Hugh Hefner, Playboy magazine founder. - File

Playboy opened its largest store in the world last week, confident the London fashion boutique can ride out the storm in a nervous retail market that could be hit by the worldwide credit crunch.

"Confidence is very, very high," said Playboy spokeswoman Lisa Hagendorf.

The three-storey store is located on bustling Oxford Street, the shopping heart of the British capital.

"I think the brand is going to do phenomenally well here," Hagendorf.

"There is a real understanding of the heritage," she said as Playboy returned to London for the first time in more than a quarter of a century.

The Playboy Club on Park Lane, known affectionately as the Bunny Hutch, was one of the most enduring symbols of the Swinging Sixties in London and founder Hugh Hefner a prime mover in the sexual revolution.

Its casino, closed in 1981, also ranked as the most profitable in the world at that time.

With London now a magnet for Russian and Arab billionaires as well as wealthy Europeans, Playboy is following other U.S. retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch into the British capital's retail market.

Full range of products

Offering everything from a new range of fitness gear to an eveningwear collection for men and women, Playboy timed its launch to coincide with London Fashion Week, the perfect international shop window for British designers.

"If you are going to open up a store in London, Oxford Street is the premier location," said Hagendorf.

"It's convenient not only for London residents; we are expecting a huge tourist footfall as well."

Playboy is on a major expansion drive in a bid to offset the loss of money and readers from its 54-year-old Playboy magazine to online competition, launching shops, casinos and even an Internet social networking site to rival Facebook.

Its Chief Executive Christie Hefner, daughter of Hugh, announced in June the development of Playboy Mansion Macao, a 40,000-square-foot entertainment venue due to open in 2009.

Playboy clothes are sold in nine stores around the world from Tokyo and Las Vegas to Melbourne and Bangkok.

- Reuters