XBIZ Premiere is pleased to present “Execs of 2016: The Year in Review” — a special showcase of the thoughts and strategies of 2016’s most influential and motivational leaders as they offer their take on the year’s top trends.
Each of the executives we spoke to is among the finalist nominees for the retail industry edition of the 2017 XBIZ Exec Awards.
2016 has been, for us, the beginning of a great and incredible new adventure. Satisfyer Pro 2’s immediate success all over the world did not (give) us a chance to pause. We are proud to be a best seller in this new category, leading sexual wellness toward a new dimension. -Jerome Bensimon, Satisfier
The following question about the year in review was asked to those running for the Progressive Leadership Award:
XBIZ: How did you adapt or take charge this year?
Ari Suss
Founder, XR Brands
“This year’s trend continues to show increased competition within the manufacturing sector. Rather than diversify, XR Brands has stayed true to its roots. XR was founded 15 years ago as a fetish-focused company and remains the only major manufacturer whose staff boasts a vast and accurate knowledge of — as well as personal passion for — the lifestyle. As part of this commitment, we launched the Strict line, a quality bondage and BDSM line with beautiful packaging at affordable prices. It’s become one of the year’s best-selling brands for us. We also released three on-trend products this year: the suction-stimulating Shegasm, the whirling oral sex simulating iGasm, and the high-powered Saddle ride-on sex machine. We took charge of product education by expanding our XR University channel, which has become the No. 1 downloaded BDSM educational series on iTunes and caters to consumers who follow the lifestyle. XRBrands.com has been recently refreshed to provide customers with more features, videos, professional photography and marketing tools to help them be more successful. From my perspective, truly owning and honing our expertise in niche and fetish product design and development has contributed immensely to our success this year.”
Brian Sloan
CEO, VIECI
“There is one trend that is strong every year and will be strong every year until the world ends: the trend of masturbating while looking at pictures of other people’s genitals. We took advantage of this trend in 2016 with another contest: this time, a beauty contest for anuses at AnusContest.com. Every visitor to the Anus Contest is one more person who may choose to use the Autoblow 2 in the future, as the contest was co-branded with the product. This contest will continue to influence men years into the future when they are in sex shops deciding on a product to purchase. When they see the Autoblow 2 in a store, they will remember the Anus Contest and that previous exposure to the brand will cause additional purchases, making more money for our resellers.”
Jerome Bensimon
Vice President of Sales, Satisfier
“2016 has been, for us, the beginning of a great and incredible new adventure. Satisfyer Pro 2’s immediate success all over the world did not (give) us a chance to pause. We are proud to be a best seller in this new category, leading sexual wellness toward a new dimension. We opened over 45 distributors and counting and a retail chain in a seven-month period.”
Joel Kaminsky
President, Good Vibrations
“This past year’s ‘trends’ are merely an extension and further development of ones we have witnessed over the past couple of years: that consumers want what they want now and expect it to be available immediately, a rewarding loyalty program, a brand that has community/social involvement and an effective social media program. Consumers expect a visceral connection. For the web, they expect their target purchase to be in stock, an offer of free shipping with low thresholds, if any, quick delivery as well as mobile- friendly. For our retail stores, the trend has maintained a similar course as the past few years in that consumers have busy lives. Therefore, they expect a business to have an easy-to-navigate space with a well-curated selection of products and an educated staff to assist them. Brand uniformity is also expected; so no matter which store they visit in the chain, the experience is similar.”
Richie Harris
CEO, Pjur Group USA
“Pjur lubricants has been my primary focus since Pjur started more than 20 years ago. Pjur, along with many other projects in adult, has given me a unique prospective. As the U.S./Canadian Pjur partner, I have watched the business change from what was a simple water-based world in the 1990s to now, a silicone and hybrid world as well as water-based. Pjur was the first silicone lubricant on the world stage. Trends: these past years, health and wellness have been more and more what consumers are buying. People care more and more about what is put in products that go in and outside our bodies; Pjur has been health- and wellness-focused since our origin. I remember my first year and one of our first endorsements from Deutsche AIDS Life as well as from GMHC of NYC and many other health organizations around the world since our origin.“
Robert Rheaume
President, Jimmyjane
“We have seen a growing number of consumers entering the space as taboos continue to fall away in regards to pleasure products, and we are seeing a growing number of consumers push their boundaries and engage in sexual exploration. I wanted to be one step ahead of these consumers and offer something for everyone from the Diamond Products companies. We have a range of price points, and leading dildo and fetish products from Pipedream Products and unparalleled premium products for women and couples from Jimmyjane. This year, we also expanded the Sir Richard’s brand beyond their non-toxic, body-safe condoms to a complete line of men’s products that service everything below the belt. We believe the innovative Elements line addresses the underserved men’s market and gives Diamond Products a solution for every customer’s need.”
Chad Braverman
COO, Doc Johnson
“We stay on top of industry trends, but our goal is always to add value to the market rather than just copy the latest fads. For example, this year, we wanted to introduce something to market that would fulfill the demand for BDSM products, but still be highly differentiated from everything else that already exists for that demographic. So we partnered with Kink.com, the world’s largest producer of BDSM entertainment, to create a fully comprehensive line of fetish/BDSM products with top-quality materials, thoughtfully crafted designs, and most importantly, the stamp of approval from the most trusted BDSM/fetish brand in the world. Kink.com was heavily involved in every aspect of the line, from picking out materials and the product conception phase to joint marketing efforts, including an upcoming multi-platform campaign that we know our customers, both B2B and the end consumer, are going to be very excited about. Stay tuned.”
Sarah Tomchesson
Head of Business Operations, The Pleasure Chest
“My guiding principle at The Pleasure Chest is to create a fun, sensual, adventurous and loving experience for our shoppers. When their interaction with our brand mirrors the experience they are trying to create with the products, we’ve done what we’ve set out to do. I’ve found that this focus makes it easy to align with our customers’ evolving interests and similarly, to trends in the market.”
