Duffy The Disney Bear Delivers $500 Million a Year in Merchandise Sales
When you think of Disney merchandise, you likely think of Mickey Mouse, Grogu, and Spider-Man. As it turns out, Disney’s best-selling character isn’t a Star Wars, Marvel, or Pixar character- it is Duffy the Disney Bear.
Duffy first appeared in 2002, as part of a marketing gimmick to promote the opening of Once Upon a Toy at Walt Disney World’s Downtown Disney.
The simple-looking teddy bear was given a generic backstory that revealed he was Mickey’s teddy bear, magically imprinted with Mickey’s face and brought to life by Tinker Bell.
A Magical Comeback Story
By 2004, Duffy seemed like a failed marketing attempt. Then, something magical happened.
Photo: Disney
On December 1, 2004, Duffy the Disney Bear was introduced to the Tokyo Disney Resort, where he instantly became a fan favorite.
Duffy’s popularity would explode throughout Tokyo, Hong Kong, and eventually Shanghai. Disney suddenly had a new-massively popular character on their hands.
Photo: Disney
To capitalize on Duffy’s success, Disney expanded on the bear’s back story (he was a present from Minnie to sailor Mickey) and introduced other characters into the Duffy universe including ShellieMay, Gelatoni, StellaLou, CookieAnn, ‘Olu Mel, or LinaBell.
Image Credit: Shine/Shanghai Disneyland
Disney even brought Duffy back stateside to lukewarm success.
Duffy Is Disney’s Best-Selling Character
At The Walt Disney Company’s investor presentation on Tuesday, the company revealed that Duffy has become one of the company’s best-selling products, with $500 million in annual merchandise sales.
Image Credit: Disney
Twenty-one years after he was introduced to promote a new Walt Disney World store, Duffy has become the most successful selling character in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. He is also featured heavily in Disney’s Aulani Hotel in Hawaii and has a fairly strong presence on shopDisney.
Photo: Disney
Interestingly, Duffy still hasn’t appeared in a regular TV series or movie. That will soon change, however, when the Disney Bear stars in his own six-episode, animated series on Disney+ next year.
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