At one of Playboy's first big bashes after going private in 2011, much seemed as usual for a brand that has embodied American hedonism for nearly 60 years. Bunnies and Playmates sashayed beneath black crystal chandeliers in The Palms Casino's Playboy Club in Las Vegas, while men in suits hit the dance floor.
在花花公子(Playboy)2011年转为非上市公司之后举办的一个大派对上，这个代表了美国享乐主义近60年时间的品牌看上去似乎跟往常没什么不一样。兔子和玩伴女郎在拉斯维加斯棕榈树赌场酒店(The Palms Casino)花花公子俱乐部(Playboy Club)的黑色水晶枝形吊灯下游走穿梭，西装革履的男士则在舞池里翩翩起舞。
One of them was Scott Flanders, 55 years old, Playboy Enterprises Inc.'s first CEO outside the family of founder Hugh Hefner. But the appearance of the uninterrupted good life was largely an illusion. Mr. Flanders was in the early stages of radically reshaping the company, shrinking its staff by 75%, moving its headquarters from its historic home in Chicago to Los Angeles, outsourcing much of its business, and ushering in what many current and former employees describe as a harsher company culture.
55岁的斯科特•弗兰德斯(Scott Flanders)身处其中，他是担任花花公子企业公司(Playboy Enterprises Inc.)CEO的首位创始人休•赫夫纳(Hugh Hefner)家族以外的人士。不过，外表上这种持续的太平盛世很大程度上是一个假象。彼时弗兰德斯刚刚开始了他对公司的彻底整改，员工缩减了75%，公司总部从有历史意义的芝加哥老家搬到了洛杉矶，大量业务实行外包，引进了被现在和过去的很多员工所称的更严厉的企业文化。
2010年，弗兰德斯与一位兔女郎
Mr. Flanders has been building on Playboy's recent strategy of morphing into a licensing company―in the process shedding the seedier aspects of its image. It remains a work in progress.
弗兰德斯一直在加强将花花公子转变成授权公司的策略──在让公司摆脱低俗形象的过程中。这项工作仍然在进行之中。
"Our favorite line is, 'Less sweatsuit, more Tom Ford,'" says chief marketing officer Kristin Patrick.
首席营销长克里斯廷•帕特里克(Kristin Patrick)说：“我们最喜欢的一句话是：‘少点运动服，多点汤姆•福特(Tom Ford)’。”
Today, Playboy is both smaller and more profitable. It now has annual revenue of $135 million, down from $240 million in 2009, the year Mr. Flanders came aboard. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization improved to $38.9 million for the year ended September, up from $19.3 million in 2009, the company said, but it fell short of a 2012 profitability target set by its lenders in loan covenants.
今天，花花公子比过去更小了，也更赚钱了。该公司表示，现在的年营业收入从2009年弗兰德斯入盟花花公子时的2.4亿美元降到了1.35亿美元。截至9 月份，未计利息、税项、折旧和摊销的调整后收益从2009年的1,930万美元提高到了3,890万美元，但还是没有达到债权人在贷款合同里制订的 2012年盈利目标。
Playboy sold its Spice channels and other TV and digital properties to Internet porn giant Manwin, and struck partnerships with art and fashion leaders like Dolce & Gabbana to try to reposition its brand as more aspirational. This winter, the company, long barred from Apple's digital storefronts because of its pornographic associations, will package a nudity-free version of its content together for the launch of its first iPhone app, featuring lifestyle tips, articles from the magazine and, of course, photos of beautiful women.
花花公子把它的Spice频道及其它电视和数字化资产卖给了网络色情业巨头Manwin，并与杜嘉班纳(Dolce & Gabbana)这样的艺术界与时尚界领袖达成了伙伴关系，试图将花花公子重新定位为更有雄心大志的品牌。今年冬天，这家因牵扯色情而长期被禁止进入苹果数字商店的公司会在它的第一个iPhone应用推出之时出版无裸体内容的版本，以生活贴士、杂志文章、当然还有漂亮女人的照片为主打内容。
Licensing revenue increased to $62 million in the year ended last September, from $37 million in 2009, according to people familiar with the matter. But the revenue stream is often uneven. Already Manwin has tried to renegotiate the $14 million it promised to pay Playboy annually because the digital and TV content isn't generating enough revenue, according to people familiar with the matter.
据知情人士透露，在截至去年9月的财年中，花花公子授权收入从2009年的3,700万美元提高到了6,200万美元。但是收入经常是不稳定的。知情人士称，Manwin已经试图就其答应每年向花花公子支付1,400万美元一事重新与花花公子谈判，因为花花公子数字和电视内容并没有产生足够的收入。
A Manwin spokeswoman declined to comment. Playboy said that, while such discussions were initiated, it refused to accommodate a reduction of its minimum guarantees.
Manwin的一位女发言人拒绝予以置评。花花公子表示，虽然已经有这样的讨论，但公司拒绝在降低最低金额上予以通融。
Playboy also found itself in violation of its loan covenants in part because the Palms Casino's Playboy Club closed down, depriving Playboy of $4 million in annual licensing payments, according to people familiar with the matter.
据知情人士说，花花公子自己同样也违反了部分合约，因为棕榈树赌场的花花公子俱乐部关闭了，这让花花公子每年少了400万美元的授权费用。
If Playboy misses its covenant again, Rizvi Traverse, the private-equity firm that led the buyout with Mr. Hefner, will have to kick in another $10 million, Playboy said.
花花公子方面表示，如果花花公子再次履约失败，与赫夫纳一起主导了收购的私募公司Rizvi Traverse将不得不再次注资1,000万美元。
After negotiations with lenders, Playboy needs to show that it is on track to generate $47 million this year in Ebitda. But Standard & Poor's believes the new target will be hard to meet, warning recently it may downgrade the company's credit rating, saying Playboy "has performed below our expectations."
在与贷款方谈判之后，花花公子需要表明，它今年息税折旧摊销前利润(Ebitda)可以达到4,700万美元。但标普公司(Standard & Poor's)认为这一新目标很难达到，并在最近警告说，它可能会降低花花公子的信用等级。标普称，花花公子的“表现低于我们的预期”。