright then, since we're all on the same page, let's move on to the next agenda item and discuss how to address the current situation. Patrick, you can start," Katzenberg said brusquely, pointing at Patrick Schneider, showing no signs of leniency.

Patrick Schneider collected himself and began, "I think we should first consider making appropriate adjustments to the ticket prices and the prices of themed hotels..."

...

The lengthy meeting started at ten o'clock at night and continued until four-thirty the next morning. With a total investment of five billion dollars, the project faced significant issues, and none of those present dared to raise objections.

It wasn't until the first light of dawn that the administrative secretary had finished writing a thick stack of meeting minutes, signaling the end of the meeting.

After delivering his closing remarks, Katzenberg turned to Eric, who had remained silent throughout the night. "Eric, do you have anything to add?"

Eric, still holding the pencil in his hand, nodded in response to Katzenberg's question. "I have a picture I'd like to share with everyone."

With that, he retrieved a cylindrical roll from beside his feet and passed it to the administrative secretary, signaling for it to be hung on the board in the meeting room.

Everyone looked on with intense curiosity as the enlarged photograph was unfurled by the secretary. The executives soon realized it was a photo of Mickey Mouse, but with a twist: Mickey was dressed in a kimono.

"I'm sure everyone recognizes the outfit on this Mickey Mouse. Correct, it's a photo from an event at Tokyo Disneyland. A significant reason for Tokyo Disneyland's massive success is that the management there understands how to adapt to local culture. To attract customers, they can dress Mickey Mouse in a kimono and even host coming-of-age ceremonies for Japanese youth within the park.

The Disney culture is certainly a pride of ours, but let's remember that Disney is a commercial entity that aims to profit. We don't have a duty to engage in cultural imperialism; we should focus on profitability. This is the ultimate ethos a commercial company should uphold.

Some of you might think this viewpoint is overly mercenary, but think about the films. The reason Hollywood movies expand globally is they offer audiences what they want to see. In contrast, European cinema declines because they cling to rigid artistic ideals without change.

I'm telling you, something that is on the path to decline, whether it's a company or a culture, carries no pride.

That's all I have to say, so please consider it carefully."

Moments of silence ensued before applause erupted in the meeting room, led by a few individuals.

Katzenberg clapped while staring at the picture of Mickey Mouse in a kimono. Once the room quieted down, he turned to Eric. "Eric, you are absolutely right. Does this picture have an original version? I'd like to keep a copy on my desk."

After Eric nodded with a smile, Katzenberg looked around at the others. "I also suggest we all make a copy and keep it on our desks, as a form of encouragement. Of course, this is just my personal suggestion -- it's not mandatory. What I hope more for is that all of you will remember the philosophy represented by this photo."

*****

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