PLAYBOY EYES A NEW HUTCH MAGAZINE WILL MOVE OFFICES TO GLENDALE.Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer Playboy Enterprises Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: PLA), also organized as New Playboy, Inc. (NYSE: PLAA), is the company founded by Hugh Hefner to manage the Playboy magazine empire. It was created in 1953 as the HMH Publishing Co., Inc. Inc. is moving its Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. office to Glendale amid a companywide restructuring plan which entails cutting 90 jobs, half of those from its online operations, to generate $10 million in annual savings. For a decade, bunny ears have been affixed af·fix tr.v. af·fixed, af·fix·ing, af·fix·es 1. To secure to something; attach: affix a label to a package. 2. to Playboy's offices at the corner of Beverly Boulevard Beverly Boulevard is one of the main east-west thoroughfares in Los Angeles. It begins off of Santa Monica Boulevard in the Beverly Hills and West Hollywood border and ends on Lucas Avenue near Downtown Los Angeles. and Maple Drive. Instead of extending the lease in March, Scott Barton, a spokesman for the company, said Playboy is looking at three sites in Glendale, two of which are located near Brand Boulevard. ``Rent is probably cheaper, and there are tax incentives ... but no matter where Playboy goes we'll always be a class act. It doesn't matter what kind of ZIP code zip code System of postal-zone codes (zip stands for “zone improvement plan”) introduced in the U.S. in 1963 to improve mail delivery and exploit electronic reading and sorting capabilities. we have,'' Barton said. A five-digit ZIP code may have no bearing on the Chicago-based magazine's persona, but the implications of the move, affecting 200 employees, may shed light on the publisher's deeper problems. ``Earnings wise, the company's not doing very well,'' said Dennis McAlpine, a media analyst with New York-based Auerbach, Pollak & Richardson Inc. The company reported a net loss of $8 million in the second quarter, compared with a loss of $5.9 million in the same quarter in the previous year. The company saw revenue in the quarter drop slightly to $72.8 million, versus $77.2 million a year ago. Playboy declined 31 cents, or 2.39 percent, to close Friday at $12.28 on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. . Playboy plans to implement several cost-cutting initiatives including a reduction in activities with the Playboy Foundation For The Playboy company, see . Playboy Foundation is a corporate-giving organization that provides grants to non-profit groups involved in fighting censorship and researching human sexuality. , limits on increases in employees' salaries and curtailed spending for travel and entertainment means. Though the mansion's address will remain the same, Barton said moving the entertainment division closer to Playboy's studio in Glendale will only bolster production. In July, the company purchased three adult television operations. ``We will have our world in one place,'' he said. ``It's a change particularly to the entertainment group, which has morphed amazingly.'' While a less glamorous atmosphere, there's no business license tax in Glendale, said Judee Kendall, president and executive vice president of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce. ``That's probably very beneficial for them and for us because they'll be dining at our restaurants,'' she said. ``Twenty years TWENTY YEARS. The lapse of twenty years raises a presumption of certain facts, and after such a time, the party against whom the presumption has been raised, will be required to prove a negative to establish his rights. 2. ago they probably wouldn't have been as welcomed. But, there is still some degree of conservatism.'' Jeanne Armstrong, director of development services for the city of Glendale, said they welcome all new tenants even though there aren't many vacancies. ``We certainly have a lot of production and post-production work out here, though,'' she said. Playboy's studio isn't up and running, but there are plans to have tape rolling by the end of the year. Other production outfits in Glendale include ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. and DreamWorks. Despite growth potential for Playboy entertainment The Playboy Entertainment Group is a division of Playboy Enterprises that includes Playboy TV and Playboy Online, which is the fastest growing revenue source for the company. , the magazine's popularity has less market penetration today than in the past. McAlpine said sales at the newsstand have been weak for the magazine because of the myriad publications on the rack that display similar content. A slump in advertising revenue is also gnawing away at Playboy's infrastructure, he said. Still, in a statement released by Playboy late Thursday afternoon, Christie Hefner, chairwoman and chief executive officer, said ``Playboy is less vulnerable to the economic slowdown because only 10 percent of our revenues is derived from advertising. In addition, our entertainment has proven appeal even in a weak economic climate.'' |
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