MUMBAI: Actor producer Sachiin Joshi, who acquired Goa-based beer brand Kings Beer last year, has picked up a significant minority stake in PB Lifestyle, exclusive licence holder in India for Playboy Enterprises, USA. Joshi is investing $10 million, or about Rs 67 crore, in first tranche and has an option to increase his stake up to 50% in the company, which has the unconditional licence to launch Playboy-branded clubs, cafes, lounges and pubs, beer gardens, hotels, signature events and merchandise in the country.
“Playboy has always been a fascinating brand. It is one of the top 20 brands in the world in terms of recall value,” said Joshi. “I had heard that Parag (Sanghavi, chairman of PB Lifestyle) has got the licence for India and I was surprised. When we met, he shared his vision for expansion, which got me interested. I did my due diligence for close to six months and decided to be a partner,” he told ET. Joshi and Sanghavi are set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday.
Sanghavi said that in phase one, the company plans to launch four F&B formats — night clubs, beer gardens, alcoholic cafes and non-alcoholic cafes. “The idea is to have 35-40 properties by end of FY19,” he said. “Phase II will include entering into retail (clothing), hotels and resorts too.”