Last week on BloggingStocks, I wrote about Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: PLA)'s foray into social networking, and wondered whether it would help the company to launch itself out of the doldrums.
Michael Schneider of www.barrelomoney.com left a comment to let me know that he thinks the company is already launching itself out of the doldrums:
Playboy, in our view has already started a substantial turnaround that has set the company of the right course. they have added many new sources of revenue and have strengthened the brand. Recent results are telling as many print media companies are floundering and competitors like New frontier turned in weak results.
But the stock isn't showing evidence of this turnaround -- which is good. If the company really is turning itself around, the stock could present an opportunity for investors.
Now we have the latest evidence of Playboy moving in a new direction: It's opening a store in London, establishing a presence that has been missing there for the past 25 years. Playboy is also looking at opening a casino in London.
There's been a lot of evidence lately that Playboy is at least trying to reinvent itself and become relevant again. If you think it has a chance, you may want to look at buying the stock.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-27-2007 @ 6:06PM
Harold said...
Trying to reinvest itself is the right terminology. But with old man Hugh Hefner with the obviously less than intelligent young women on the cable show things aren't bright...
8-28-2007 @ 8:22AM
Michael Schneider said...
Thanks for the reaction on my comment about Playboy. It is worth noting that Playboy stock is trading at a relatively high PE- partly because they stumbled again on earnings and they have a histroy of stumbling on earnings as new problems have kept emerging. The latest number though show they have earnings under control as they said thay would and earnings are expected to double next year and move higher from there. Playboy stock has also held up well-- when the market dropped recently Playboy stock moved only a little. The Playboy stores are bringing in good money for them and the London opening is yet another plus. I don't agree with the respondent above's negative comments on Christie Hefner. In the past few years the company has had plenty of difficulty but her focus on the brand has been spot on and it shows up in terrific licensing results. The venture into clubs with great totals at the Palms turned out as a fine move for Playboy too. It's the clubs and Internet ventures that offer the most excitement at Playboy these days and as the development in Macau moves along Playboy could become a hot stock again.
8-28-2007 @ 8:28AM
Michael Schneider said...
Correction:
In re-reading the comment above from Harold. I just realized he was writing about the Girls Next Door show. I first read it as a comment about Christie Hefner which, though incorrect would have made more sense because the intellectual ability of the girls on the show makes no difference at all to Playboy's future. The show, btw, is one of the most poular on the E! network. Also, Hugh Hefner no longer runs Playboy so what matters is how Christie Hefner does.