Page 57 - AVN July 2016

Present and Past Below, Ron Braverman celebrates the holidays at Doc Johnson in 1982. Above, Ron, Erica and Chad with the marketing
and sales team on the Doc Johnson campus; photo by Chris King/ReelSeduction.com.
manufacturers began entering the industry.
Materials used to create the items changed
through the years. And consumers became better
educated and much more savvy about the products
they used.
To stay at the top of the heap, Doc Johnson not
only kept up with the changes, but took more than
a few risks to be an innovator in the industry.
The company was among the first to carry more
unisex items that could be packaged to appeal to
the straight and gay markets, as well as among
the first to create niche products and lines. The
company was among the first to offer toys molded
from popular adult performers; and it was the
first to offer a line of products molded from a TS
performer (Wendy Williams).
“Staying ahead of market trends has always
been a priority at Doc Johnson, but it’s much
more important for us to follow our own instincts
rather than try to blindly cater to all the latest
trends,” said Chad Braverman, Ron’s son and the
chief operating officer/chief creative officer for
Doc Johnson. “Integrity is everything. The success
we’ve achieved in working with new product
concepts largely comes down to our deep-rooted
understanding of the industry: its past and its
present, while keeping a strong pulse on the
future.
“Sometimes it is a challenge to work with
concepts that don’t necessarily come pre-approved
with an established track record for success, but
our efforts have certainly paid off,” he said.
Though the years, through the ups and downs,
though the changes in the industry, one thing
remained almost constant at Doc Johnson: it was
a family business, in more ways than one. While
even the best mainstream companies these days
might struggle to retain employees, Doc Johnson
has kept many on for years—of roughly 500
workers today, the number of those who have been
with Doc for the past 20, 30 and even 40 years
reaches into the double digits.
“Nurturing employee relationships has been a
constant during the company’s history, and that
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