Below is a chart and brief excerpt from today's Early Look written by Retail analyst Brian McGough.
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Next up on the ‘ecosystem scorecard’ will surprise you. PLBY Group. Yes, Playboy. Think of this brand as a 68-year old startup. No, it’s no longer a dying media business like when Hefner drove it into the ground. But rather has been reborn as a progressive brand where the incremental customer is Gen Y/Gen Z and skews female. The digitally native brand is on the cutting edge of socially divisive issues like racism, civil rights, drug decriminalization, freedom of expression, and is a champion of the LGBTQ community. The company is growing into categories like fragrances, cosmetics, spirits, and hospitality, and has a truly global audience and scope with 50% of revenue today coming from China. But the real ecosystem is in sexual wellness, where PLBY has amassed a portfolio of brands that blankets the consumer across the product spectrum in lingerie, swimwear, and ‘adult bedroom paraphernalia’ (use your imagination – I’m trying to keep this SFW). But on top of that, the company is launching a 4Q initiative called CENTERFOLD, which will be a classier version of OnlyFans – a creator-driven interactive content platform. Aside from the fact that OF has ~$6bn in GMV and over $1bn in revenue – which is up for grabs -- PLBY can place its product with the content creators for an incredibly immersive experience in the brand. If that weren’t enough, the company just launched a drop of 11,593 ‘Rabbitar’ NFTs, which has been a raging success. In addition to a piece of unique digital artwork/content, you can think of each Rabbitar as a key that unlocks membership to all the possibilities of Playboy on the blockchain, including exclusive access to Playboy art and artist collaborations, real life and metaverse experiences, and physical and virtual fashion. In the three days since the NFT drop, members of Playboy’s Discord channel went from 3,000 to over ~36,000. |
