BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — A month after Playboy announced its plans to drop nudity, the company is launching a new e-commerce site called PlayboyShop.com.
Playboy CEO Scott Flanders said the company generated $1.5 billion in retail sales last year and logo licensing continues making $50 million in revenue annually. He also stated that Playboy.com increased its online audience 400 percent since going "safe for work" in August 2014.
The Playboy Shop offers merchandise for both men and women, including headwear, barware, scarves, accessories, pillows and more. The site opened with 2,000 products and plans to eventually feature as many as 10,000.
"As we’ve done with our digital and mobile assets, and the coming redesign of the magazine, PlayboyShop.com represents a reset of what the Playboy brand means as a consumer products business in the U.S.," Chief Brand Officer Scott Killian said. "We have partnered with a group of very fine manufacturers to create products that reflect Playboy’s amazing story, from its earliest days through today — all with unique, high-quality items that reflect the very best of this brand’s aspirational ideals.
"As our founder Hugh Hefner once said, ‘Life is best lived with a little bit of style,’ and that’s exactly what we’ve created with PlayboyShop.com," he added.
Several high-end items are being offered as well, like the limited edition "Hugh Hefner’s Playboy" book set that retails for $1,300. The six-volume anthology is hard bound and features selections from the magazine's first 25 years, including centerfolds, articles on art, design and architecture, as well as writings by literary figures like Gore Vidal, Jack Kerouac and Ray Bradbury. It will also have past interviews with Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lennon.
