Retailers looking for the Fat Dog Productions booth at AEE were a bit surprised to find it tucked into the booth of Lucky Distributors, just around a sharp corner from where it was supposed to be. That's because owner Larry Fields just sold the company, following through on comments he made in the “Fast Forward” cover story in AVN's January issue.
Fields is one of the longest of longtime industry veterans. He started making 8mm loops 38 years ago. In and out of the adult business over the years, he began producing movies for Fat Dog in 1990. He was also the owner of Pipeline Video, one of the biggest one-stops in adult during the '80s and '90s.
Oren Cohen, co-owner with his father Simon of Van Nuys-based Lucky, called the acquisition “a natural transition.” Lucky Media, a division of Lucky Distributors, a magazine distributor, got into DVD distribution a year and a half ago. “This will help raise our profile in the industry,” Cohen told AVN.com.
Cohen said that Lucky plans to continue most of the Fat Dog lines, repackage, re-market and generally “fortify” the product. They also plan to create a “higher end, harder edged” Fat Dog line.
According to Fields, his biggest product lines were the long-running girl-girl series, A Girl's Affair (68 volumes), plus Junk in Da Trunk and 24/7.
Fields, whose son Scott works for Triplex, told AVN, as part of its 2005 industry preview in the current issue, that he planned to sell the company as soon as he could find a buyer that would continue the Fat Dog name and titles. He told AVN.com that he's been “looking around” in Las Vegas and may buy a home there. “Now I can play golf three times a week,” he said.
