Playboy for Sale?

by Elizabeth Fairview | February 19th, 2009

Could long-running era of parties, boobies and bunnies finally be over? (AP Images)

The economic crisis might claim another entertainment giant – the Playboy empire. After decades and decades of wild nights and shrew business decisions, the company has reported huge losses in the forth quarter and has netted losses in each quarter of 2008, made it clear that it would be open to discussions about an outright sale of the company.

In December, the company's CEO Christie Hefner, daughter of Hugh Hefner, announced she would be stepping down after 20 years at the helm of Playboy.

Last month, Playboy announced it was slashing jobs, consolidating online and print operations and take an in depth audit of their losses. The company cut 14 percent of its workforce in 2008.

"The results of our efforts to date should be meaningful, but in the face of current economic conditions, it is clear that our streamlining initiatives need to continue," interim Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerome Kern said in a statement.

Hugh Hefner, the company's 82-year-old founder, still has a hand in operations, overseeing Playboy magazine as editor-in-chief.