Adairs

In 2010, manchester retailer Adairs decided that to broaden their brand from manchester retailer to a "lifestyle brand" they would need to expand their customer base. 

They used the Playboy Mansion collection as "leverage" to attract younger shoppers.

Introducing Playboy licensed merchandise and marketing the brand across various media platforms worked - the brand attracted younger customers and increased sales targets.

Playboy was no longer merely a ‘soft-porn’ magazine, it was - and is - a billion dollar global brand profiting from the exploitation and subordination of women.

In the 2000s, Plaboy had begun reporting losses. At one time, selling merchandise to "create a lifestyle" around the Playboy brand accounted for 50% of its sales. 

Adairs, like other brands owned by BB Retail Capital, selling Playboy branded merchandise helped prop up Playboy Enterprises, the once flailing porn label.

Read below for more on Adairs role in mainstreaming of pornography through selling Playboy.