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.’
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.
This has been the Infinitely Unfolding Paradox of Enjoyment that we’ve been experiencing since the Industrial Revolution. And it’s only become more acute as time has gone on. Things are becoming easier to access, we have more information than ever, it’s right at our fingertips, we have endless entertainment, we expect to be enjoying 100% of endless content—but this has made us angrier than ever at content we don’t enjoy, less able to enjoy the available entertainment, always looking for something better, he information at our fingertips is making us angrier and less satisfied (also somehow more misguided and ignorant—because that information is mixed in with absurd amounts of disinformation and it’s given an equal playing field), and our ease of access comes with an endless desire to access more and more while finding less and less we actually want.
Things are technically getting better, enjoyment is becoming a pinpointed prescription…but more and better is making us lesser and worse.
We need the bad to more enjoy the good. We need the inconvenience to enjoy the convenience. We need a lack of technology to enjoy the available technology.
Really, what this all boils down to is this:
Capitalism is destroying everything. In so many words. And if anyone can’t see how everything above is linked with capitalism and its driving force of profit (and endlessly growing profit, at that), I dunno how to help you. But I assume everyone on lemmy is pretty much very, very aware of this.
Thought we defederated from lemmygrad.ml??
You don’t have to be a tankie to realize capitalism is destroying everything, bud
Hear hear.
Fuck lemmygrad. I’m pretty sure I’ve been banned from there for arguing with communists. Anti-capitalism =/= communist. What are you, Fox News?
Remember when you got to choose what you watch and you had to pick up a remote and look at it on a rectangle?
-Future us, maybe
I remember when you couldn’t choose what to watch except for a handful of options, and you had to show up at the right time to watch what you chose. And there was no option to avoid ads.
I didn’t expect to be doing the old man routine in my mid 40s, but here we are.
Those weren’t necessarily seen as inconveniences at the time, because people had not experienced the “easier” alternatives to compare to. They were just seen as the way things were, and people made the best of them just we do with day to day activities now.
Going to the video rental place was part of the weekend routine for me, blended in with shopping etc. One of the rental places I used to go to also sold music, and tickets for local events. They also had a bunch of posters and notices up about local happenings. Customers would often bump into friends and acquaintances while browsing. The rental place also had a letter box that returns could be dropped in when the store was closed, so rentals would often be returned Monday morning on the way to school/work.
Media distribution has now changed a lot from then, and it’s become easier and more efficient. But it’s also changed how we interact with media, and with our communities, and perhaps not always for the better.
Back then it was something to do. Now we’ve gotten rid of all those things to do for the sake of laziness, but we have nothing left to do but sit around the house and watch/play downloaded movies/games. And everyone wonders why they’re bored and no longer have any friends.
All the time and attention that digital everything saves us has been turned into ad space.
Doing something real like driving to blockbuster for instance used to be your time. Sights, sounds, someone’s hand in yours, a song on the radio. We used to own those moments, for free. Those things were your memories. Trading all that for “convenience” seems like a bum deal to me. Maybe I’m just getting old.
That is very much a rose tinted glasses scenario.
It wasn’t that going to Blockbuster was an inconvenience. Those things were like modern day Starbucks where you don’t even bother to check a map. You just drive in one direction for three or four minutes and find at least two. Hell, the one we went to was across the parking lot from the Pathmark and it was pretty common for mom to send me and my sister to go pick out a movie or a game while she went through the checkout line.
The reality is that there just wasn’t a good alternative. Some people would use mail order catalogs but those came out with enough of a delay that it was never worth it. This month (or quarter’s) magazine arrives three weeks after Mission Impossible has hit VHS. And by the time the order is sent and arrives, it has been another two weeks. And then you either have a video for a week longer than you need or you need to remember to go to the post office on Monday.
It was The Internet that made this viable because you could see what was available the moment it was available. And your order was instant so you only had the shipping time to worry about.
But also? Once The Internet became available, there was almost no need to stare at shelves to figure out what movie you wanted to watch (I hear Harvey Keitel hangs dong in that one) because you could do exactly that from the comfort of your own home… so long as you weren’t expecting a phone call.
And it is not like people ever truly hated the idea of physical stores. Clothes shopping online is still a mess and that is why Amazon specifically have easily reasealable bags so you just buy three sizes of pants and return the two that don’t fit.
But also? Once you know the sizing for a given brand/range of clothes, you don’t need to do that anymore. You know what to order in what size and it will fit. Maybe you have to try stuff on if you try a new brand/store but…
Which becomes a problem because all those brick and mortar stores are now getting a few sales a month, rather than a couple dozen per day.
Which is also one of the things that make me (mostly) proud to be a climber. Obnoxious trust fund dirtbags aside, the vast majority of us will try to buy at least some of our hardware and gear at an REI or (better yet) an actual local store. Because yes, we are getting gouged a bit. But it means that the store will be there when we need to decide between four or five options or get fitted for snow shoes or whatever.
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!
That’s for damn sure. Not OP but I can relate to that nostalgia and I definitely can’t pull an all nighter at all anymore.
Last two times I’ve tried I was a confused, blabbering mess that crashed at like 10 am
Gonna be honest: if your idea of date night is frantically playing a game for 24 hours straight to try and get your money’s worth, you are going to have a VERY small compatibility pool.
That’s… not what he said at all
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Those were obviously separate days
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I’d date him, that sounds lovely
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It would be a blockbuster
A place for Family to get Video
they could name it bandwidth cap buster.
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
A $100 value!? Sign me up!
*
free^20% ^off 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 whores? 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 whore… more of a slut…
And there’s nothing wrong with being a Pokeslut. When a hunky Pokemon trainer throws their balls my way, I’m always up for a little Squirtle in my Caterpie.
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.
You can’t? Look at Disney World or Universal Studios. Sure they have rides, but a lot of it is the experiences involving people’s favorite movies/shows.
I can definitely see people interested if they get that part right.
Imagine getting a drink in a tavern from The Witcher. Or a fancy dinner in a palace setting from The Crown or the mansion from Umbrella Academy. Imagine going through a haunted house based around Hill House. Running an obstacle course from Squid Game. Themed escape rooms or live action shows based off Stranger Things or Black Mirror.
That’s not even getting into merchandising. Sure, people are probably not going to flock to buy a Queen’s Gambit chess set. But Castlevania or Arcane collectibles? Dragon Prince plushies? Literally anything from Netflix’s sizable anime collection?
There’s a lot of ways they could do it wrong. In fact it’s more likely they get it wrong than right. But I’m not going to dismiss the idea right out the gate, I do see the possibilities.
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.
But the article says it’s more than just a retail store. They have a restaurant and different experiences you can go to. You can’t do that online
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.
I mean the spaceships in star trek, star wars and firefly all have pretty different interiors. Of your idea is to draw in fans of specific shows you don’t really want to have a “generic sci fi” setting.
Well, yeah you wouldn’t be able to re-use everything but certain things like the building structure and cutlery, flooring, etc probably wouldn’t have to be modified much. Some of the more expensive things to switch out.
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
It’s Hard Rock Cafe for Netflix shows. But I can’t imagine going to one. We’ll see.
You’re so cynical. They obviously want to spread joy among their customers. That and launder money.
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.
Planet Hollywood
I didn’t realize Planet Hollywood barely still existed.
Very interesting.
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.
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.
