Netflix, Walmart team up to sell merch from “Squid Game” and other shows
A dedicated e-commerce hub will sell merchandise for Netflix’s most popular shows, including a “Stranger Things” cassette player.

“Squid Game” is everywhere right now. If you’re not caught up with the viral Netflix show, it’s a dystopian Korean thriller about people battling to the death in a series of traditional children’s games — while wearing a lot of brightly colored tracksuits.
It’s taken over TV screens and has become a top Halloween costume. And now it’s going to Walmart.
The country’s biggest retailer is launching a dedicated e-commerce hub with Netflix to sell branded merchandise for its most popular shows.
You can’t buy the “Squid Game” tracksuits or the freaky beekeeper-looking masks at Walmart; just a T-shirt for now. But perhaps you’d like a “Stranger Things” cassette player — that’s available. Or maybe a T-shirt from the cult Spanish show “Money Heist.”
“It’s odd,” said Forrester analyst Sucharita Kodali. She said Netflix’s portfolio doesn’t exactly lend itself to Disney-style fly-off-the-shelf merchandise. After all, Joe Exotic from “Tiger King” is no Baby Yoda.
“Are they trying to go after, like, the eBay collectible crowd? Like, you know, the ‘[The] 40 Year Old Virgin’ crowd? Like, I don’t know,” Kodali said.
But Netflix doesn’t need galactic-sized profits to benefit from a bigger merchandising footprint, according to Ross Benes of eMarketer.
“When you see people wearing ‘Squid Game’ hoodies or shirts with ‘Stranger Things,’ that is a free ad, essentially,” Benes said.
It also gives Walmart the opportunity to attract die-hard fans, who may transfer some of the fond feelings they have about the shows onto the retailer, said Barbara Kahn, a marketing professor at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
“That is obviously not just about the transaction,” she said, “it’s about the overall experience … about creating community around these brands.”
Walmart’s Netflix store will include a feature called “Netflix Fan Select” to crowdsource merchandise ideas from fans.
How about an official “The Queen’s Gambit” chess set or some “Russian Doll” Russian dolls?