Disney English announced that it will be closing its 26 centres in China after 12 years of operating in the country, citing a “change in consumer preferences” exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis for the decision.
News and business analysis for Professionals in International Education
Have some pie!
China: Disney English suspends operations
The company's 26 centres will not be reopening after closing in January due to Covid-19. Photo: Pixabay Launched in Shanghai in 2008, the chain of schools was notable for incorporating Disney characters into the curriculum and was one of the larger chains of foreign-owned English language schools in China.
“More consumers are moving towards learning online”
“We have noticed a change in consumer preferences; more consumers are moving towards learning online, a trend which the global epidemic has exacerbated. Parents have many concerns about returning to face-to-face extra-curricular learning courses,” said the company in a statement.
“As you know, all the country’s Disney English centres have not been open since January 2020. After careful consideration, the company has decided not to reopen the centres.”
Disney initially had ambitious plans for the Chinese market. According to Sina, in 2010 the company had planned to open 148 schools by 2015.
Many large brands that were formerly mainstays of China’s ESL education market have been struggling over the last year, even before the Covid-19 outbreak.
Web International English shut down in late 2019, while earlier this year Wall Street English resorted to cutting staff’s salaries and enacting mass layoffs in an attempt to save money.
English language training centres in China are likely to continue to see a downturn in interest as people try to recover financially from Covid-19 and seek cheaper alternatives such as online learning.
Closed borders will further exacerbate the shortage of native English teachers, which centres use to justify higher fees.
Parents of students – Disney English targeted 2-12-year-olds – will be able to apply for refunds between June 26 and July 21.
Still looking? Find by category:
Add your comment
3 Responses to China: Disney English suspends operations
Leave a Reply
Latest Tweets
This news is such a shame. I feel sorry for the Foreign Trainers who have lost their jobs, are in China, and are unable to leave. It’s a stressful situation. Also, for the kids who must have loved going to their Disney classes and having fun there.
Nahh it was a blessing to try something new after so many years and they paid an amazing pension. All good! And we weren’t stuck. A lot of people left.
I taught in China after-school training centers until January 2020. The parents love their after-school training centers grades K-8, but the national government required all after-school training schools closed in 2022. The government already required students to be in school 5 days per week until 3:30 pm. The government wanted the kids to spend more time outside playing — rather than going to after school English, Music, Penship, etc classes until 8:30 pm on school nights. The public playgrounds for children where I lived were typically devoid of children weekdays afternoons. Some weekend training courses still exist, but “Tiger Moms and Dads” cannot put their kids into afterschool training centers without special permission. Most such training centers closed in China because of government policy. Good for the kids, but not so much for the teachers and grandparents who put their pensions into these training program in hopes of securing a better future for their single grandkid due to the former China one child policy.
Now, I teach American English to kids in Japan beginning in 2022.