Netflix to open branded retail stores for some reason

www.engadget.com Netflix to open branded retail stores for some reason

Netflix has decided to open a number of brick-and-mortar locations to sell items based on hit shows, offer dining and provide live events. There’s also going to be an obstacle course based on ‘Squid Game.’

Netflix to open branded retail stores for some reason::Netflix has decided to open a number of brick-and-mortar locations to sell items based on hit shows, offer dining and provide live events. There’s also going to be an obstacle course based on ‘Squid Game.’

98 comments

What if you could go and a rent physical DVDs
- Best date nights always started with a trip to Blockbuster.
  
  I remember renting an N64 with Majora's mask and pulling an all-nighter so I could finish it during the two-day rental period. It was a good time to be alive.
  
  It’s so weird how we look back on those things that were seen as inconveniences, driving to a physical store / rental time limits, as good things now.
  
  It’ll be interesting to see if we find ways to kinda bridge those gaps.
  
  so, how'd the date go? 😝
  
  They also doubled as a place to get movie snacks too
  
  Based on your nostalgia, if you pulled an all-nighter at your age you'd be feeling it for a week!
- It would be a blockbuster
  
  they could name it bandwidth cap buster.
  
  A place for Family to get Video
- They killed dvd.com so I doubt it.
  
  There is a service called gamefly but I haven't tried it
- Or Blu-rays
There’s also going to be an obstacle course based on ‘Squid Game.’

They could not have missed the point harder if they'd tried.

This literally reads like something out of Black Mirror.
- You have to murder the other participants to claim your free netflix subscription.
  
  *free for a month. Includes adds
- "We've made the Torment Nexus, from the classic sci-fi novel Don't Build the Torment Nexus".
- I mean... if I got a waffle cracker thing and a needle for dessert, I'd be a happy camper.
- Or maybe season 2 is coming?
I cannot imagine a customer base that's so ecstatic with Netflix's service that they're willing to give the company even more money by buying overpriced ultra-processed meals and branded coffee cups. Why people continue to sell their souls and open their wallets to these companies is beyond me.
- Never met consumer removed? Not that I can talk, smack a pokemon on just about anything and I want to buy it.
  
  That said, I don’t think Netflix has that cachet. Maybe they’ll have a section where you can vote on what show gets abruptly cancelled next!
  
  I'm not sure that makes you a removed... more of a slut...
  
  And how!
- If they sell cosplay customes based on popular shows, you know people will be queuing up to throw money at those made-in-china products.
  
  Having the rights to ship out the offical crap could be a gold mine for them.
  
  Just take Squid Game. It's a regular training suit and they already exist as costumes and they're easy to copy, but you can't find the real one because of all the copies.
  
  Same idea as the Universal Studios parks. Just without the park, because the income is all in the souvenir shop anyway.
- During the holidays I saw lots of teenagers (and a couple adults) with stranger things, casa de papel, squid games and Wednesday merch.
- Who runs the Stranger Things experience? I bet it's them under a different name or maybe sold the rights? Regardless of who owns it, it was super popular here in Seattle.
- Have to place them strategically. There's a stranger things store in Vegas, so it's a tourist activity
- Sell their souls? 😂 you live in a completely different world than most people. hsrdly anyone views it that way, they view it as paying $18/month or whatever it is now
"Netflix to open branded retail stores for some reason"

"...to open a number of brick-and-mortar locations to sell items based on hit shows, offer dining and provide live events."

There you go. But if you want to go deeper it's to try and make more money for investors. Yay publicly traded companies!
- To be fair I would rather see them try to make money for investors this way than by cutting costs on labor and the other shady things companies do to make money. This is at least some kind of "innovation" for lack of a better term. Maybe it might be cool
  
  Yeah, increasing profit by actually creating a product is great. Increasing profit by increasing costs to the customer or decreasing expenditures (in particular cutting pay or removing employees) sucks.
- The phrase "for some reason" is used here to mean "I think it's a dumb idea"
  
  I mean, they could have saved money by just selling merch online. This is a dumb idea.
I don’t get why this is so confusing. This is basically a rotating theme restaurant/theme shop. Disneyland, Universal Studios, the new Nintendo park, etc. aren’t really about the rides or food either. Will tourists buy Stranger Things tchotchkes and Bridgerton merch? Sure, we’re a hyper consumeristic society that loves pop culture doodads and experiences. I somehow get the feeling this will fail, Netflix’s brand has lost its luster recently, but I don’t think this idea is totally out there.
- I think the problem is the reporting: it says "retail stores" right in the headline. Which sounds insane.
  
  "Netflix to open themed restaurants and gift-shops" sounds... well, still insane, but less-so.
- I'm not confused why they're doing it, I'm confused why they think b&m stores are the way to go. I'm sure they can subsidize any potential losses from other money making areas but why not just sell the merch online? Storefront overhead ain't cheap.
  
  While I completely agree, there’s a bit of a draw to certain experiences around shopping. Some instances:
  
  FAO Schwarz in NYC
  
  Nintendo flagship store in NYC
  
  Tiffany & Co. in NYC on 5th Ave
  
  LEGO store in Leicester Square London
  
  Basically look up a list of Flagship stores, even Microsoft and Samsung have ones. They’re more of an experience and bragging rights than just walking in a random Walmart to get merch. Sure, you can just order it online, but it’s not the same.
  
  Because it’s not about immediate sales, it’s about marketing. They’ve been between major culture defining hits for a while, but imagine if such a store existed when Squid Games was at its peak. Create a few instagrammable moments at two locations, a place for hyped fans to pilgrimage, and that’s much cheaper than TV advertising. Not saying it’ll be successful, but I think there’s some logic to this.
- I think that’s a fair assessment but that particular kind of retail is risky. Food, maybe.
if they sold DVDs of Netflix's shows that would actually be pretty nice, but I doubt they would be OK with allowing anyone to actually own their media.
Nail in the coffin, RIP Netflix
offer dining

I would actually love to see a restaurant that prepares dishes based on various fantasy / sci-fi worlds

Like food from the witcher in a tavern theme, or food from Star Trek in the enterprise cafeteria, etc.
- Is Hannibal on netflix?
- Don't worry dinner will be cancelled midway through the appetizers 😔
- In Tokyo they had a Stranger Things themed restaurant for a while. Pop up culture is pretty big in Japan so it worked out great I suppose. I don't expect it to work in other places nearly as well. Especially if it's a permanent structure.
  
  One thing you could do would be to build a common "theme" for the structure and then switch out the basis on a monthly basis.
  
  So build a tavern section and then one month do the witcher, the next game of thrones, then pirates of the Caribbean, etc.
  
  Space ship theme for Star Trek, Star wars, firefly
  
  Retro theme for stranger things, and other stuff that I can't think of right now.
- What food from the Witcher would you want...?
  
  Bread. ?
  
  Striga Strudel
  
  Fleder Focaccia
  
  Bruxa Borscht
  
  Nom nom nom!
They basically want more data points on people to sell to advertisers.

It's big tech. That's how big tech works.
- No. Merch has direct profit that has a much larger margin than streaming. It's just a new cash flow for them. Same reason patreon was offering merch and discord too.
  
  You have an asset in land and physical goods to sell for money. It's not complicated why they are pivoting to it.
  
  The lesson of star wars was that merch is both profitable and is functionally marketing. It also might get around some of their contracts.
  
  It's probably both
- You're so cynical. They obviously want to spread joy among their customers. That and launder money.
- It's Hard Rock Cafe for Netflix shows. But I can't imagine going to one. We'll see.
offer dining

Reminds me of the joke: "dinner theater is a great way to ensure that both are mediocre."

Edit: pronounced "DIN-nuh THE-uh-tuh" in your best mid-Atlantic accent.
- I mean, most of the content on netflix is already mediocre. Why no get some bar food to go with it?
  
  Because I'm not going to leave my house for mediocre food and entertainment?
They took this advice / business idea from Matpat
- That’s dangerous
  
  That's just a theory
This is the same thing as the HBO store in NYC. It can work well if the location is right and touristy enough.
Hmm? The Rise and Fall of Planet Hollywood
- Planet Hollywood
- I didn't realize Planet Hollywood barely still existed.
  
  Very interesting.
If they spend money on this, how will they afford to acquire beloved series to cancel after two seasons?
- They'll cancel after the first season.
Makes sense. They have multiple franchises and they can either sell in Walmart and water down the franchise or make an exclusive store where they control the experience and increase the value of the products. Disney also has stores like that. As for the Squid Game experience it’s the local equivalent to Disney parks. Di’s I mention it looks like they’re copying Disney?
- I enjoyed the Disney stores, they always were busy, but now they are all closing down it seems.
  
  Same, but Disney has gotten so big and so loose with it's cash that they are burning the clothes off their backs to keep the train moving. It was just not profitable enough to keep that arm alive I guess
  
  The entire chain of Disney stores in the UK closed years ago. A bunch of other narrowly branded shops have gone too.
  
  If the likes of Disney didn’t think stores were worth it, I’m not sure how Netflix thinks it could work. There’s can be decent margin on merchandise, but also a lot of cost in running physical retail.
No.
I went to the Stranger Things popup in Vegas. Not gonna lie, I had a good time. It was like an amusement park exhibit with the classic gift shop at the end, but the prices didn't seem inflated. If I was interested in buying merch, I'd rather go to to one of these than just order it online. I'm not saying it will be successful, but I don't hate them for trying it.

And, yes, they did sell DVD boxed sets.
Those Stranger Things bath mats won't sell themselves!
Amazon tried this, they're specifically a shop, and they couldn't make it work.
This would have made sense back in the early 2000's when malls were still a relatively big thing.
This is why my subscription went up? Time to cancel.
this sucks so much

i also hate that they're gonna hire real people, to staff and manage the places, and those people are gonna start slowly convincing themselves that maybe it's not stupid to wake up and get dressed and go to work so people can buy an orange is the new black sweater. which is really sad, the quiet desperation of it all. people's livelihood now depends on this garbage.
- See also:
  
  Box Lunch
  
  Hot Topic
  
  And really, every other retail job

98 comments