Page 63 - AVN June 2012

traditional Cinderella story of
a wealthy, handsome man
who sweeps a young, innocent
introduces her to a not-so-
innocent world of BDSM.”
”“Grey ’s appeal is its
beauty off her feet and
Adult distributors and manufacturers didn’t waste any time coming to the party.
Between the end of April and middle of May, several adult novelty distributors—East
Coast News, Eldorado Trading Company and Entrenue among them—announced they
had the books in stock and ready to ship.
“Fifty Shades of Grey has unexpectedly changed the way modern men and women look
at the BDSM lifestyle, rousing curiosity to read about this young ‘vanilla’ woman’s entry
into a world that most of us consider kinky and forbidden,” Entrenue Brand and
Marketing Director Lisa Mazurek said. “This novel without a doubt is helping to main-
stream bondage, restraint and roleplaying and has inspired a sexual awakening similar to
that which erupted when The Story of O and Nine and a Half Weeks debuted years ago.”
In response, East Coast News created a cross-marketing tool for its customers, featuring
related fetish and BDSM items to help convert first-time buyers to repeat shoppers. ECN
Sales Manager Alan Mandell noted that initial demand for the Fifty Shades trilogy was off
the charts. “We are, of course, happy to respond to the demand for the books. We’re even
more excited about helping our customers use the wide acceptance of the book’s theme to
expand their clientele.”
East Coast News also collaborated with Sportsheets to offer promotion packs to ECN
customers featuring the manufacturer’s Sex & Mischief line, with non-intimidating items
geared toward BDSM newbies.
Pipedream Products, another manufacturer with a line suited to neophytes, blogged on
its site about company products that fit the description of items used in the books.
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