Sex Shops In Britain Making Way To 'high Street'

[waldwolf]

Sex Shops in Britain Are Making Their Way to 'High Street'

By Clare Dowdy

Financial Times

October 11, 2004

LONDON — Surely there has never been so much sexual activity on Britain's main streets.

Purveyors of adult-oriented merchandise typically have been relegated to side streets instead of the main drags, or "high streets" as they are called here.

But retailers in this sector, including from the United States, seem to be going into overdrive. And as they launch, expand or revamp their offerings here, many have set their sights on Europe.

"Adult entertainment" impresario Larry Flynt is taking his Hustler Hollywood chain outside the U.S., debuting in the city of Birmingham this month before opening in London.

British retailer Harmony is repositioning itself and has just made a splash with its first high street store, on London's Oxford Street.

In Britain, a store without a license can offer just 10% of products that can be classified as sexual merchandise; the other 90%, such as lingerie, must be classified as nonsexual merchandise. A licensed store can stock adult-rated films and other media that depict explicit nonviolent consensual sex scenes.

British retailer Ann Summers, whose offerings do not require a license, is already well- established as an outlet for lingerie and sex aids. It has opened 60 stores in the last 18 months, bringing the total to 117.

Sex toy retailer Tabooboo has a concession in London's Selfridges store. It also boasts 60 vending machines in bars and clubs across the country and has plans for stores in continental Europe. Tabooboo is aimed at stylish and brand-aware women in their 20s.

The retailers say they are responding to demand triggered by Britain's changing attitude toward sex. "There is less stigma attached to it," said Gordon Lee, Ann Summers marketing director.

Sex shops were set up in Sutton and Wandsworth a couple of years ago by Germany's Beate Uhse, Europe's biggest erotic goods maker and retailer, under the banner of Mae.B.

Such stores have a more established presence in Germany than in Britain, and Ann Summers says it is likely to expand into Spain rather than the more established markets of Germany or France.

Both Lee and Roger Ede, project director of Hustler Hollywood U.K., say the effect of the television series "Sex and the City" on women's behavior should not be underestimated. Sex has become mainstream, the retailers say, so it is now acceptable on high streets. And it is female consumers who are seen as presenting the best retail opportunity and the most important audience to reach.

Ann Summers, whose annual sales are 110 million pounds ($197 million), has known this for years. According to Lee, 80% of its customers are female. This changes at the weekends, when couples come in together "looking for something to play around with," as he puts it.

Now Hustler and Harmony want a bit of the action. Ede expects Hustler's customer breakdown to be 60%-40% women to men. In the U.S., it is 51%-49%, but the U.S. stores, unlike those planned for Britain, are licensed, so hard-core material accounts for more of the sales.

Harmony opened on Oxford Street, the landmark London retail territory, this month after being encouraged by the number of women and couples who visited its outlet in the less salubrious Charing Cross Road. "It opened our eyes," said Steven Elkins, a director. He expects Oxford Street customers to be 30% single men and 70% single women and couples.

Many of these retailers are trying to create an environment that appeals to women without alienating men.

For Harmony, that means having two doorways: one that leads to the pink, girlie ground floor and a second that leads straight down the stairs into the licensed and unashamedly hard-core basement.

Hustler's approach is to have an open shop front and a coffee shop with leather sofas. Theresa Flynt-Gaerke, executive vice president of Hustler Hollywood retail, says these coffee shops build their own clientele in the U.S. The cafe in Hustler's Sunset Boulevard outlet in West Hollywood, for example, opens two hours before the shop. In the evenings, couples might go there for dessert and to browse the merchandise.

This is how Harmony said it would like its stores to be used by the public.

Said Harmony director Danny O'Sullivan: "A visit to Harmony should be as normal and everyday an experience as going to any other chain store in your lunch hour."

[Santini]

Thanks for that...

[konangrit]

Sure this will be moved to the finance section in no time .........