More than 16 years ago, Chuck Harnish and business partner Jim Horne began making Gay Pride products at home, then took them around to sell to stores.
"We actually started out in our garage, then we bought the house across the street, then we bought the house next door to it, then we bought the house around the corner," says Harnish, the vice president of PHS International.
"And as inventory grew and more employees came on board, we kind of started playing monopoly with the neighborhood… and it became apparent that we could no longer do this in our little residential neighborhood."
So two years ago, PHS — primarily a manufacturer — expanded into a 16,000-square-foot warehouse in Phoenix, Arizona, to help accommodate the 5,000 Gay Pride items it was now selling. "We have little old ladies that come in here and pick up kits to make, say, a key chain, and they do it in their leisure time."
The success of that business eventually prompted PHS to explore another avenue.
"In the last few years we have tried to develop more into the adult product side. We felt we needed to diversify," notes Harnish. "So we went into a few things like after-sex towels, socks, and some other things that were more adult-themed, but not necessarily gay. So in doing that we started to get into some leather gear and that type of thing."
That's when the company hired marketing manager Michael Merrill, and the M2M line was born to cater adult-themed items specifically to gay men. Efforts began in May 2006, and 150 items made their debut in January.
"It's a comprehensive line of everything from fashion items — like those cool chrome arm bands — to advanced cock-and-ball and wrist restraints. And that's how we broke the line into seven different categories. There's also intro to cock-and-ball, advanced cock-and-ball, sensory play — which is like blindfolds and ball gags — wrist restraints, nipple clamps and weights, and punishers — whips and paddles, and stuff like that," Merrill says. "We make it more luxury. It has to have sales features that are better than what's out there."
Merrill adds that items like the wrist restraints are stronger ("It's for man-to-man sex versus lighter hetero sex," he says with a laugh), while Harnish notes that the cock rings and anal toys are made with nitrile — a skin-safe material used in emergency rooms instead of latex — to ensure compatibility with all kinds of lubes.
"What you'll find when you compare most of these items is higher quality — like our leather goods, all the edges are turned and sewed, we don't use any strap-cut leathers. It's all real quality stuff because we have a feel for the gay market. It's a lifestyle market," Harnish says. "A straight guy buys a cock ring, takes it home, uses it one time and throws it in the drawer and forgets it. But a gay guy is going to use it and use it often. So we felt that the quality really needed to be there. All of our goods are finished off nicely with nice edges."
Another big push by the company was to dedicate a lot of effort to the packaging, which helps the products stand out and speaks to their quality, and is designed to be merchandised in a group.
"Having a gay man on the packaging is fairly new, and I really wanted to focus on relationships, so there're two men on the package on a lot of it. I'm aiming for a more mature audience, like people that have been in a relationship, so we don't use words like 'boyz toys' or 'trick' and stuff like that," Merrill says. "It's not goofy or funny."
In addition to a big advertising push, Harnish says they will focus on generating traffic to the stores that carry their line. Advertisements in local publications and sponsorship of gay events are just a few of the plans to increase awareness. He adds they are also making efforts to get store owners to put more of a focus on gay customers, encouraging gay sections in stores.
The company will be adding more toys to the leather line, including a line of leather and mesh items, and more anal toys. Later plans include the debut of a W2W line aimed at lesbians, and a line called Fresh, which will be a "fun take on bondage" that will initially be aimed at younger women, but expand to all markets with various products.
And if the look and feel of the M2M products and packaging is any indication of things to come, expect all of the lines to flourish.
"We're just trying to be innovative with it and do something new," Harnish says. "This is a product that, I swear, once you see it in your hand and you see the difference in what Michael has brilliantly created with this packaging and the design, it really hits you."
Contact Info: M2Mlife.com; 800-736-8919; [email protected].
