The Walt Disney Company, started in California more than eight decades ago, occupies today the tenth position in the rank of the Best Global Brands. In order to achieve this position, it was necessary that the focus of Disney was not only in the market inside the United States, but in the Global Market. The company today has their worldwide known amusement parks in three different continents, stores in United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal; and licensed shops in nearly every country in the world.

The Strategies used by The Walt Disney Company for Reaching Global Markets are Foreign Outsourcing, Licensing, and Direct Investment.

Due to the higher wages in the United States when compared to developing countries, Disney adopted the strategy of Foreign Outsourcing to reduce the cost of production. The main factories are located in Asian countries, especially in China, and then have their products distributed to all the stores.
In order to have Walt Disney products available worldwide, Disney not only opened Disney Stores outside of the United States, but also authorized Licensees to resell their products. This approach is very beneficial for the company, in view of the low need of investment or no investment sometimes.
As said before, Disney also opened Disney Stores around the world, as well as amusement parks and resorts. This type of Strategy is called Direct Investment. This represents a high cost investment for the company; however, their control over how their business operates is maximized. As of today, Walt Disney Company has Direct Investment Stores in five different countries and amusement parks and resorts in United States, France, Tokyo, Hong Kong and an upcoming one in