Two historic brands for a wedding. Two symbolic names of every Italian childhood - and not only that - are preparing to unite, but it's not all roses and flowers. The operation seems nostalgic stuff: the national sticker giant, Panini of Modena, has signed a preliminary agreement to take over Disney's Italian magazine division, namely Mickey Mouse, plus other collateral publications such as Bambi, Winnie the Pooh and Witch.
The news had been in the air for some time; to give it the trappings of officiality was a note from Disney Italia itself: "The operation will make it possible to enhance the experience of Panini, the Italian multinational publisher leader in the comics market, which has to its credit a long and fruitful collaboration in the distribution of Marvel Periodicals.” An agreement that does not mean, however, a disengagement by Disney in publishing products, since the only thing at stake is the purchase of a 6-year license for the publication.
For the rest, further details of the operation are still unknown. What is certain is that even mice, in their small way, age and lose their enamel: the sales numbers, around 136 thousand copies, are in fact very far from the glories of the 90s, when the circulation was close to one million.
To complicate the situation, then, is the planned transfer of 22 employees from Milan to Modena, one of the conditions set by Panini for the purchase. The 22 people (half of them journalists and the other half of polygraphs) have, in fact, openly sided against the move and the workers' general assembly has already called a two-day strike. There's still work to be done before the figurines and the mouse get married.
