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The New York Times reported yesterday that entertainment super giant Disney is planning to reboot its entire chain of global retail stores as part of a major new strategy and vision inspired and guided by Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

In the current economic climate, most retailers are looking for ways to cut down on spending and holding-back on investment and growth initiatives. But according to the New York Times’ Brooks Barnes, Disney is taking a leaf out of Apple’s book and using the economy’s downtime to reinvent its own retail stores.

Disney is… getting more aggressive and putting into motion an expensive and ambitious floor-to-ceiling reboot of its 340 stores in the United States and Europe — as well as opening new ones.

This mirrors Apple’s own aggressive efforts in the last 18 months to refurbish existing stores and open whole new outlets. It’s a strategy that’s paying off. In August, Bloomberg reported that Apple’s retail stores were performing consistently well, despite the economic downturn.

Apple… increased revenue at its stores by 2.5 percent in the first six months of the year to $3 billion as the rest of the retail industry suffered. During the same period, sales at all U.S. retailers fell 9.2 percent compared with the first half of 2008, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

So the investment and growth strategy is working well for Apple, and clearly Disney is hoping that some of Steve’s retail magic might rub off on it.

Fingerprints

Steve Jobs joined Disney’s board of directors as the majority shareholder in 2006, and, according to Barnes, “…[his] fingerprints can be seen on Disney strategy, in the same way that he influenced the look and feel of Apple’s own immensely popular retail chain.” And while Jobs didn’t personally develop Disney’s new retail strategy, he pushed the company to go for much more than a standard refurbishment. Andy Mooney, Chairman of Disney Consumer Products, is quoted saying, “Dream bigger — that was Steve’s message,” Certainly sounds like Steve, doesn’t it?

And the dream is big. Emphasis has moved away from regarding the Disney stores as merely merchandise outlets to something far more grand. “The world does not need another place to sell Disney merchandise — this only works if it’s an experience,” said Jim Fielding, President of Disney Stores Worldwide. “When consumers are ready to spend again, we will be ready.”

The new stores will include theaters for children to watch their favourite Disney features, karaoke contests and even live satellite chat with Disney stars around the world. Smart displays with embedded sensors and audio/video components will create personalised experiences for shoppers. “Walk by a ‘magic mirror’ while holding a Princess tiara,” writes Barnes, “and Cinderella might appear and say something to you.”

In addition to the theater (in itself reminiscent of Apple Store’s own in-store lecture and learning space), the new Disney stores will allow customers to interact with the high-tech fixtures and fittings via their iPhones. Employees will brandish hand-held payment devices, just as they do in Apple Stores.

Steve Jobs shared detailed documents on Apple’s expertise in retail store development and management, while Disney Executives paid visits to Apple stores. According to Barnes, there was even a ‘pilot’ store to iron-out the wrinkles. Steve Jobs insisted Disney create a prototype store, which it dubbed “Imagination Park.”

The company followed his advice, working for the last year on a full-scale, fully stocked store inside an unmarked warehouse in Glendale, California. The prototype was crucial to shaping an overall philosophy, Mr. Fielding said, noting that he discovered the shops needed more “Pixar-esque winks and nods.” To that end, one sales area is now labeled “WWTD: What Would Tinker Bell Do?”

The new stores will be unveiled in May 2010 in Southern California, Long Island and Madrid. Disney is also planning to create a new flagship store in Times Square, New York.

AppleInsider’s Kasper Jade today reports that Apple has new plans for its workhorse laptop, the MacBook. This will be the first time since the product’s launch in 2006 that the company’s entry-level Mac has received a complete design update.

The MacBook is the best-selling computer in the history of the company. It introduced many of the features we take for granted in today’s high-end MacBook Pro machines. The MagSafe connector and latchless lids might be expected of Apple’s laptops these days, but they originally debuted in the diminutive MacBooks more than three years ago.

The report claims that the MacBooks were slated to be discontinued, but that at a redesign the company will “solidify them at the base of the Mac maker’s notebook offerings for the foreseeable future.”

There is no news as to what the redesigned MacBook might look like, but if Apple is to position the machine as a low-cost, entry-level device while keeping it distinct enough from its 13-inch MacBook Pro cousin, it seems unlikely it will be made using the same unibody extrusion process.

A carbon fiber composite would make sense, given this 2006 patent application filed by Apple. It describes a method for producing a carbon fiber composite used as an exterior shell for electronic devices. Of particular note is mention of a “scrim” layer designed to improve the cosmetic finish of the material.

Furthermore, there was talk last year of Apple planning to replace at least part of the MacBook Air’s aircraft-grade aluminum body — specifically, the bottom cover — with the tough-but-light carbon fiber material. While the latest updates to the Air continue to use an all-aluminum body, it is conceivable the carbon fiber plans will see the light of day in the new MacBook.

As for the refreshed internals, there’s only speculation, guided by the assumption Apple will want to position the new MacBook as an affordable (read “cheap”) machine:

Apple is expected to achieve these markdowns through largely existing tactics, such as using lower-end components and previous-generation Core 2 Duo chips and architectures from Intel Corp. Battery life should receive a boost from cutting-edge technology that recently found its way into the company’s other notebook offerings, while high-end legacy features like FireWire connectivity are likely to be sacrificed in the tradeoff.

[Apple] toyed with the prospect of throwing an Intel Atom processor into the existing white MacBook enclosure as [an] interim solution aimed at delivering a low-cost Mac portable for those consumers eying a Mac but hit hard by the recession.

Interestingly, Jade explains that this idea was dropped earlier in the year right around the time when Apple “solidified the forthcoming Newton web tablet for a first-quarter 2010 rollout”.

If Apple prices the new MacBook around the same $999 mark as the current machine — which it most probably will — what will that mean for the price of the tablet? Whatever the outcome, it sounds as though Apple has a clearly defined product/feature differentiation in mind for these devices, despite their similar price points.

It’s all just speculation, of course. But it’s nice to see that Apple is potentially breathing new life into an old and trusted friend.