Playboy owner to acquire Aussie lingerie brand Honey Birdette

PLBY Group is to buy racy Australian luxury lingerie brand Honey Birdette for approximately US$333 million. PLBY Group CEO Ben Kohn said he is “thrilled by the brand’s potential to become a multi-million-dollar luxury lifestyle franchise”.

“Our plan is two-fold: to leverage PLBY Group and the Playboy brand’s global operations to accelerate Honey Birdette’s expansion into new territories and product categories, and to take advantage of Honey Birdette’s superior product design, sourcing, and direct-to-consumer capabilities to accelerate our Playboy-branded lingerie, loungewear, swimwear, and sexual wellness go-to-market plans targeting the masstige consumer,” Kohn said.

“This acquisition is expected to further our mission to become the leading pleasure and leisure lifestyle platform and our commitment to deliver long-term value to our shareholders.”

Honey Birdette is forecast to generate $73 million in revenue this financial year, representing growth of over 40 percent. The acquisition will help the brand expand its leadership in the sexual wellness category and its shared sourcing and product design capabilities. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

Honey Birdette was first launched in 2006, when its first boutique opened in Brisbane, selling glamorous lingerie and adult toys. It has since expanded to more than 60 stores across Australia, the US, and the UK, and flagship stores are slated to open in the coming months in Dallas, Miami, and New York. Meanwhile, loungewear and swimwear will soon be added to the Honey Birdette product range.

“When I founded Honey Birdette 15 years ago, my ambition was to build a brand for women, by women; a brand that would serve as a platform for confidence and sexual and body empowerment,” said Eloise Monaghan, founder and managing director of Honey Birdette.

“Today is a momentous and proud day for the Honey Birdette team as we enter into partnership with one of the world’s most iconic brands and the lifestyle platform it represents. I’m thrilled to join Ben and the whole PLBY Group team on a mission to build a lifestyle of pleasure for all.”