The 10th installment of the Venus Fair in Berlin attracted 356 exhibitors from 32 countries, showing why it is one of the biggest in the world. The international flavor was spread through eight halls, as over 25,000 visitors made their way through the festival of erotica and 717 press people covered the event that spanned three days in October.
The United States was well-represented with 39 exhibitors, including Wicked Pictures and Digital Playground. There are no waiting lists but the professional trade section is booked out about four months before the fair starts.
Mister Schafrath, the press and public relations office, indicated that the professional trade people increased by 10 percent, and the number of general visitors went up 20 percent. The official Venus parties offered some hot sounds from Right said Fred, and in the after-show some party-goers had the chance to meet special guest, former NBA superstar Michael Jordan.
Peter Preissle, general manager from Magma & Tabu Film in Germany, suggested that soon there would be more porn producers than buyers. Preissle misses the high-quality erotic content and hopes that the HD-format will help to push the product into higher levels than it is now.
Andre Grab, license manager from the Swiss Mascotte Film AG, which owns the Magma and Tabu labels, also confirmed the stagnation of the DVD sales in the European market. The most profitable business seems still to be in the internet and VOD fields.
"Walking into the Venus is like walking into a true erotic dream world," said Ansley Garner, a representative from Milcap Media Group's public relations arm which stands behind the Private label.
Bert Ruzette from Playhouse said the Venus Show was a huge success for Playhouse and it appears that they have again made the right choices about their film collection.
Jeroen de Kerf from Scala Agenturen BV remarked, “We had a sales team that was well prepared and a stand layout that made good sales possible. The busy, sometimes hectic atmosphere was good for fun and sales. The customers had a good look on our assortment thanks to our displaying system. So we had a great time and are looking for the 2007 edition.“
