CHICAGO, March 1 (UPI) -- Scott Flanders, chief executive officer of Playboy Enterprises Inc., said outsourcing could trim the Chicago company's staff of 573 by 50 percent this year.
The company is aiming for "smaller and leaner," Flanders said, The Chicago Tribune reported Monday.
Since Flanders took over in June, Playboy has outsourced production of its monthly magazine and struck a deal to outsource its Asia operations to IMG Licensing Worldwide.
Playboy may expand that option with IMG to include Europe, Flanders said.
The aim is to be smaller, but diversify. The company plans to continue to work with partnerships to open a casino in Mexico and a Miami nightclub, the newspaper said.
Business analyst Steve Marascia at Capital Securities management Inc. said outsourcing made sense for Playboy.
Lacking the funds necessary to expand its brand, "the next best thing is to farm it out," he said. "This is probably the only viable option."
