Flip the script

Why movie studios are building retail capabilities (and if they are not, they should be)

There’s been a lot of talk in the past couple of years about fashion retailers becoming entertainment companies. Examples are plenty (Nike’s Waffle Iron Entertainment, Saint Laurent Productions, 22 Montaigne, Mattel Films, and most have a works in development (Mattel allegedly has at least 45 movies in development, and 14 upcoming movies). The only thing unclear is who is going to watch all this content, and who’s paying for its marketing and promotion.

I am more interested in entertainment companies becoming retailers.

The full opportunity for studios to build their retail capabilities (+ hire fashion talent, create new revenue streams, expand a studio’s cultural influence and monetize its IP further) are still untapped, the recent hire of Bobby Kim, a streetwear designer, as Disney’s VP of Creative, Consumer Products notwithstanding. I also suspect Jonathan Anderson has a lot more going on in the entertainment industry now that he left LOEWE and is represented by UTA. “We look forward to supporting him as he expands his creative influence in all forms of storytelling, building on his already extraordinary success,” noted UTA’s Blair Kohan.

“All forms of storytelling” is the operative phrase here. An idea can exist as a fashion item but also as a movie or a TV show, an art installation, or a hospitality experience. It’s not hard to imagine a movie released together with a corresponding apparel or sports collection. Or a studio owning fashion or sports brands.

Movies are one of the cultural products that the studios release. The future of film includes retail. Here’s how it looks in the example of A24:

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