CHATSWORTH, Calif. – Pure Play Media has secured the exclusive rights to distribute the Swank Digital line of videos.
Swank launched soon after the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo this year and has already released 50 titles.
“We just got bigger,” said Swank president James Baes. “The first DVD was released in early February, and right from the beginning we had very good sales. I impressed myself. Somehow it hit with the public. Swank is a big brand with a lot of people, and this helps, and then of course, the content.”
Baes said he gave special attention to the box cover design as he built the line. He sends the boxes to Switzerland for color separation.
“It is very expensive,” Baes said. “When you look at the girls, their skin is not yellow, not green, not orange, they are real skin tones.
He continued, “I wanted something really clean, and popping out with a white background, like a magazine with the most beautiful girls because this is key to the business,” Baes continued. “We hired a friend of mine, Denys DeFrancesco, who shoots in Budapest, Prague, and the south of France. I’ve known him for a long time. … What Denys does is very clean and direct. It’s not beating around the bush. You can feel the skin of the girl, that’s the quality of the photos and the video. You really see the young girl, and she is gorgeous, not beaten up, not worn out by porn.”
Baes compared developing the Swank video line with DeFrancesco’s eye to his relationship with Pierre Woodman while both were at Hustler.
“I think the consumer find they like it, and by the month of May, we had huge reorders already and no returns. There was something we did right,” he said.
Swank increased itss release schedule to eight titles per month at the end of the summer. He brought in Mike Foster to head his sales team.
Baes said that Pure Play was an ideal fit because of its distribution reach.
“Pure Play is in 26 countries, and it has cable, VOD and all that,” Baes said. “They are very well established, and I like Richard. I like his personality. I knew him already. He was the first person who called me when I left Hustler. So I’m very comfortable about that deal.”
The new deal starts on January 1. Swank XXX 6 will hit the streets on Jan. 9, and Swank XXX Teens 4 will be available on Jan. 30. Swank Extreme.
“We’re just thrilled to have the line, it’s a phenomenal line, great-looking product,” said Craig Jelin, national sales manager for Pure Play. “I’m happy to be teamed up with Mr. Baes again. It’s a good match. We work well together. I think the Pure Play muscle and the Swank design is a winning combination.”
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“When I do a business deal I don’t really look at the product line, I look at who’s behind it. With James, I didn’t have to look at it, I knew there was something good behind it.
Arnold, who lives in Toronto, said that he recalls visiting an adult store in Canada earlier this year and seeing Swank product “all over the place.”
“Just look at the boxes. They pop,” Arnold said.
“This was a deal we had to get. As a company, it was a no-brainer. I’ve seen what James has done numbers-wise on his own, and this is putting it all together.”
“James is a great guy.
