Playboy in Asia

Playboy Enterprises Inc. (New York) has named Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur as the fourth and fifth locations, respectively, for its freestanding Playboy Concept Boutiques.

Both are expected to open at year's end.

The upscale shopping destinations will offer full collections of Playboy apparel and accessories, as well as other Playboy-branded consumer products. The deals are licensing ventures that do not require a capital investment from Playboy.

In Hong Kong, Playboy will open a 2100-square-foot boutique on Cleverland Street in Causeway Bay's ultramodern Fashion Walk area, home to other popular fashion brands such as Diesel, Camper, IT and D-Mop. Speedplan, Playboy's licensee for men's and women's apparel and accessories for Hong Kong and Taiwan, also will serve as the retail licensee.

The 2500-square-foot Kuala Lumpur boutique will open in the Mid-Valley Mall on the ground floor. Zillion, Playboy's licensee for women's apparel, handbags and jewelry for Hong Kong and Singapore, will open the store.

“The retail success of our existing freestanding stores in Tokyo, Las Vegas and Melbourne enables us to expand confidently to other cities, such as Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, further enhancing our brand equity and strengthening our global retail presence,” said Playboy chairman and ceo Christie Hefner. “Based on our previous retail experience in the two new markets, we believe these Playboy boutiques will create additional interest and enthusiasm for our wide range of products. Looking ahead, we expect to continue partnering under license with retail experts who will develop and fund stores in select locations around the globe.”

The openings is also an attempt to leverage Playboy's expansion at retail in specialty stores and department stores throughout the United States, Asia and Europe. Retail stores that have carried Playboy fashion merchandise include Henri Bendel in New York, Selfridges in London, Colette in Paris and Seibu in Hong Kong.