Playboy Club in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica

[hefdream]

Hi , please , somebody know about a Playboy Club in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica ? . I could see a matchboxes in EBAY ? .Thank you

[Alan]

There were never Playboy Clubs in those countries, so any memorabilia you have seen on eBay must be fake, or part of a Playboy promotion.

In the Sixties, when the Bunny concept was successful and fresh, Playboy planned (and announced in club newsletters) a series of forthcoming clubs worldwide, including ones in the countries of Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Mexico.

Playboy Clubs were also planned for most major cities, including Paris and Rome. Of course, as with Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Mexico, these clubs never proceeded beyond the planning stage. But it does indicate the confidence Playboy had in their Bunny concept.

Clubs in such popular tourist destinations would have been very interesting although perhaps not financially viable. The tourist-targeted Playboy Hotels in Jamaica, Miami, Lake Geneva and Great Gorge were financial failures. Playboy admitted that the failure was based on misunderstanding the necessary transitions involved in moving from a nightclub chain to running a hotel / tourist destination. Playboy overexpanded beyond it's core market and established strengths, which was and remains publishing.

With the failure of these hotels, the the Bunny losing her appeal (and the nightclub concept moving on), and especially the loss of the cash cow casino in London, Playboy reigned in it's dream of a worldwide "Playboy Empire". Playboy did not have the money and the market was no longer there.

That's why Playboy opted for franchises in the MidWest in the Eighties (Des Moines, Lansing, Omaha). But as with the failing company-owned clubs, these franchise operations were not profitable, and the Playboy Clubs closed across America and abroad.

But the franchise model was successfully reintroduced 25 years later with the "Playboy at the Palms" in Las Vegas. Playboy provide the license for the Bunny brand, leaving the N9NE Group, who have the industry experience of the gaming and hotel industries, to run the casino.

The franchise business model is being repeated in Macau, China, which will see a Playboy Hotel and Casino open in the next year or so. Plans for a return to London are on hold as the UK Government revises it's gambling legislation.
_________________
Alan, Webmaster
Ex Playboy Bunnies

[BunnyFan]

Thanx for an informative post Alan, your bunny knowledge amazes me.

I keep my fingers crossed for a London club...

Bunnyfan.

[hefdream]

Thank you very much Alan .Always is a pleasure your answers.regards
Juan Carlos