The remains of the Playboy Group, which was finally sold by the founding family Hefner last year, now receive a new corporate structure.
With the takeover of the Playboy Group by a financial investor, a new era is dawning for the iconic label. The adult cultural brand, which has been associated with the Hefner family since its foundation, is no longer a family business. In the new structure, the brand will continue under the umbrella of the holding company PEI Holdings.
The group issued the following statement: »PEI Holdings will become an owner, incubator and investor in multiple global lifestyle brands focused on four consumer categories: Sexual Wellness, Apparel & Accessories, Home & Hospitality and Beauty & Skincare. In addition, the Company will build, buy and invest in product development, marketing and distribution infrastructure to accelerate the growth of its brands.«
As part of the holding company, Playboy will become a central component of the company’s brand strategy. Ben Cohn, the current CEO of Playboy Enterprises and future head of PEI Holdings, said: »Establishing a holding company allows us to take advantage of the tremendous power of the Playboy brand to serve as a platform to launch and nurture other brands.«
The company is currently acquiring Phoenix-based online retailer Yandy. According to PEI, the acquisition is an ideal fit with the group’s strategy: »Coupled with Playboy’s long and successful history in the domestic and international licensed consumer products business, the acquisition of Yandy will significantly expand the Company’s direct digital audience reach, its e-commerce capabilities and back-end infrastructure.«
PEI added, »Yandy has a strong, established, profitable business and an experienced team that is responsible for fulfilling more than 50,000 monthly orders of intimates, sleepwear and accessories to a primarily female, US-based audience.«
Yandy’s founders are also excited about the acquisition by the new parent company of Playboy. Aras Koktas and Jeff Watton, co-founders of Yandy, point to the growth potential that the combined companies offer: »We’re very proud of Yandy’s growth over the past 13 years and consider this partnership with PEI Holdings to be our crowning achievement and a testament to the hard work of all of our colleagues. We’re inspired by our sister company Playboy’s Pleasure for All mission and eager to collaborate on growth opportunities across our businesses.«
For PEI, the combination is ideal, although Playboy will, of course, become the core brand of the new group due to its decades of history and worldwide recognition. »With 97 percent unaided global brand recognition and nearly 50 million social media fans worldwide, Playboy remains one of the most iconic brands in history. Under its mission of ‘Pleasure for All,’ the 66-year-old Playboy brand drives more than $3 billion in annual sales at retail across 180 countries.«