SOUTH PARIS, Maine - All Boys Distribution has begun marketing its products directly to retail stores that have not been buying from a wholesale outlet. According to company president Rob Ragan, the move is meant to expand All Boys' reach among stores that do not already have a source for its products.
"Since our inception, I've directed retailers to distributors for our stuff," Ragan said. "I recently attended a conference with a retail buying group and found that several retailers are unaware of the production lines we carry."
Ragan said he was surprised to discover a significant number of retailers have not been approached about carrying All Boys' lines.
"After the last Expo-Mark I discovered that a lot of companies were unaware of us," he said. "With me spending several thousand dollars in advertising each month and selling all the distributors, I just took it for granted that the stores were getting our films. Well, apparently that is not entirely accurate."
Even though All Boys will be approaching retailers directly, Ragan stressed the company will not sell to retailers who already are obtaining their products through a wholesale outlet that works with All Boys.
"I want to go on record and say that if a retailer is getting our stuff through distribution, they will be directed to continue doing so," he said. "I'm not doing this to cut out our distributors. There have just been a lot of changes in the market, and some of the distributors that had been getting our films have been cut off for reasons I'd rather not divulge. I've found out along my test market that there are stores that flat refuse to buy from some of the distributors that are carrying our films, so what can I do?"
According to Craig Rivas, vice president of operations, All Boys also intends to expand its product categories after Jan. 1, and all distributors may not wish to carry some of the new lines.
"A couple of my studios are now printing special books of high-gloss, professional model shoots with some of their more popular models," Rivas said. "We feel that this is a more direct-to-retail product, as there just isn't a wide enough range of product that would make sense to only put through the distributors.
"We want to ensure that our client base is given every opportunity to have the lines we stock in every store in the country - which, if I'm not mistaken, is the goal of every studio that films movies," he added. "I firmly believe that our policy of only allowing distributors to buy from us has limited our distribution into the retail market, thus limiting the very reason we're in business."
Ragan said All Boys will add several new studios to its roster in the new year.
"We actually stopped signing new studios for a while, as we were growing too fast, if there is such a thing," he noted. "I've now moved into a new office for the administrative portion of the company, and this will allow for us to bring in a full sales staff, which we've already been able to begin.
"The first [new] studio will be Skater Boy, which won every award it was nominated for at last year's [European Gay Porn Awards]," he added. "We're also actively seeking exclusive contracts for Europe, as All Boys Europe is now up and running. We feel that 2009 is going to be a huge year for the corporation as a whole in Europe, and that will allow for more high-end lines through the U.S. facility as well."
Information and price lists may be obtained by contacting All Boys by email or calling (877) 5-ALLBOY.
