Scala Celebrates 40 Years

More than 400 guests celebrated the 40th anniversary of European adult-products distributor Scala at a dinner party at Van Der Valk hotel in Almere on March 15. The celebration started with a toast from Serge van der Hooft, CEO of Scala parent company Beate Uhse AG, who thanked the company’s clients, suppliers and the entire Scala team for their support and effort during the last years. Scala was purchased by Beate Uhse in 1999.

Scala Agenturen BV, headquartered in Almere, near Amsterdam, and ZBF GmbH, in Wiesbaden, Germany — both owned by parent company Beate Uhse AG — send adult-oriented products to almost 50 countries. The companies offer some 15,000 products, including videos and DVDs, lingerie collections, magazines and books, classic sex aids and contraceptives, and more than 7,000 sex toys. The products are produced in America, Europe and the Far East, with Scala increasingly signing exclusive European distribution deals with leading international erotica manufacturers.

It was a great opportunity to meet with customers and vendors from around the world.

The products are displayed in a modern 14,000 square foot showroom in Almere, which is also the location for in-house trade fair presentations held in spring and autumn. The showroom features a new product scanning system with hand-held scanners, which makes the wholesale purchasing process faster, simpler and more accurate, according to a company spokesperson. The operation can process as many as 120 orders simultaneously, and can ship up to 250,000 items daily.

Members of ZBF’s sales team, together with the Scala sales team, welcomed their customers to the companies’ shared Almere showroom. Roberto Pietryas from ZBF said “it was positive for the company as well as for our customers to get the whole product range out of one warehouse. The German customers and the ZBF team enjoyed the atmosphere in the showroom, which looks like what a point-of-sale should look like. The VIP dinner party was a huge success. The venue was great and made it possible to have valuable B2B contacts.”

CalExotics Founder and President Susan Colvin and Jackie White, CalExotics vice president of sales, traveled to the U.K. for Scala’s anniversary celebration.

Colvin and White presented Scala with a 40th anniversary plaque.

“Scala had just renovated their showroom so that each major supplier had a special section with all of their toys that they stock. We were able to talk to their customers and demonstrate the toys for four days.”

Scala also had a gala event that was attended by several industry leaders that flew in just to attend, Colvin said, noting Doc Johnson’s Ron Braverman, pjur owner Alexander, Sportsheets’ Tom Stewart, Trigg Laboratories’ Michael Trigg and Steve Bannister of BMS Enterprises were among fellow event attendees.

“It was a great opportunity to meet with customers and vendors from around the world,” Colvin said.

Charles Geerts is one of the founders of Scala Agenturen. He started selling porn magazines in the beginning of the ’60s, when porn was still illegal in The Netherlands. He got a hold of these magazines from Denmark and Sweden and sold them with big profits on the fruit and vegetable market in Amsterdam. Not much later he opened several sex shops in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and around the Dutch border. After legalization of porn in the Netherlands, Geerts and his business partner Henny van Marle started the wholesale distributor, Scala Agenturen, and in 1977 began offering products from historic brands such as Doc Johnson.

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 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

opinion

Why BDSM Furniture and Sex Machines Make an Ideal Match

For BDSM enthusiasts and curious newbies alike, a big part of the fun is discovering and exploring exciting new sensations and scenarios. One way to level up is by combining or layering pleasures you already enjoy, and one surefire way to do that is with BDSM furniture.

Rebecca Weinberg ·
opinion

Tips for Boosting Ecommerce Revenue With Behavioral Insights

At our marketing agency, we focus on using real data to make better decisions for our clients. We believe every action a visitor takes on a website can tell us something important. This helps us shape our strategies and assist our clients in turning casual website visitors into loyal customers.

Lauren Bailey ·
opinion

A Look at the Do's and Don'ts of Gift-With-Purchase Promos

Imagine you’re at a store, deciding between two products with similar packaging, features and pricing. You’re not predisposed toward either brand and you haven’t seen any reviews — but one of them offers, “Free gift with purchase!” Does that win you over?

Vanessa Rose ·
opinion

Tips for Navigating a Completely Remote Job in Sexual Wellness

Anyone working in the sexual wellness and pleasure sector has at some point had to deal with issues like bias against the industry, as well as limited marketing and advertising options.

Bryony Lees ·
trends

Meet the 2024 Class of Up-and-Coming Pleasure Brands to Watch

With each new year that rolls in, new pleasure brands emerge, and 2024 is no exception. Already this year, a slew of new entrants are rapidly gaining traction and recognition via social media, among retailers and distributors — and most importantly, end consumers.

profile

WIA Profile: Sarah Franson

When you do what you love, they say, you’ll never work a day in your life — and when your job involves educating the masses about sex toys, it’s hard not to love what you do.

Women In Adult ·
profile

Popsi Lingerie CEO Sam Golshan Discusses Brand's Growth, Mission

Lingerie: a sexy French word for an alluring little something to spark things up in the bedroom, teasingly wear out to clubs, dress up in to celebrate a special occasion or just wear under everyday clothes to feel excited and desirable.

Kim Airs ·
profile

Honey Play Box's Joreail Armstrong Reflects on Company's Growth

Today, Armstrong serves as business development manager for boutique sex toy brand Honey Play Box, but he began his role there as a one-man marketing department, assisting CEO Shirley Wang with nearly every aspect of launching the brand.

Sofia Barrett-Ibarria ·
opinion

How Awareness Revolutionized Materials Used in Pleasure Products

Today’s manufacturers and consumers are material-savvy, giving rise to pleasure products that are safe to use, beautiful to look at, high-quality and even environmentally responsible.

Eric Lee ·
opinion

How Sex-Ed Lays the Groundwork for Well-Informed Shopping

We often do some research before making purchases, whether by delving into a company’s background, exploring specific products or simply making sure we understand how to use something before we buy it.

Nathan Hammerle ·
Show More