Netflix's online store could help it take on Disney

Fast Company

As Fast Company's Mark Sullivan notes of the recently launched Netflix.shop, "Netflix has never gone large on e-commerce. And there’s a big market for entertainment-themed apparel and accessories. The trade group Licensing International said retailers sold $128 billion worth of the stuff worldwide in 2019. Disney, which has both an online store and a brick-and-mortar store in New York City, gets the biggest piece of that pie. Part of the reason for that is the timelessness of legacy Disney content—you know, Mickey Mouse and Bambi. But Netflix believes hits like Tiger King and Stranger Things might have some staying power, too. When Disney first announced its intent to launch its streaming service in the summer of 2017, it signaled that the race was on between Disney and Netflix, and that the true nature of the competition could be measured by whether Disney could become Netflix faster than Netflix could become Disney. In other words, one of Netflix’s greatest challenges is to branch out into other types of revenue streams like Disney does, which makes most of its money downstream from the actual content, through licensed merchandise and theme parks. Netflix may intend to build a similar type of ecosystem to make money from the franchises it’s created. But it’s taken the company a while to reach this step, while Disney moved quickly to get into streaming video and has made it a success. But Netflix also has some Disney-trained talent to help it get there." ALSO: Netflix's Halston unveils its 10-piece capsule collection inspired by the series.