HILLSBOROUGH, N.C.—PHE, Inc., the parent company of adult retailer AdamEve.com, was named "University Born Business of the Year" by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce at its fourth annual Business Excellence Awards ceremony May 18.
The University Born Business of the Year award is presented to a business "born from university research, innovation and entrepreneurial activity" or created while the founder was enrolled as a student. The business must demonstrate excellence through job creation and economic impact.
Created as founder Phil Harvey's 1969 master's thesis while attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Adam & Eve became the nation's first mail order contraceptive business, and grew into a thriving adult toy catalog company before transitioning into a mostly web-based adult retail business.
Today, PHE, Inc. employs roughly 300 people at its Hillsboroush, N.C. headquarters, which includes a warehouse, call center and marketing department. Harvey's philanthropic philosophies continue to play a large part in Adam & Eve's culture, with the company contributing time and money to organizations such as Habit for Humanity, the American Cancer Society, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and more.
"At the Business Excellence Awards, we recognize the very best in class throughout the community and across 25 categories," said Aaron Nelson, president and CEO of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamer of Commerce. "These winners show us what it means and what it takes to do well and do good."
"We are honored to receive this recognition," PHE, Inc. president David Groves said. "In 2005, PHE, Inc. received the Business of the Year Award from the Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce, and it truly validated our company's efforts to be a good corporate citizen. Today, we're thrilled to have the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber recognize our longstanding ties to the university and the community. Everyone here at PHE has good reason to celebrate."
For more information about Adam & Eve, visit AdamEve.com.
