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Business

Playboy is buying Honey Birdette, a company that sells lingerie and sex toys

By
Lisa Fickenscher
Published June 29, 2021
Updated June 29, 2021, 2:06 p.m. ET

The owner of the Playboy brand said Tuesday it has inked a deal to acquire Honey Birdette, an Australia-based luxury lingerie and sex toy maker, for $333 million in cash and stock.

The female-founded company — which sells bondage gear alongside push-up bra and panty sets and counts Cardi B, Gwen Stefani, Kylie Jenner and Paris Hilton as customers — was expecting to rack up $73 million in sales for the 12 months ending June 30, a 40 percent increase from the previous year.

Playboy owner PLBY Group went public in October after a special-purpose acquisition company acquired it, valuing the brand at $415 million. Seven months earlier in March 2020, it had stopped publishing the iconic nudie magazine that the late Hugh Hefner founded in 1953 when he was 27 years old.

Founded by Eloise Monaghan, Honey Birdette already runs 60 stores in three countries and there are plans to open flagship stores in Dallas, Miami and New York in the “coming months,” according to PLBY Group.

Eloise Monaaghan sitting on a motorcycle, wearing a black leather outfit
Eloise Monaghan founded Honey Birdette 15 years ago. Getty Images for Honey Birdette

Last year when Playboy went public, Kohn told The Post’s Keith Kelly, “We’re no longer a media company, we’re a consumer products and digital services company.”

Consumer products are now the engine of Playboy’s growth, accounting for 83 percent of its revenues, chief executive Ben Kohn said. In recent years, Playboy has earned most of its money from licensing deals that have slapped its name and famous bunny logo on everything from clothes and fragrances to nightclubs and casinos.

Playboy.com sells a full assortment of hats, bathing suits, jewelry, shoes and accessories featuring its logo and iconic bunny ears. Its most expensive bikini is $45 while a red “satin mansion robe” goes for $60 and a bunny ear hoodie goes for $60.

A Honey Birdette store featuring several models wearing Las Vegas style headdress gear
There are 60 Honey Birdette stores in three countries. Getty Images for Honey Birdette

On Tuesday, Kohn said PLBY Group plans to “accelerate Honey Birdette’s expansion into new territories and product categories, and to take advantage of Honey Birdette’s superior product design, sourcing and direct-to-consumer capabilities.”

Customers can look forward to “Playboy-branded lingerie, loungewear, swimwear, and sexual wellness” products as a result of the tie-up, Kohn added.