The "Disney Store" brand has not been bought by another company; it remains a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. However, the retail strategy underwent a massive shift in the early 2020s that led to confusion. Disney closed the vast majority of its standalone brick-and-mortar stores worldwide and transitioned its e-commerce platform to shopDisney. In a significant partnership, Disney opened "mini-stores" or "Disney store at Target" locations inside hundreds of Target department stores across the United States. This was a licensing and distribution agreement, not a sale of the brand. By 2026, the "Disney Store" name has been revived on many of these shop-in-shop locations and the flagship e-commerce site to maintain brand heritage. While Target manages the floor space and daily staffing of the mini-shops, the merchandise and brand standards remain under Disney's strict control as part of their "Disney Consumer Products" division.