The retail lifestyle champions: Disney brings back the theme parks

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While Coke reports later tonight and Netflix has already defined a new segment for lifestyle businesses, Disney has gone ahead and done something entire industries and countries have been targeting for more than two decades. Much like the aviation and telecom peers, the amusement parks business has become a capital guzzler throwing away rides for footfalls, finding maintenance expensive and unable to choose which properties to run and which ones to shut down.

 The theme park business was much in demand growing 25% in Q4 to $468 million for Disney (Operating Income) . The lifestyle business grew 2% from larger audience, 8% in Average Revenue per visitor ( within US and Canada) and even hotel bookings grew 4% for the quarter increasing overall realisations. Its dream cruiser ships worth $2 billion are ready to launch as well.

Overall, Disney’s income grew 50% from 44 cents to 68 cents i.e. $1.3 billion, $1.1 billion in op income coming from ESPN unit ( Media Networks unit) as disney also added on Rose and Fiesta Bowl franchises and grew income 47% from last year. For a fair comparison flip the pages at advantages.us for Diseney’s last appraisal here in 2010.

Meanwhile automaker Nissan raised its forecast comforted by the better outlook for the company in growing India and China markets

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