Disney Catalog

Steve Jobs, Disney's largest investor, had inspired the company to "think big." The new Disney Store at the Mall of America may share its kid clientele with nearby Legoland and Nickelodeon Universe, but the retailer shares its heart with an outlet just several feet away: the Apple store. With its seamless marriage of technology and brand, Disney's new concept stores have taken a page or two from Apple's vaunted retail playbook. Which makes sense, since Apple's founder/CEO, the late Steve Jobs, was the largest shareholder in the Walt Disney Co. and served on its board of directors.

The exterior view portrayed a strong, stable company — a well-oiled machine churning along toward future profits and continued success. The interior showed an entirely different story — a company crumbling just like one of its cookies. Mrs. Fields’ early success actually led to the downturn of its catalog direct/online unit. With that early success and rapid growth, Mrs. Fields didn’t invest properly in the infrastructure (marketing database, systems, tracking) of the direct division, says Greg Berglund, president of Salt Lake City-based Mrs. Fields Gifts. What’s more, the company failed to keep product offerings fresh and relevant, especially the refreshing of photography and item