P4(a) Distribution channels

Meaning and Purpose: Since Pixar is under Walt Disney, all of the information I can just find inside Disney's Annual Report. The information below has mentioned about Disney's market lines, for the film part, it does include Pixar.

Distribution channels 
They are the links of businesses or intermediaries through the path of goods and services and pass through the wholesalers, retailers, distributors and even the internet. There are few ways of producer can to sell to the consumers. Firstly, the producer sell directly to the consumer. Secondly, the producer can sell thought the retailer and to the consumer. Thirdly, the producer can sell to the wholesalers, the retailers next, and finally the consumer.

The Consumer Products.
The Consumer Products segment engages with licensees, publishers and retailers throughout the world to design, develop, publish, promote and sell a wide variety of products based on the Company’s intellectual property through its Merchandise Licensing, Publishing and Retail businesses. In addition to using the Company’s film and television properties, Consumer Products also develops its own intellectual property, which can be used across the Company’s businesses.
The Consumer Products segment generates revenue from:

• licensing characters from our film, television and other properties to third parties for use on consumer merchandise
  
• publishing children’s books and magazines and comic books
  
• selling merchandise through our retail stores, internet shopping sites and wholesale business; and charging tuition at our English language learning centres in China
• Significant costs include costs of goods sold and distribution expenses, operating labor and retail occupancy costs.
• In June 2015, the Company announced the combination of its Consumer Products and Interactive segments into a single segment. The Company will begin reporting the financial results of the combined segment in fiscal 2016. 

The Company licenses its trade names, characters and visual and literary properties to various retailers and publishers throughout the world. The Company also engages in retail, online and wholesale distribution of products through The Disney Store, DisneyStore.com and MarvelStore.com. We operate The Disney Store in North America, Europe and Japan. The Company publishes entertainment and educational books and magazines and comic books for children and families and operates English language learning centers in China.

(This information is from the Disney Annual Report: https://ditm-twdc-us.storage.googleapis.com/2015-Annual-Report.pdf  Page 14, 68)

Through this information, I can see that the consumer products of Disney is using the discussion channel through the licensees, publishers, retailers to sell out their products to consumers. Basically, their products are including the DVDs of their films; the toys of the characters which are from their films; children's books, magazine, comic books by selling their merchandise through their retail stores, online stores, and the whole sale business. These stores operate throughout the world. They have Disney Store in North America, Europe, China and Japan. Especially China, they even operates an English language learning centres for the children.