NEW YORK — Rick’s Cabaret International, Inc., a publicly traded group of gentlemen’s clubs, has obtained a license from Vivid Entertainment, to use Vivid Cabaret as the name for its new midtown Manhattan venue. The agreement marks the first time Rick’s Cabaret has licensed a third-party brand name for one of its clubs and the first time Vivid has licensed its name for a gentlemen’s club.
The Manhattan cabaret is located at 61 West 37th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in New York City’s fashion district. It is near Bryant Park, Fifth Avenue shopping, numerous leading hotels, and is an easy walk from Times Square. A subsidiary of Rick’s Cabaret earlier this month finalized the purchase of the business. The building is currently undergoing renovation and is expected to open by October.
“Vivid is by far the finest adult company and has great brand-name awareness,” said Eric Langan, president and CEO of Rick’s Cabaret. “Using the Vivid name fits perfectly with our ‘cabaret concept,’ which features a little trendier music and feels as much like a nightclub as a strip club in terms energy level. The New York City club will be a perfect complement to our flagship Rick’s Cabaret just four blocks away, and we’ll be able to cross-promote seamlessly.”
Vivid founder/co-chairman Steven Hirsch remarked, “We’ve worked with Rick’s Cabaret for several years on various promotions but licensing our name certainly takes the relationship to a dramatic new level. We want to work with only elite gentlemen’s clubs and Rick’s certainly meets that test. We could not be more excited to work with their team.
"We'll be able to promote Vivid Cabaret on VividTV, which will reach over 40 million households by the time the club opens this Fall. Vivid performers will make appearances at the club and we'll also hold movie auditions there. Our fans will love Vivid Cabaret."
Vivid is known for the distribution of premium adult movies sold in more than 50 countries, including the best-selling Vivid SuperXXXheroes parodies, Vivid-Ed educational adult videos and Vivid-Alt videos, plus the notorious Vivid-Celeb sex tapes featuring well-known celebrities.
The company was a pioneer in signing top actresses to exclusive contracts with its Vivid Girls. Its Vivid.com website continues to attract new subscribers. More recently the company introduced the VividTV network, the VividTouch mobile app and Vivid Cams. The company’s licensed products range from Vivid Vodka to Vivid Condoms.
