Tuesday, Jan 29, 2008    Text size: 

Ian and Alicia Denchasy, the husband-and-wife team behind Love LA and couples-friendly adult boutique Freddy and Eddy, told XBIZ they feel the show was a roaring success despite the sequence of snafus they encountered in the weeks leading up to the event.

"We set out to try something new and different and feel we succeeded beyond my wildest expectations," Ian Denchasy said. "Upon reflection, we feel we’ve done our part to start something wonderful."

Despite pouring rain, flooded streets and a misprinted address on the show tickets, Love LA drew almost 1,000 attendees, and Denchasy said that if the weather and address hadn't been factors, the show would have attracted at least double that.

"I had more compliments from the show from patrons who were just blown away with how upscale and sexy it was," Bonk Designs CEO Jordan Byrnes told XBIZ. "Everyone said they would come back for the next one and they were all asking when it would be."

Tantus Inc. President Metis Black and CEO Mike Smith both agreed that the show was especially successful because of its unique focus, which offered attendees something new that fit with their company's mission.

"The consumer was coming into the show knowing it was about high-quality products," Smith told XBIZ. "It was about sexual health and education, rather than just coming in to see a porn star. It was great to meet the consumer that wasn't just there to ogle over porn. I think that was key."

Though most of the vendors involved, including Babeland, Fun Factory and Screaming O, raved about the branding, selling and even business-to-business opportunities they encountered, Ian Denchasy said that not everyone involved are convinced of Love LA's success.

"Early indications are mixed," he said. "We’re disappointed we couldn’t get complete agreement on its success, but we can always try again."

And that is exactly what he, his wife and the majority of the show's vendors plan to do, possibly before the year is up. Tantus' Smith said that there are a handful of cities that could support this kind of event — Love Chicago, Love San Francisco, Love N.Y.

"Our main goal is to let other parts of the adult industry know that sexual health is important enough to carry its own show," Smith said. "[Novelty is] not the reality of our industry anymore — it still may be where most of the dollars are going, but I think that's changing. Five years ago you wouldn't have found enough vendors or enough support for a show like this."