It is a rare company in China that can claim Beijing’s censors helped build its business. But Playboy, which yesterday announced an expansion on the mainland, could not have prospered in sexually conservative China without the inadvertent help of the Communist party, which has long banned Playboy magazine, local analysts say.
The US brand is battling to take the porn out of Playboy’s image globally these days, but in China that is already true — to the average Chinese consumer, Playboy has nothing to do with sex.
Playboy’s China unit is a licensing business, with bunny-ears logo products sold mainly to Chinese men, the company said. Men’s dress shirts and suits, bags and shoes, are the best sellers.