A physical store? Well, let’s see how well it ends for Netflix, because Blockbuster clearly failed here.
Netflix opened up a small restaurant called Netflix: Bites in an effort to promote their original series, Stranger Things. The pop-up restaurant also featured food from their other shows. This store is located in Los Angeles, United States. This seems to be successful, and it looks like a foreshadowing for the company’s future plans to open up a physical store.
What’s this physical store you ask? It’s a retail store where customers can shop for merchandise, eat at themed restaurants, see live entertainment and theater, and participate in immersive activities and attractions that Netflix has to offer. In short, it’s an amalgamation of every physical store the company has already put up, all in one location. They call it “Netflix House”.
While there is no specified location, analysts from Bloomberg said the first ones will appear first in the United States, where Netflix originates. It also isn’t the first time Netflix forays into retail as the company has an online store where you can purchase exclusive merchandise.
Other pop-up stores that Netflix has already put up include The Queen’s Ball: The Bridgerton Experience and a Stranger Things-themed stage show prequel which will premiere sometime this November in London, UK.
DVD rental is out of the question as the company closed down its DVD rental service and the last one was delivered on September 29th. It is still accepting returns until today however. Netflix also has a rough year, including its massive and strict crackdowns of password sharing, losing subscribers and momentum, and undermining the animation industry. The company also started introducing a paid plan with ads
Source: Smithsonian Magazine