Are you aware that PVR is not a cinema theater chain but a restaurant chain? Similarly, a lot of companies pretend to be something that they are not but still make a lot of money from it.
We are talking about Netflix and you might think that perhaps their focus is shifting.
Netflix has announced exciting plans to open two huge in-person experience venues, called Netflix House, in 2025. These venues will be in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and Dallas, Texas. They will transform old department store spaces into fun and immersive destinations connected to popular Netflix shows like “Bridgerton,” “Stranger Things,” and “Squid Game.”
Each Netflix House will cover more than 100,000 square feet. The King of Prussia Netflix House will be in the King of Prussia Mall, and the Dallas Netflix House will be in the Galleria Dallas. These places will mix shopping, dining, and interactive activities, letting visitors feel like they are part of their favorite Netflix series. To sum up, it is going to be big.
Netflix has previously done temporary pop-up events for shows like “Money Heist” and “Squid Game,” and these new permanent locations will build on those successful experiences. According to Marian Lee, Netflix’s chief marketing officer, the main goal of Netflix House is to connect with fans and support Netflix’s streaming service, rather than to become a big new business on its own.
So no. According to Netflix, they are not shifting focus. But last year itself they opened restaurants in the USA. So, we are indeed seeing that Netflix is investing big time money into offline stores whose maintenance costs are just too high.
These offline complexes sound exciting for advertisement but honestly, Netflix is spread in 192 countries. And these high cost demanding complexes in the USA are not going to help anyone. Lord knows what Netflix indeed plans with all this.