Playboy Enterprises


Playboy Enterprises, Inc. is an American privately held global media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Hefner to oversee the Playboy magazine and related assets. It is currently headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.
The company is structured with two primary business segments: Media and Licensing. Today, Playboy Enterprises, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and distribution of content, products and high-profile events that embody both “eroticism and fine art.”

History

Sales of Playboy magazine peaked in 1972 at over 7 million copies. By 2015 the circulation had fallen to 800,000. The company now derives over 40 percent of its revenues from its media division, and about half of the revenue comes from the licensing of consumer products.
The Age reported in October 2008 that, for the first-time ever, Hugh Hefner was selling tickets to his celebrity-filled parties to offset his cash-flow problems due to setbacks Playboy Enterprises had suffered, including decreasing Playboy circulation, decreasing stock value, and ventures that have yet to turn a profit. Christie Hefner released a memo to employees about her efforts to streamline the company's operations, including eliminating its DVD division and laying off staff.
In March 2011, founder Hugh Hefner succeeded in a bid to take Playboy private after 40 years as a publicly traded company. He partnered with private equity firm Rizvi Traverse.
Playboy Enterprises closed its former headquarters in the top office floors of 680 N. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, in April 2012. In January 2013, the company said it employed 165.
In 2018, less than a year after Hugh Hefner's death, his estate sold its remaining Playboy shares of 33%, worth $35 million, to Icon Acquisition Holdings LP. The money was split between Hefner's widow and his four children.

Divisions

Playboy also ran forty Playboy Club properties from 1960 to 1986. Playboy operated casinos in England from the mid-1960s to 1981, when they lost their operating license. Playboy also operated a casino in Nassau, Bahamas from 1978 to 1982. From 1981 to 1984, the company was a partner in the Playboy Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Playboy Enterprises was denied a permanent New Jersey gaming license and was forced to sell out to its partner, which changed the name of the hotel/casino to the Atlantis Hotel and Casino. The company returned to the nightlife business with the Playboy Club at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, which opened in 2006 and closed in 2012. Other Playboy Clubs opened in Cancun, Macau, and London in 2010 and 2011. Meanwhile, the company says it will open at least three Playboy stores in each of the next three years.
The company's Playboy Foundation provides grants to non-profit groups involved in fighting censorship and researching human sexuality.

Playboy Entertainment

The Playboy Entertainment Group encompasses Playboy TV and Playboy Online. Its revenue is derived from Domestic Television, International Television, Online, and other sources. Currently the Entertainment division accounts for over 60% of the revenue of the Playboy Enterprises.

Playboy Licensing

The Licensing segment licenses the Playboy name, the Rabbit Head design and other images, trademarks, and artwork to “appear on a wide range of consumer products including apparel, accessories, footwear, lingerie, jewelry, fragrances and home fashions.” Its licensed products generate “more than $1 billion in global retail sales in more than 150 countries and territories.” Spirits and vapor products are among Playboy's latest licensing ventures. The spirits are made by VuQo.
The Company's trademarks and copyrights are critical to the success and potential growth of its business as “Playboy is one of the most recognized, celebrated and popular consumer brands in the world.” In 2013, Playboy ranked number 56 among the Top 150 Global Licensors by License! Global magazine.
Currently the Licensing division accounts for about 50% of the revenue of Playboy Enterprises.

PB Lifestyle of India

PB Lifestyle Ltd. is promoted by Mumbai-based entrepreneurs. Following their interests in media and entertainment, PB Lifestyle Ltd. has signed the master and exclusive franchise/licensee agreement with Playboy Enterprises USA for the use of the Playboy brand in India for various businesses. PB Lifestyle representatives have also stated that the company will adapt the Playboy brand to suit India's decency standards and will not allow content/material that is deemed 'lascivious or appealing to prurient interests'.

Playboy Publishing

The Publishing segment publishes Playboy magazine, its special editions and calendars, and controls the licensing of the magazine's international editions. In 2005, Playboy began print editions in Argentina, Slovakia, and Ukraine bringing the number of international editions to 20. As of 2007, the Publishing division accounted for nearly 30% of the revenue of the Playboy Enterprises.