Playboy Cutting Back, Focusing on Digital Content
Playboy is reducing annual costs by $12 Million dollars, and closing down its DVD division in order to return to profitability by 2009. In reducing costs, Playboy will lay off approximately 80 positions and significantly reduce travel, entertainment and overtime as well as forgo profit-sharing payments. The business has taken its biggest hit from the downturn in print advertising sales as well as the easy access to limitless "blue" photos on the internet.
In a company-wide letter dated October 15th, Christie Hefner, Chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises, laid out the plan for how Playboy will do business and serve their customers in the future with a little nod to social responsibility: The company will install energy-efficient light bulbs in its offices and change to a lighter weight of magazine paper. The key focus will be on the management and delivery of Playboy's digital assets (Web sites and mobile phone services ) over the Internet.
Playboy is a brand that is most closely associated with its 82-year-old founder Hugh Hefner, who is putt-putting around his Bel-Air Mansion with women one-quarter his age. The two new arrivals at the Playboy Mansion are 19-year-old twins. Maybe Christie should, along with installing new light bulbs, quietly turn the lights off in the Playboy Mansion and take Hef to a smaller place. Or, is it time for all those at the Playboy Mansion to frolic in the dark? They could always use that blurry night vision setting on camcorders if video-making is necessary. And what about installing an energy-producing-disco-dance-floor and getting that gaggle of barely legal bunnies to cut a rug on it? We can see a market for videos of that kind of action!
{From PaidContent and Times Online]
