The current retail XXXplosion is affecting most hard goods being sold these days. It’s no accident that XBIZ once again seizes the moment and is bringing you its very own Retail Expo & Conference this month in Hollywood.
I must say it reminds me of the days of salesrooms, watts lines, order forms, drop shipments, show specials, RA’s, credit lines, auto ship, Net-5, 15 or 30-day billing cycles. And professional salesmen — lots of them — scouring the stores for new customers. Yes, salesmen. All dialing for dollars, working on a salary plus a 10-percent commission. Sometimes there would be a ‘draw’ given as an advance. These were the days before conglomerate distributors, before the chains when they were simple, family-owned, small businesses. These “mom & pop” stores were the backbone of the industry for some 20 years.
I ran two such salesrooms for two major studios in the eighties and into the nineties. First I ran a fourperson room for Gourmet Video Collection, or GVC, in North Hollywood beginning in 1979. Later I was the national sales manager for Western Visuals, running a 14-person room in Van Nuys during the nineties. Each room had its cast of characters ranging from ex-professors to ex-addicts and alcoholics, to dysfunctional porn hounds. There were also excons, ex-dope dealers and police officers. One thing they had in common, however, was the SALE. They all wanted to make THE sale! Some of them stood out as the best salesmen I had ever seen. Others had no clue. Everyone kept dialing. It’s a numbers game after all. Dial the number, say hello, make the pitch and CLOSE! Lists of stores were provided for the cold-calling novices and those who needed to build a client base. Between 1980 when the VCR was first introduced with VHS or Betamax right on its heels, there were about 32,000 independently owned and operated retail stores selling adult videos in the U.S. It was a wide-open market and the public, after getting a taste of porn in their home, was getting hungry.
I remember early one morning when I first started as the sales manager for Western Visuals, the owner called me into his upstairs office, closed the door and said to me, “Now you have 14 guys all selling here for you and thereby for me. I expect you to get from your room each week one-hundred thousand dollars in gross sales. Anything less and I’ll be very disappointed with you. Stay on these guys and make it happen.”
In the four years that I was producing his movies and running his sales department, my salesroom sometimes did $93,000, sometimes $104,000 and sometimes in the middle. It varied but always stayed close to that 100 G’s he wanted. When you average a hundred thousand per week for those four years, you get 20 million gross dollars in VHS sales. That’s correct, 20 million from my salesroom. That’s separate from the private deals he would make with his very special clients, friends, etc. Business was booming.
Chain stores began popping up. And in 1983 I closed a deal with Tower Video — with 92 stores — to carry XXX video for the very first time. One Saturday morning, the head buyer from Tower’s San Francisco home office and I stocked the entire adult section at their Sunset Strip megastore in Hollywood. Tower Records had become Tower Video! They wanted what became their usual draw of 10 of each title for each store each month. This deal changed retail forever.
VHS reluctantly became DVD and the sales grew in kind. Porn had become legal in the meantime and the world exploded into the newfound home orgasm due to the images now on their televisions.
Distributors grew in number as well. There was General Video of America (GVA) with strategically placed outlets around the country; Goalie Enterprises in the Rockies; Capital News Agency in the Midwest, along with Fairvilla Megastore in Florida and IVD in the Northeast were all selling Xrated product.
Currently, adult toys have become the rage. Manufacturer Doc Johnson has been a major player for years. The company’s owner, Ron Braverman, once told me, “I pour my own rubber, right here!” Doc has been joined in the adult toy marketplace by Nasstoys, Eldorado, P.K. Distributors, Liberator and scores of others. The abundance of adult products is clearly visible and moving forward in the digital world with more gadgets with more bells and whistles creating a buzz being heard around the globe. The genie is out of the bottle. So what are you waiting for?
Go get your own buzz on.
Just…Don’t get me started!
Contact Roy at RoyKarch@pacbell.net; rkpsdult.com.
For Sale… Everything!
Copyright © 2026 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.
More Articles
Ohdoki Sets Sights on International Growth With 'The Handy'
Some brands rush to cover every facet of the pleasure products market. Others aim to do one thing — and do it exceptionally well.
5 Key Features Your Adult Ecommerce Website Might Be Missing
I spend a lot of time on adult ecommerce websites. Not just looking at the front end, but digging into what’s actually driving traffic, conversions and long-term growth. Here’s the reality: most adult brands are leaving money on the table.
Tips for Building a Pleasure Brand That Lasts
Each year, promising new indie brands enter the pleasure industry with fresh, creative designs meant to enhance intimacy, wellness and self-discovery. Some are embraced by retailers and shoppers, while others fade quietly.
Why Brand Loyalty Starts With Adult Retail Staff Values
Brand loyalty is often discussed in terms of customers, but rarely in terms of the people working behind the counter or deciding what makes it onto the shelves.
Building an Ecommerce Engine That Bridges Online and Retail Sales
Most independent retailers couldn't afford to build, host and manage a real ecommerce site well, so we leaned on the distributor's site and accepted the friction.
How Experiential Spaces Help Adult Retailers Drive Engagement, Sales
E-commerce made adult retail accessible, efficient and discreet. But it also made it distant. For years, the industry has leaned heavily on convenience as the primary driver of growth. To be clear, it works.
Drea Walker Leads With Passion at North Carolina Boutique Up4Drea
Drea Walker is the face, name and vibrant personality behind Up4Drea, an adult retail boutique co-founded in eastern North Carolina. Blending clothing and pleasure products, the store is built on a clear mission: to create a space where everyone feels seen, supported and welcome.
Kathryn Byberg Nurtures Brands With Little Leaf's Growth-Focused Marketing Team
A decade ago, pleasure products and sexual wellness brands were still rarely discussed within the broader health and lifestyle landscape. Media outlets often treated the topic of sexual wellness as a novelty rather than a legitimate category, so brands struggled to secure thoughtful coverage.
How to Turn Retail Seasonal Lulls Into Sales Opportunities
For many adult retailers, summer brings a predictable change in customer behavior. Routines shift, travel increases and shopping habits become less steady.
