Page 48 - AVN August 2016

Hustler is looking for
innovation and quality
because that is what our
customer is looking for.
“
We are all tired of the
same stuff in a different
package.
—Philip Del Rio,
vice president
of retail operations,
Hustler Hollywood
FEATURE
solicited diagnoses from executives at six of the top retail chains:
Adam & Eve, Castle Megastores, Good Vibrations, Hustler
To take the pulse of the adult retail industry in mid-2016, AVN
Hollywood, Lion’s Den and the Pleasure Chest. Among topics
discussed were mainstreaming, supply and demand, product
trends and concerns about the future.
The general consensus is that everyone seems to be doing really well,
despite what some see as a surfeit of product. The most heartening trend is
the evolving customer profile. “Retail stores are much more couples-friendly,
a trend that’s been going on for three years,” according to Adam & Eve’s Dave
Keegan, who is general manager of the retail division.
“We are seeing more and more couples walking into our stores every day,”
says Philip Del Rio, Hustler Hollywood’s vice president of retail operations.
48 | AVN.com | 8.16
“That said, we see a lot of customers looking for toys they can use together or
alone.”
What’s encouraging for Keegan is seeing markets open up in the more
conservative states as pleasure products continue to widen their appeal.
“The more you see them in, say, CVS stores, the easier it is to convince local
authorities that these are mainstream products. It provides better arguments.”
Adam & Eve just opened a store in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, their first in that
state, as well as a new one in Wichita Falls, Texas, a territory where they’ve
always been strong.
“We’re not there yet,” Keegan cautions, but there is a growing trend for adult
stores being viewed as more mainstream. “We’re opening three to 10 stores a
year. The operators are happy.” And competition from online sales? He shrugs.
“Stores will always carry more product that what is offered online.”