Over the past 20 years, Playboy’s company has grown significantly in terms of licensing apparel and accessories bearing the Playboy name, especially in China. In recent years, there had been significant drops in revenue due to a protracted legal battle with a former Chinese partner.
Playboy has some exciting news.
The long-running media and lifestyle brand has gained a huge legal victory in a bruising struggle with its former main partner in China that had resulted in the loss of over two-thirds of the company’s licensing revenue.
An arbitration court in Hong Kong has granted Playboy Inc. (PLBY) $81 million, ending a three-year battle with the company’s former biggest licensee in China, where Playboy makes a substantial profit as a lifestyle and clothing brand.
Since Playboy returned to public markets in 2021 as part of a deal with a special acquisition company, its stock has dropped as much as 99%, and the court triumph comes during a time when the company is rebuilding. In recent months, its stock price has increased, and at Friday’s close, it was trading at a seven-month high.
After ten years as a privately held corporation, Playboy went public, but since then, its yearly income has dropped from $246.6 million in 2021 to $116.1 million. The consequences of its legal dispute over its licensing activities in China, which have long been a pillar of its business, contributed to that.
Beginning at the end of the COVID pandemic, Playboy accused its Chinese partner of not paying the necessary royalties for the right to manufacture clothing and leather goods bearing the Playboy name and bunny-ear logo. This led to a dispute with the licensee, New Handong Investment (Guangdong) Co., Ltd.
According to Playboy, a follow-up audit found that New Handong had been underreporting royalties, manufacturing and selling illegal goods, and neglecting to make agreed-upon marketing expenditures for years.
The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre heard the case and decided in favor of Playboy on Friday, giving the business an amount of $81 million in damages. According to Playboy, the decision is final and cannot be challenged.
Ben Kohn, the CEO of Playboy, stated, “We have one of the most recognizable and underappreciated brands in the world.” “We are overjoyed with the result and will keep up our vigorous pursuit of anyone who infringe upon our intellectual property and trademarks. As we work to restore our business in China, this is a significant turning point.
Although Playboy pointed out that there was no assurance it would be able to collect the penalty, New Handong has until September 20 to make payment.
A request for response from New Handong representatives was not immediately answered.
China has long been a bright light for Playboy as it witnessed its iconic magazine and media company shrink in recent decades. Playboy magazine is mostly recognized in China as a lifestyle brand and a well-liked clothing and accessory company because it has never been sold there.
Playboy claimed that its Chinese partners generated over $1 billion in sales of Playboy-branded items prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing in $40 million in licensing fees from China alone. According to Playboy, licensing income from China fell to $14 million last year.
In China, Playboy licenses its brand to a number of regional manufacturers; nevertheless, it stated that New Handong has been its biggest partner for a long time, paying $20 million in licensing fees every year.
Playboy said that although it ended its agreement with New Handong in 2023, the business kept making Playboy-branded goods, which hurt Playboy’s other partners’ sales results.
To compete with companies like OnlyFans, Playboy has invested in adult entertainment products and social media ventures in an attempt to reposition itself as a leisure and lifestyle firm since becoming public. By the end of 2024, the corporation had accumulated debt of more than $200 million and had reported net losses in each of the previous 13 quarters.
After 70 years on the newsstands, Playboy stopped publishing its renowned print magazine in 2020. However, it returned earlier this year as a one-time event for 2025, with plans to issue it quarterly the following year.
Cooper Hefner, the son of the late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, made a $100 million deal to purchase Playboy last year. The corporation rejected the deal and brought in an outside investor, Luxembourg-based Byborg Enterprises S.A., which took an approximately 17% share in the company. Additionally, Playboy renegotiated a portion of its debt, reducing its overall debt to little over $100 million.
