Twenty-three years ago, Moe Levy decided that he wanted to sell adult products, but not just any adult products. Having worked with his wife selling adult novelties at home parties, Levy wanted to sell the kind of upscale, tastefully packaged items that he knew women would be comfortable buying and using. So, Levy founded Holiday Products with the goal of sourcing and then distributing quality sex toys to retailers nationwide.
Fast-forward to 2008. Today, Holiday Products is an established distributor of third-party adult novelties, offering products made by trusted names such as California Exotic Novelties, Classic Erotica, Doc Johnson, Golden Triangle, Kama Sutra, Nasstoys, Pipedream Products, Sportsheets, and Topco Sales. Based in Chatsworth, Calif., Holiday Products' 36,000-square-foot warehouse stocks over 12,000 active SKUs. Beyond distributing quality adult novelties, Holiday Products provides its retailers with informed sales and marketing advice.
"We gear our products towards women and couples," says Leslie Shwartzer, Holiday Products' national sales manager. "This is why we look for quality products that are tastefully packaged. Gone are the days of the old video porn stores where you'd see women's triple-F breasts poking out at you from every box top. Instead, what women want are products offered in a classy boutique environment, dressed up in colors and graphics that are exciting, but never offensive."
"Anyone can offer retailers over 4,000 pieces of schlock," she adds. "We want to offer our retailers quality items that women will feel comfortable buying, because women are the driving force behind the adult novelty market today-both in direct sales and men buying products for them."
Make no mistake: Removing blimp-sized boobs from product packaging can have a real impact on sales. The reason being female customers tend to compare themselves to the images they see on products. If the image makes them feel uncomfortable or inadequate, they aren't likely to buy it. "Say an overweight woman comes in and sees that the vibrator she wants is associated with a drop-dead busty porn star; the last thing she is going to do is buy it," says Shwartzer. "Let me put it this way: I have my own breasts-I don't need to look at Tera Patrick's."
In the same vein, classy packaging not only removes the still-lingering taint of vulgarity that traditionally has kept women out of adult stores, but also allows them to feel good about purchasing sex toys. "Women know about adult products and, thanks to programs like Sex and the City, want to buy them," Shwartzer says. "They also talk about these products with their friends; they are comfortable with the notion of enhancing their sexual enjoyment using adult novelties. The last thing you want to do, when they are ready to buy, is drive them out of the store."
Outward appearances aren't everything. The products within the boxes have to look and feel as good as the packaging promises. They have to smell good as well. "Women are concerned about their health," says Shwartzer. "So if they pull a toy out of a box, and it smells like gasoline, they are not going to use it. Nor are they going to go back to the store where they bought it to buy more. If anything, they'll take their first purchase back and leave it at that."
Mindful of this, Holiday Products checks the smell, feel, and texture of every item it stocks. "We have sales meetings where we pull out new toys and pass them around the table," she says. "During one such meeting, a sales rep looked at me and said, ‘Are you really going to smell every single toy?' And I said, ‘Absolutely. Don't think our customers won't smell their toys when they get them home. And if the toys smell like gasoline, they won't be happy.'"
When it comes to sex toys, women are primarily concerned with function. In other words, a guy might be delighted to buy Tera Patrick's Ultimate Erotic Love Doll because it bears a more-than passing resemblance to the popular porn star. However, a woman would be happier with a Rabbit vibrator that doesn't exactly resemble anything found in nature, but that does do the job of reliably delivering mind-blowing orgasms. This said, the vibrator better look good: "Women spend $1,000 on a Louis Vuitton purse because it is pretty," says Shwartzer. "Women buy the Rabbit vibrator with the pearls because they saw it on Sex in the City, and it looks glamorous."
So where do men fit into this Classy New World? "I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a warehouse full of silicone boobs and pussies behind me, all branded by porn stars," she replies. "There's a place for this product in stores-just a more discreet place, that's all. But if a guy is buying for his girlfriend or wife, he too is going to want products that make her feel comfortable and erotic; not vulgar and cheap."
Onto actual products. The following are Holiday Products' hot sellers. "Multifunction silicone vibrators are extremely popular," says Shwartzer. "So are vibrating cock rings. Not surprising given that 80 percent of women do not orgasm from vaginal intercourse. Apparently people are starting to figure this out!" Small, waterproof bullets are also big, as are "romance packages" combining toys, massage oils, and candles.
"We are also encouraging retailers to talk to their customers about the long-time products they use and whether it is time for a change," she says. "Just because you have used the same lube for 20 years does not mean it's good for you. In the same way, there have been major advances in sex toy technology; why not move up to a 21st century vibrator with lots of extra functions?"
To do this, of course, retail sales staff has to be educated not just in the store's products, but the best and most appealing ways to use them. Sales associates also have to be able to communicate this to shy customers in a friendly, low-key, and non-threatening way. Advising retailers how to do this is something Leslie Shwartzer takes very seriously. "Your staff has to not only know what they are talking about, but be comfortable in doing so," she says. "The days of fluorescent-lit sex stores with products stuck onto pegboards and no sales staff in sight are over. Adult retailers who are serious about success know this, and they know that their customers are looking for qualified advice as much as they are looking for quality products sold in tasteful settings."
Looking ahead, Leslie Shwartzer is bullish about Holiday Products' future. "This company was founded on the principles of quality, retailer support, and customer service-principles that have served us well," she tells ANB. "I see no reason why they won't serve us just as well in the years ahead!"
