Disney names Matt Simon as the new Vice President, Disney Springs

Jun 22, 2018 in "Disney Springs"

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Posted: Friday June 22, 2018 5:45pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has named Matt Simon as the new Vice President of Disney Springs following the departure of Keith Bradford in early May 2018.

Matt was recruited from outside the company, where he previously served as Vice President of Operations for North American Properties Atlanta, where he was responsible for the strategic planning and innovative development of all operational and financial facets of Avalon and Colony Square.

Prior to joining North American Properties, Matt oversaw The Grove, which was recognized as the having the second highest retail sales per square foot in the country.

Disney Springs overview

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Missing20KJun 25, 2018

And be worth every penny. Few purchases in my life have given me more satisfaction than my AE’s.

FullSailDanJun 25, 2018

hrmmm.... nothing about Disney Springs says outlets to me at all. In fact, I'd wager it definitely speaks to a more premium market. The stores there aren't Cartier or haute couture for sure, but it's not your run of the mill mall. Most of the restaurants are on the high end too. There's a smaller mix of affordable stuff like Uniqlo. But these days even it's very much after the kind of buyer that would view them as casual comfort wear, not daily presentable. I also don't think the price of merchandise is all that inflated at the Springs either. I bought two pairs of jeans from the Levis store and it was about on par with the local mall here in Orlando. Maybe a few bucks more, but well worth the extra cost for not having to deal with the mess and crowd at the other malls. I've made a few other purchases there, the art of shaving carries my shave oil and moisturizer. Same cost as online or other stores. We can argue the slim margins of retail, but.... it's pretty clear. The middle to lower-middle class isn't able to afford/support retail experiences like they used to. Stores are being squeezed and closing left and right. The only ones surviving are the ones serving a more high end client. Constant sales to get market share mean devaluation of the brand and lead to closures, meanwhile I'll gladly buy my Allen Edmond's at full price.

ThatMouseJun 25, 2018

Working in retail, I have no sympathy for those "slim margins." It perhaps should be made more clear that these are premium stores selling the same merchandise for twice the price, not outlet stores most people are used to.

FullSailDanJun 25, 2018

After the end PI, it was never more than shopping and dining. It's supposed to be a fun place to go hang out, grab dinner, do some shopping and maybe see a show. A good "getaway" from the hustle of the parks. One can even argue that even before the close of PI, it didn't try to be a themed/magical paradise for guests.And it's not a bad thing really. If they wanted it to be something bigger they would need to charge an admission fee or pass it onto the retail. Retail already has slim margins these days. Dining is what's keeping people over there, the restaurants in the parks and hotels are booked so people grab what they can and wind up doing some shopping too.

Gabe1Jun 23, 2018

May have been stated somewhere but isn’t this-he one of the conglomerate family members of Simon Malls? The have righted many failing retail venues

Biff215Jun 23, 2018

The Four Seasons area is on the edge of the property so it was very easy to cut off to avoid voting issues. Definitely agree residential would be unlikely at DS and there are already plenty of resorts in that area. I’m sure it’s all about keeping the stores full and paying max rent over the long haul at this point.

mm121Jun 23, 2018

it could have been cool to incorporate a hotel into the upper levels of the town center area, but i guess they figured the capacity wasn't needed and people wouldnt really want to stay in the middle of a busy shopping complex While I know AMC is due for a makeover, i dont see splitsville going anywhere its not very old.

mm121Jun 23, 2018

would be great to see the parking lot to the west ofthe west side get built and named hyperion warf, definitely would have been nice if theywould have built some kind of trolly or something around the exterior as its a super long walk from one side to the other, and while yes there are boats would have been nice to have a land option as well. NO not sure how they worked that luxury neighborhood, but they dont want RCID to have actual residents other than the few who are disney employees that they know how their going to vote on things

the.dreamfinderJun 23, 2018

No way would they do anything like that with DS. The property is too valuable to deal with neighbors. I could see them letting someone like W develop a boutique hotel where AMC/Solitsville are down the road.