The following interview was conducted by Erin MacCord, vendor liason manager for Williams Trading Co., and is reprinted here with permission.
PENNSAUKEN, N.J.—There is a reason adult novelty heavy-hitter Williams Trading Co. is one of the oldest and largest distributors in the U.S., celebrating their 40th anniversary of business success this past weekend in Baltimore. Renaissance cannot begin to describe this man of the 20th century who helped shape the adult industry as we know it today. In a recent interview with Bob Sr., he shared the following: “The adult industry bears no resemblance to itself from when it began to evolve over 40 years ago.”
The founding father of Williams Trading Co. Bob Sr. went onto reveal the history of Williams Trading Co. and his thoughts on the ever-changing adult industry.
At first glance, Robert Pyne Sr. looks like any other cuddly grandfather. His short, white hair frames his twinkling blue eyes and he wears a grin from ear to ear. When visiting his distributorship, Williams Trading Co., he walks slowly through the office with his white poodle Mitzy, making sure to greet every employee with a compliment, joke and a smile. What you don't see is the man who was arrested 12 times in the early ’70s for being an adult novelty retailer, who has been picketed and protested against numerous times by the radical feminist activist group Women Against Pornography (WAP) and whose influence on the industry was recognized by the national Free Speech Coalition.
Why did you get into the adult industry?
It was the late ’60s; I was a Philadelphia firefighter with young kids to feed. I was always looking for a way to make extra money to support my family. So I got together a group of salesmen, I used to call them my hustlers, and we sold general merchandise on the street, like perfume and radios. One time, I got my hands on 8mm stag films. They sold out the first day and I made the most money on them then on any other product I tried to move. It was then I realized I was in the wrong business; adult stuff was where it was at!
Then what did you do?
I opened my first adult store in Hamilton, N.J., in 1972. The second store opened in 1974. I expanded from owning adult stores to providing product to other stores at the end of 1974. It took off so we opened our own warehouse and Williams Trading Co. was born. I did it all myself, just a little guy opening a small business. I worked all the time. You had to make friends in the industry because people were always trying to shut you down. Back then, Women Against Pornography (WAP) was all over us. They would stand outside the store with picket signs they even testified against me and wrote about me in the paper and not in a good way. This all happened before the Free Speech Coalition formed so adult store owners like me were defending themselves on their own.
So why’d you stay in the business?
In the beginning, I was arrested twelve times for having an adult store. And every time it happened was not enough to make me quit. I loved what I did, the cast of characters that were in the business with me- partners, salespeople, entertainers, all of them. I knew Linda Lovelace, Marilyn Chambers, Ron Jeremy, and those are the ones I can remember! The mainstream public was tough on all of us. So if it was that hard, we must have been on to something.
What do you think of the adult industry now?
It's all about the internet. Online shopping changed everything. It put products into the hands of people too scared or intimidated to walk into a shop. Sex toys aren't scary anymore. And they're only going to get more and more mainstream. You're going to see sex toy plan-o-grams in Sears or Wal-Mart very soon. And, why not? Nowadays, all you hear on the news is about gay marriage and equality. I say "To each his own." When it comes to sex, and adult novelties I've been saying that from the very beginning.
Any regrets?
If I could do it all over again, I probably would have opened more stores. But hey, being one of the largest distributorships in the country after 40 years in the business is OK too! I would have worked just as hard and just as long at any career I chose, that's just my nature. I never really wanted any of my kids to get into the industry after everything I went through during the early years. But, I'm glad they did. I couldn't be more proud of all of them; they all do a great job. Now I get to enjoy retirement with my lovely wife, play a little poker and spoil the grandkids. No regrets.
Williams Trading Co. is a full-line adult wholesale distributor with more than 40 years of excellence in the industry, carrying more than 20,000 different items, with new products added weekly. Check out WilliamsTradingCo.com for its simple and effective online ordering system, backed by a knowledgeable sales staff. Through the years the company has expanded to offering direct drop-shipping services for online retailers, with the launch of MuffsandCuffs.com.
For more information, visit WilliamsTradingCo.com.
