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**BUT** the brand is still worth far more than the revolving credit facility and the company is far from worthless. Everybody knows the Playboy logo. Everybody.

The fact is that Playboy is a mainstream company with tentacles in publishing, adult DTC video, vod, ppv, cable network programming, interactive, apparel, jewelry, housewares and casinos. There isn't one other adult enterprise that wouldn't want to be as big a monstrosity as Playboy.



Brand recognition is valuable, but only as a sales lever. Playboy hasn't developed any other good revenue streams. Strip clubs is a good idea - although they used to do this years ago and I'd want to see why it failed. A "Club Med" style resort destination might be another.


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The reality is that there is a critical tipping point in the life of a startup: when the founder yields control to professional management.



Ken Lay learned this the hard way too...

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Hefner being sued - TMZ

Great quote - "Today, the price of a Playboy magazine is far higher than the price of Playboy common stock." In 1999, the stock sold for $36 a share. Today Playboy closed at $3.14. The magazine sells for $5.99"



That lawsuit has 0% chance of winning. The catch is that Playboy can't recover their legal costs when they win.

The one thing the lawyers suing Playboy do NOT want to happen is for the case to go to trial - that's the worst possible result for them. They'll guess at how much a victory will cost Playboy and offer to settle for less.

If Playboy contests the suit they'll spend real $$$ to win and the lawyers suing will be out only a few hours time but no cash (losers don't pay winner's legal fees). So Playboy probably pays a settlement fee in spite of knowing they're certain to win at trial, because the lawyers suing make sure it's it's cheaper to lose than win.

(most people think it's cheaper to win and that a loss is expensive. But plaintiff's lawyers know that if they make sure it's cheaper for the victim to lose that most companies will go for the cheapest result and lose, which is a win for plaintiff's lawyers. That's the advantage of a loser-pays-winner's-cost system - it means it's cheaper to win than lose and plaintiff's won't file suits unless they can win on the merits)
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"If they can't picture me with a knife, forcing them to strip in an alley, I don't want any part of it. It's humiliating." - windsock