Hugh was an awkward student who often got rejected by girls at school. Apparently, those experiences drove him to make “more” of his life. He created himself as a person who became an epitome of a sophisticated, urban, young bachelor who was always surrounded by beautiful, sultry women. With his silk pajamas, semi–nude models by his side and a martini in his hand, Hefner not only became the original playboy but also influences millions of others by introducing them to the Playboy brand.
Born in 1953, the brand Playboy has been globally embraced by young men and women, winning their hearts, minds and much more through its satirical cartoons, sex stories and most watched photos of women. The first issue itself included photos of Marilyn Monroe and authors such as Vladimir Nabokov (The Best of Both Worlds!). One in every 10 men in the age group of 18-34 has read the magazine. With colossal expansion throughout the globe in the 1960s and 1970s, the magazine’s circulation peaked in 1972 at 7.2 million, just after one year Playboy went public and then launched its licensed products which generated more than $900 million annually in global sales in more than 150 countries and territories at one point.
The brand today has an implausible story to tell with revenues touching rock bottom and losses mounting to $200 million. Subscription sales dropped to only $1.5 million from $2.6 million last year; so much so that Hefner’s daughter Christie Hefner who served as CEO for 20 years stepped down. So is the iconic brand in trouble? Hefner’s announcement in July to go private with the Playboy magazine having put forth a proposal to purchase all public shares of Playboy Enterprises will leave one totally unambiguous. The 84 year old made the move to ensure security of the company going forward. The company shares peaked in 1999 at about $33 for class A stock while today Hefner’s offer values the company at $5.50 per A share (he controls 70 percent of the company’s Class A voting shares and 28 percent of the Class B non voting stock). Now that will be distressing for the Bunny eared brand. The rabbit logo is one of the most recognized symbols in the world with over a hundred branded merchandise under its belt but the brand is seeing its worst time till date. So what hit Playboy so hard? Just one movement – the Internet. The idea of free sexual content being available globally killed the uniqueness of an adult men’s magazine. This, in all, ended the Playboy monopoly as the biggest adult entertainment provider. Media being a business directly proportional to social trends, Playboy’s business has fallen prey to a game it couldn’t quite master despite being there on the internet and providing on-demand videos (Playboy T.V, radio, The girls next door).
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website
IIPM Proves Its Mettle Once Again....
Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet.....
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------