California Exotic Novelties "is arguably the world's largest manufacturer of adult toys and novelties," says Al Bloom, the company's director of marketing. Or, perhaps, the point isn't so arguable: Its current catalog includes more than 3,000 items alone in its own family of brands, plus another 3,000 marketed through a private label division. Best known for its perennial top-seller, the trademarked Jack Rabbit, Cal Exotics' success has led to all manner of vibrating products and couples' toys.
The company's modern-day dominance is a surprising feat considering that, just 14 years ago, there was no Cal Exotics. It owes its existence to the vision and perseverance of president and founder Susan Colvin. "Susan was the general manager of CPLC, a now-defunct full-service adult distributing company, which had a small adult novelty division," Bloom says. "When the company was dissolved, Susan expressed an interest in buying that division, and that is when California Exotic Novelties was born."
Today, California Exotic Novelties employs more than 100 people at its bustling 200,000-square foot headquarters in Chino, Calif. "Cal Exotics is a global company with distribution in just about every country and territory around the world," says Bloom. From its sprawling three-building operations center in Southern California, the company's executives maintain an impressive world-wide network of manufacturing partners.
A WOMANS PERSPECTIVE
It's a far cry from Cal Exotics' beginning in a small Los Angeles warehouse. Working with eight ex-CPLC employees, Colvin began to brainstorm a new kind of adult novelty company, one with an emphasis on products that would appeal to women both functionally and aesthetically. "A woman's perspective was rare in those days," the founder remembers. "The industry was very much a boys' club." But, being one of the first women in the industry provided an opportunity to re-think the way things were being done. Studying the market, Colvin noted that the bulk of toys were purchased by men-but for women. She knew that, eventually, women would become the decision makers, and set about designing items and packaging that appealed to a woman's sensibilities.
While some of Cal Exotics' early catalogs were composed of a "hodgepodge of dildos, vibrators, and novelty/gag items," as Bloom calls them, Colvin and her sales manager, Jackie White, began designing innovative products that captured the imagination of women and couples. These early products became the foundation for the company-and many of them are still available today.
The 1990s were not an easy time to enter the adult novelty market, especially for a non-traditional company being led by a woman. White recalls the obstacles Cal Exotics encountered when it first arrived on the scene: "At the time, adult retail stores were pretty much just starting to expand their novelty sections," she says. "Space was at a premium in many of the stores, and Susan had to fight for retail space to establish the brand. It took multiple road trips and continual reinforcement in those early years to maintain a presence out there."
The company's emergence was further complicated by the small number of women in key buying positions. Few buyers were ready to take a chance on products aimed specifically at women and couples.
CLAIM TO FAME
So what was it that began the company's climb from small manufacturer to global heavyweight? "If you had to put a finger on one item, it would be the Jack Rabbit," Bloom replies. "It was the first vibrating and rotating stimulator, and it opened a whole new set of possibilities for women." The design was so well-received that it was featured on the popular television program Sex and the City, and the company reports strong sales ever since. "The same way a grocery store can never run out of white bread and milk, California Exotic Novelties always maintains significant stock of all Jack Rabbit products!" he jokes.
Cal Exotics' next big sellers were women's self-pleasuring devices like the Venus Butterfly. Designed specifically for hands-free use, "it was an instant hit, and a bestseller to this day," Bloom tells ANB. A whole range of wearable stimulators soon populated the catalog.
In a competitive industry, Cal Exotics doesn't take success for granted. While its early product line was the result of grassroots collaboration among a small but energetic team, Cal Exotics' founder says her staff is determined to remain innovative even as the firm becomes more influential. "We realized that bringing our customers new and exciting products would be the key to their satisfaction-and our success," says Colvin. "That's why we created a full-time New Product Development department to keep us on the cutting edge. At the same time, every member of our team is welcome to add their ideas to the mix at any time." Colvin adds that the company regularly brings to market new products developed from ideas submitted by its customers and retailers. Many of Cal Exotics' manufacturing partners maintain research and development departments which create exclusive designs for the company. The company has also allied with notables like Wicked Pictures, Digital Playground, Shane's World, Sue Johanson, Dr. Joel Kaplan, Gina Lynn, Dr. Laura Berman, Dr. Victoria Zdrok, Emma's Passion Garden, and COLT Studios.
MAINTAINING MOMENTUM
As the industry changed and the Cal Exotics message caught on, Colvin and her team quickly outgrew their first warehouse, which was less than 5,000 square feet in size. When she looked for larger quarters, the Chino area, about 35 miles east of Los Angeles, presented a unique opportunity, as it was a newly developing area with large spaces and low rents. "It was ideal," Bloom says. "The company has never stopped growing and needed the ability to keep up with its space requirements."
California Exotic Novelties now dominates the original development and is in the process of taking over another building. It needs more than 200,000 square feet to maintain a sizable inventory so its distributors can get all the Jack Rabbits they need at a moment's notice. "From the beginning, Susan has ascribed to the basic business rule that you can't sell apples from an empty cart," White says. "It's one thing to create great new products, but if you don't maintain a substantial inventory so you can supply the market, it's all a futile effort."
Keeping and maintaining huge stocks of product has been California Exotic Novelties' calling card. According to company officials, order fill rates of over 98% are the norm, back-orders are a rarity, and most ship within 48 hours of receipt. To manage its substantial inventory efficiently, the company turned to a complex warehouse management system that ensures accurate orders and speedy service.
On the sales side, Cal Exotics prides itself on providing solid support to its distributors and retail partners. "The sales team at the company spends the bulk of its time out in the field, working hands-on in the stores with merchandising and display ideas," says Bloom. "We also spend a tremendous amount of time and money on point-of-purchase displays and materials that help sales efforts."
TRAINING TOOLS
Several years ago, the company produced its first Toy Time Training Kit, which included a sales quiz, a diploma (for those who passed!), and the Toy Time DVD. "It was created as a training tool for store personnel," Bloom says, "but it became such a hit that many retailers began playing it on in-house monitors for the customers!" Cal Exotics has since produced a follow-up called Vibe 101, featuring vibrating products; their newest edition, Toy Time 3: Selling the Fantasy, includes couples' toys, male toys, and personal hygiene products.
Designed to entertain as well as educate, the Toy Time series has become a staple in retailers' arsenal of training tools for new sales associates. To date, more than 250,000 Toy Time videos have been distributed to retailers worldwide, complete with subtitles in Spanish, French, and German.
"California Exotic Novelties has also produced a series of product-specific commercials," White notes. "These are 30-60 second vignettes which promote, as well as demonstrate, many of the bestsellers in the California Exotic Novelties line of products." Offered as a selection on the main menu of the Toy Time DVD series, they're a valuable sales aid when played on in-store monitors.
Safety is also a selling point for all Cal Exotics' products. In a world where offshore items contain harmful chemicals, "California Exotic Novelties uses only the safest manufacturing processes that adhere to worldwide safety standards," Bloom says. "We use only pure materials, RoHS motors that are lead-free, and the highest quality wiring and electronics, and we adhere to strict European standards." All CEN products registered at Vibetronics.com are backed by a 30-day warranty, and California Exotic Novelties has offered this warranty protection nearly the entire time they've been in business.
INTELLIGENT DESIGN
After 18 years in the industry, Cal Exotics executives have their eye on the future of adult novelties, but they remain mindful of the viewpoint that has taken them this far. For example, the company is has long promoted technological innovation in its products, but remains skeptical about investing too much time and money in remotely controlled devices, primarily because remote control does not appeal to its core demographic.
"Women buy sex toys for self-pleasuring on their terms and their schedule," says Colvin. "The thought of someone else controlling the attributes of their private moments with a toy are counter to our thinking." Colvin says the company also rejected the concept of products that simply react to screen images of adult films, because they don't provide the kind of control women want over their experience. "We are not precluding these new technologies from our mix if we see something that makes sense, but at the moment, it is not part of our line."
Okay, but have their instincts ever steered them wrong? "Oh, sure!" replies Bloom. "But only in the sense that we've sometimes introduced technologies that were ahead of their time." A case in point is the rechargeable vibrator. "When California Exotic Novelties introduced a line of rechargeable vibrators in the late '90s, consumers were not willing to consider charging an adult product because it would be partially visible during the process," he says. Now, that same technology is available in some of the company's bestselling products.
Later, when Colvin released waterproof vibrators, she knew that women, especially moms, would welcome the idea. But the boys' club that dominated the industry didn't get it. "It's about helping women enjoy the rare moments they have all to themselves, often in the bath or shower," says White. "It took years for the message to get out, but now they're some of our most popular items. A waterproof vibrator has since become a bathroom accessory, just like rose petals, bubble bath, and a nice candle!"
As for another product whose time has yet to come? Bloom mentions solar-powered vibrators. Due to low sales, they were "discontinued last year, but just watch and see when they return!"
FULL SPEED AHEAD
Will the company ever expand its focus to toys for men? Cal Exotics has seen male masturbation devices that show promise as far as Internet or DVD interfaces, but according to Bloom, "economically, they are just too expensive." This includes Real Doll-style full-body sex dolls: "One should never say never, but California Exotic Novelties is a mass marketer of high volume items at affordable prices," he says. "Anything of that nature does not fit our present business model, but you never know!"
The bottom line: "California Exotic Novelties is proud of its past and especially forward thinking about its future," says Bloom. "New materials, more exciting innovations, and the expansion of the business into the mass market are all plans that we are presently working on. The business is changing at light speed, and only the companies that keep their eye on the future will succeed."
To those companies that don't look ahead, Colvin has a message: "Watch out! You're going to get run over!"
