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Articles by Kim Airs

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CalExotics Founder and CEO Susan Colvin Reflects on Brand's 30-Year Legacy

Thirty years ago, back when there were only hard plastic sex toys in tan and black, Susan Colvin had a vision of what sex toys could be. And so she set out to create her own company, California Exotic Novelties, which for three decades has been a pioneer, continually reimagining and expanding the pleasure products market.

Kim Airs ·
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

Nasstoys Marks 45 Years of Pioneering in the Pleasure Industry

Longtime pleasure products manufacturer Nasstoys, known for its vast variety of adult products and supplements, is commemorating 45 years in the business of making people happy.

Kim Airs ·
profile

50-Year Dream: Pipedream Products Celebrates Five Decades of Evolution, Growth

Over the years, Pipedream Products has endured an ever-changing economy, supply chain issues and various other challenges, tackling them all with creativity and determination while achieving seemingly limitless growth.

Kim Airs ·
profile

Timeless Experience: Jessica Drake on Promoting Sex Ed Through Pleasure

Jessica Drake wears many hats for Wicked Sensual Care. A much-lauded adult star for over two decades, she now serves up enthusiasm, knowledge and passion in product development and marketing for the lube brand.

Kim Airs ·
profile

Ken Lassiter Celebrates 40 Years With Adam & Eve

These days, working 40 years at the same company is almost unheard of — but this year, Ken Lassiter celebrates that milestone with adult retail industry pioneer Adam & Eve. Lassiter’s four-decade career began with what was initially supposed to be a temporary job while he figured out his next steps.

Kim Airs ·

ANME/XBIZ Show: Experts Share Tips for Boosting Pleasure Product Sales

From international business to adapting to new technology and how to make the most out of social media, several trends were covered during the ANME/XBIZ ecommerce panel held January 15.

ANME/XBIZ: Adult Retail Execs Discuss Importance of Promoting Inclusivity

Inclusivity awareness goes beyond the limits of gender and race to include as many layers as there are people in the world. Looking at how this can be applied in the adult retail industry is what last week’s Retail Inclusivity panel was determined to tackle during the ANME/XBIZ show.

ANME/XBIZ: Adult Retailers Recap Year of COVID Impact, Offer Positive Outlook

Amid the trying times of COVID, adult retailers rose up to the challenge, changed their business practices and stepped up their normal routines around safety and hygiene in their stores. Last week, an esteemed panel of retail execs gathered virtually during the ANME/XBIZ show to discuss how they adapted, as well as other trends that are currently shaping the industry.

opinion

Innovation, Customer Service Buck Motorbunny Into the Forefront

I love my job. I really do. With 26 years of experience in the sex toy industry under my belt and in my panties, I think I’ve done it all and seen it all — up until now.

Kim Airs ·

Owning Your Craft: Working in the Pleasure Products Biz

If you have this issue of XBIZ in your hot little hands while you’re reading this, chances are good that you’re in the adult industry. Yes, the adult industry. I like using that term because it covers so many aspects of our huge business and it’s a little tamer than saying “The Sex Business” although I like using those words to describe what trade I’m in as well.

Kim Airs ·
opinion

Tips for Landing a Job in the Pleasure Products Industry

“I want to be you!” the clerk in the adult store exclaimed. “You have the most awesome job and I want to do that, too!”

Kim Airs ·
opinion

Keep Sales Fresh With New Products, Forgotten Bestsellers

“What’s new?” That phrase keeps companies creating new products, new stimulators, new vibes, new things to stick in, new things to rub on, new, new, new. Every sex toy show has vendors displaying what’s new so they can be bought by distributors to bring them to their retailers to show them what’s new because a customer will always ask, “what’s new?”

Kim Airs ·

Retailers Gear Up for Bachelorette Season

With winter turning to spring and thoughts of summer following, one thing is guaranteed and that is the annual return of bachelorette season. While the majority of the country continues to shovel out from the record setting snowfall and the warmer climes contend with rain, springtime begins with future brides holding the annual ritual gatherings of their besties to shower them with thoughtful gifts she (hopefully) doesn’t already own.

Kim Airs ·
opinion

Retail Sales: No Thanks, I’m Just Looking

All of us in this wacky industry of adult toys and products often find ourselves as working as sales floor staff, selling blush-inducing devices like a vibrator for a jittery first time buyer or those insta-hard on pills to baby boomers who read somewhere that they really work.

Kim Airs ·

Pleasure Products Industry Vets Share Advice, Tales of Biz Past

Strong. Powerful. Long lasting. These words often describe the gizmos in the crazy world of adult sex toys but it also describes those people who have been in the industry for more than 15 years, mostly with the same company.

Kim Airs ·
opinion

The Payback of Taking Back ‘Defective’ Items

We all love a returning customer but not so much a customer that returns products. Given the nature of our industry, whether you are my favorite bricks-and-mortar kind of store or just work your magic on the Internet, returns have always been a really tricky topic to address. Do you take returns? Does your distributor take returns?

Kim Airs ·

Pleasure Products: Too Hot to Handie

It seems that women have all the luck and all the pleasure in the adult toy industry with gizmos made of quality materials with the latest technology, in an endless spectrum of designs, shapes and colors. And for the lonely guys out there, pretty much all they have are cock rings that vibrate or not, or the ubiquitous masturbation tube in different shapes, sizes, lengths but not much else.

Kim Airs ·
profile

Sales Manager Joanie Lee Discusses Evolution of Icon Brands

Helmed by industry veteran Joanie Lee, Icon Brands started off by recreating commonly available products such as butt plugs and “love kits,” branding them with style and sophistication.

Kim Airs ·
opinion

Creating an In-Store Experience That Outshines Online Competition

I continuously am marveled and amazed about the power of the web and now smart phone apps. I know some of you are snickering at this probably simplistic statement but being a woman of a certain age, tapping the single Shazam button to know who recorded a song and then reading the lyrics in a fancy, ever-changing layout while it’s playing is something I always fantasized about being able to do (and you thought it was all about sex, right?).

Kim Airs ·
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