June 11, 2021
Netflix Enters E-Comm Merch Market
The streaming service is hoping to capitalize on surprise hits by creating limited-edition apparel and lifestyle products.
Netflix is embracing e-commerce.
The streaming giant on Thursday, June 10, announced that it was launching an online boutique, powered by Shopify. Netflix.shop will drop exclusive limited editions of apparel and lifestyle products tied to the company’s shows on a regular basis, according to a press release from Netflix.
For June, Netflix is releasing streetwear and action figures based on its anime series Yasuke and Eden. Among the items for sale is a clock created in collaboration with designer Nathalie Nguyen, priced at $135. The Yasuke clothing line, in collaboration with streetwear label Hypland, includes a selection of T-shirts and hoodies.
Hypland founder Jason Bentley combined his love of anime and fashion to create his streetwear line, so the collaboration made perfect sense, according to Netflix. “He’s part of that drop culture, where kids are lining up on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles to buy his products,” Josh Simon, head of Netflix’s consumer products division, told The New York Times.
Later this month, Netflix plans to release caps, T-shirts, hoodies and sweaters, as well as throw pillows and a side table, inspired by the French crime show Lupin. Those items were designed and produced in collaboration with the Louvre museum.
The new shop isn’t the first time Netflix has created merchandise based on its hits. The company collaborated with clothing brand Phenomenal to release sweatshirts inspired by Bridgerton, the period romance produced by Shonda Rhimes, for example. Meanwhile, the romantic comedy trilogy To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before has a clothing and accessories line at H&M and beauty kits at Sephora.
Still, the dedicated Netflix shop represents a more concerted push into the e-commerce world. The online store will also allow Netflix to move more quickly to develop and release moment merch based on social media trends. “I think we’re talking about a matter of days when we have our next unexpected hit,” Simon told the Times.
Netflix has no plans to give up lucrative retail partnerships, noting that it also has a wide range of Yasuke-themed products available at Target.
In the coming months, Netflix plans to release exclusive products from other shows, including The Witcher and Stranger Things. It will also sell Netflix logo wear designed by Japanese fashion house BEAMS.
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