Lydia Howland

Although the public face of Playboy undoubtedly still belongs to Hugh Hefner (scientists are so grateful for the publicity he's given to rabbits that there's even a breed named after him - Lapis Hefneris!)the more interesting fact is that the whole empire is now run by his daughter - Christie Hefner.

And she's by no means unique... The UK chain Anne Summers is run by Jacqueline Gold,and the upmarket erotica outfit Myla is run by two female entrepreneurs.

The difference is that while Anne Summers and Myla explictly provide female sex products (lingerie, toys etc.) Playboy is still unashamedly catering to a male market, even with a woman at the helm. So is it strange for a father to pass on his porn empire to his daughter and has it made a difference to the way Playboy does business?

Although still red-hot in Asian markets, North American and European sales of the magazine has fallen dramatically in recent years, forcing Playboy to diversify. Bunny Clubs were revived (albeit disasterously), rights to the logo were sold to just about anyone, and the company is exploring the possibility of opening resorts (a la Hedonism in Jamaica). But still no major forays into the growing and lucrative markets of female consumers. So have Playboy missed a trick or is it a shrewd move by Christie to preserve her company's unique selling point?

mrG mrG

I'll vote for the preserving of the company's unique selling point, for the integrity of having remained politically incorrect and the integrity of having more centerfolds who've moved on to become senior execs than all the other mags combined, and who've had more memorable interviews (which neuropsych tells us is the effect of balancing good content with sex: Asimov, Bucky Fuller ... I can still picture those centerfolds ;)