Jimmy Buffett, who died of cancer on Friday, was many things: a singer, a songwriter and a spokesman for tropical escape.<\/p>\n
But beyond crafting music that inspired listeners to grab a cold drink and take it easy, Mr. Buffett was also a businessman who turned his personal brand into a sprawling lifestyle empire that included everything from restaurants and resorts to lines of merchandise such as at-home \u201cfrozen concoction makers\u201d and cornhole game sets.<\/p>\n
Along with music sales and tours, Margaritaville\u2019s success helped propel Mr. Buffett into the billionaire ranks; in April, Forbes estimated his net worth at $1 billion. Now, Mr. Buffett\u2019s empire, named Margaritaville Enterprises after his signature song, must find ways to sustain its business without its founder.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn behalf of everyone (who works, visits or lives) in Margaritaville, we mourn the loss of Jimmy, a true national treasure, and express our heartfelt condolences to his family and everyone around the world who loves him,\u201d Margaritaville wrote in a statement posted on its website. <\/p>\n
Representatives for the company declined to comment on its business.<\/p>\n
In the days after Mr. Buffett\u2019s death, retail and marketing experts said his legacy would continue to lure his fans \u2014 known as Parrot Heads, along with their children, called parakeets \u2014 and others to his businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a lifestyle associated with him and his personality and his music that he created,\u201d said Barbara Kahn, a professor of marketing at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. But, she said, because his business is \u201cbigger than just that, it could definitely live on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Buffett\u2019s original idea for Margaritaville was \u201cto expand the opportunity for as many people to experience the lifestyle immortalized in his iconic song as possible,\u201d according to the statement on the company\u2019s website. The company had $2.2 billion in gross annual revenue last year.<\/p>\n
Most of Margaritaville\u2019s revenue comes from licensing and franchising deals with various ventures, often with references to Mr. Buffett\u2019s songs like \u201cIt\u2019s Five O\u2019Clock Somewhere.\u201d The enterprise is linked to more than 100 restaurants, bars, grills and \u201clodging locations\u201d in places as diverse as Ambergris Caye, Belize, and Pigeon Forge, Tenn., a short drive from the Dollywood Theme Park, named for Dolly Parton.<\/p>\n
There is Latitude Margaritaville Watersound in Panama City Beach, Fla., a planned adult community of homes for those age 55 and up, and the Margaritaville Vacation Club by Wyndham on St. Thomas. There are luxury condominiums and a cruise ship, as well as a new podcast, \u201cLicense to Chill.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Forbes, Mr. Buffett had an estimated 28 percent stake in the company, which is headquartered in Orlando, Fla. Margaritaville also has other investors, including private equity firms. The billionaire investor Warren Buffett \u2014 a longtime friend, but not a relative, of the musician \u2014 is an investor in Margaritaville through subsidiaries of his company Berkshire Hathaway.<\/p>\n
Last year, the company said its partners had invested, or committed to invest, $7.5 billion in its hospitality real estate projects.<\/p>\n
More Buffett-related properties are coming, including a restaurant in Boston. A resort recently opened in San Diego, as did a LandShark Bar & Grill in Miramar Beach, Fla. But Margaritaville could risk overextending itself, Ms. Kahn said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a lifestyle, and it\u2019s a chill, fun island lifestyle,\u201d Ms. Kahn said, adding that if it isn\u2019t managed properly, it \u201ccan be something that loses some of its esteem without the founder\u2019s identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Margaritaville Casino in Biloxi, Miss., closed just two years after opening in 2012, and then sat empty for nine years before being bought last month by another resort company. The last location of Mr. Buffett\u2019s fast-food chain, Cheeseburger in Paradise, closed in Secaucus, N.J., in 2020; Mr. Buffett sold his stake to the restaurant operator Luby\u2019s for $11 million in 2012.<\/p>\n
In 2021, Margaritaville Resort Times Square opened in New York to great fanfare. The $370 million property, which features a 32-foot-tall replica of the Statue of Liberty hoisting a margarita glass, is owned by Soho Properties. Soho\u2019s partner, IMCMV Holdings, leased the location and struck a trademark license agreement with Margaritaville Enterprises.<\/p>\n
In July, the resort entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in an attempt to stop a foreclosure auction sale after Soho failed to make a debt payment, according to court filings. The hotel was valued between $266 million and $350 million as of May, with revenues expected to exceed $25 million by the end of next year \u2014 a sign of the property\u2019s potential despite the pressures of the pandemic, according to the filings.<\/p>\n
Soho Properties did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
When reached on Sunday by phone, a worker at the Times Square location said people had been leaving flowers by the towering statue of a glossy blue flip-flop in the lobby as part of a makeshift memorial to Mr. Buffett.<\/p>\n
Lauren Hirsch contributed reporting.<\/p>\n
Jordyn Holman<\/span> is a business reporter covering retail for The Times. She previously worked at Bloomberg News, where she covered retail and diversity in corporate America. More about Jordyn Holman<\/span><\/p>\n