Netflix has been selling its subscription products direct-to-consumer since it was founded more than two decades ago.
Now the streaming giant has launched Netflix.shop — the company’s first owned-and-operated retail outlet to sell products directly. Of course, Netflix already has licensing deals for hundreds of products based on its original programming, sold by Target, Walmart, Amazon, H&M, Sephora and other retailers.
So what’s the point of Netflix having its own ecommerce presence? According Josh Simon, Netflix’s VP of consumer products, the website is “an exciting new destination combining curated products and rich storytelling in a uniquely Netflix shopping experience.”
Netflix.shop will sell exclusive, limited editions of “carefully selected, high-quality apparel and lifestyle products tied to our shows and brand on a regular basis,” Simon, who joined Netflix last year from Nike, wrote in a blog post announcing the site.
In other words, the goal of Netflix.shop is to try to create cachet for the company’s originals among superfans, with a secondary benefit of producing incremental revenue for the company.
Coming soon to the Netflix online store will be exclusive merch based on “The Witcher” and “Stranger Things,” two original series with rabid fandoms, as well as new Netflix logo-wear from Japanese fashion house BEAMS, according to Simon.
Products debuting this month on Netflix.shop are streetwear and action figures based on anime series “Yasuke” and “Eden” as well as limited-edition apparel and decorative items inspired by French thriller series “Lupin” in collaboration with the Musée du Louvre. For the launch of Netflix.shop, the company is introducing a collection of anime-inspired collectibles from three up-and-coming designers: Nathalie Nguyen, Kristopher Kites and Jordan Bentley.
Netflix developed and launched the ecommerce site with Shopify. The shopping site is first available in the U.S. before expanding to other countries in the coming months, Simon said. And, by the way, Netflix currently doesn’t have any plans to open brick-and-mortar outlets.
