Page 12 - AVN May 2015

EDITOR’S DESK
PORN’S SECOND CITY
Focusing on the view from Las Vegas
DURING AVN’S JANUARY EVENTS IN LAS VEGAS, people always ask how the show is
going. Truth be told, the answer to that question will depend on who’s talking. But
in brief, how it’s going depends on two things: Are the fans having a memorable
experience, and are the business folks having a profitable one?
In a blunt talk titled “The Disruption of the Internet and the Effects of
Globalization on Lingerie Retailers and Manufacturers” at the Altitude Intimates
inaugural show in Las Vegas, Christopher Scharff of DG Brands (better known as
Dreamgirl) put it like this: “A good show is when the retailers are making money.”
Though he didn’t elaborate, Scharff said that he had been unable to give this
speech at the International Lingerie Show—and that led to the creation of the
Altitude event, sponsored by the Lingerie Industry Association (read more about
Altitude on page 64). The subject was close to Scharff’s heart—and it certainly
resonated with adult manufacturers, distributors and retailers.
When he first attended ILS a decade and a half ago, Scharff said, Dreamgirl’s
competition was the other brands at the show. “Today, they’re all my friends.
We’ve all cooperated to form this show.” And their competition now: cheap
imports and online shopping trends that are “slowly nibbling away at market share
and your value chain.”
But he also offered solutions, issuing a call to action for both manufacturers
and retailers to become more relevant and attract a younger clientele. And part
of that is finding “new niche products ... to replace falling sales in downtrending
categories.”
One of those niches has inspired Dreamgirl’s new High Jinx “420 lifestyle”
apparel line—which DG will not sell on Amazon, to preserve its price point. Like
many, Scharff sees the potential for adult shops to stay on the lookout for ways to
benefit the “green rush” that is being unleashed as marijuana prohibition loosens.
And he predicts that an array of adult-oriented businesses—vape shops, smoke
shops, adult stores, lingerie boutiques and legal dispensaries—will merge in the
coming decade.
Being willing to look for an edge in a tough market also does a lot to explain
why some Los Angeles adult producers have decided to hit the I-15 and move to
Las Vegas. Dan Miller talks to a number of these adventurous souls, who have
made Sin City the Porn Valley of Nevada (see page 54).
Some moved to Las Vegas to get away from Cal/OSHA hassles. “I was going
crazy in L.A. and I was always concerned there was going to be a knock on the
door from a cop,” said Brett Brando, an early migrant.
Others simply found the lower cost of living enough of an enticement on its
own. And now, a bona fide community is growing. As WoodRocket director Lee
Roy Myers said, “When you’re in L.A. in the Valley you run into a lot of porn
people and you converse and you feel like you’re at home. This has that same
feeling. It’s very welcoming to new businesses.”
In a companion story, Kim Airs interviews members of the pleasure product
community who make their homes in Vegas, as well as UNLV professor Lynn
Comella, author of the soon-to-publish Vibrator Nation. Points out Bob Wolf, owner
of vibrator company Synergy Erotics, “Imagine your employees finally being able
to afford their first home.” And two retailers—Megan Swartz, buyer and manager
of the two Déjà Vu boutiques, and Antrece, the owner of the Las Vegas Adam &
Eve franchise—talk about what sells in this tourist-oriented town.
On another note (two, actually), last month’s column discussed a legal case
in which the city of Sandy Springs, Georgia, was fighting a lawsuit sparked by its
“sexual device” ordinance—and the case had gone all the way to the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Just after the magazine went to press, the Sandy
Springs City Council repealed the law. This month brings another development in
the same case—also happening after our print deadline. A rehearing by the 11th
Circuit is set for April 26. Attorney J. Michael Murray will present arguments for
the appellants—two adult retailers, a consumer and an artist who uses vibrators in
his work—who seek to make such bans illegal. So we’ll have more on that in June.
And the final note ... AVN’s Mark Kernes recently was tipped off to an error in
the November 1994 issue (well, better late than never). In an article titled “Nina
Hartley Takes Telluride By Porn,” Hartley was described, after having played “far
left field” in a baseball game between Telluride attendees and the town’s baseball
team, as “Best Ball Player.” She was actually deemed “Best Ball Handler.”
EDITOR’S DESK | By Sharan Street
12 | AVN.com | 5.17