When you’re in a field that’s as much fun as the sex toy industry, family companies thrive and never cease to pass along a passion for pleasure to the next generation of business owners. Following in the footsteps of her mother, Kara McGee, co-owner of TAF Distribution and a previous Woman in Adult interviewee, Kathryn Guy has officially secured the future of the Adam & Eve franchise headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
Alongside her parents, brother and sister-in-law, Guy rounds out a team that could define the term “family business.” She finds a way to stand out, however, starting with her background on the retail sales floor of her parents’ local Adam & Eve shop, which led to Guy eventually holding every possible job title within the business.
My plans are to expand both our warehouse and our stores to become a well-oiled machine.
Now Guy shines in her current position as buyer and co-owner of the 18-store franchise her parents have honed to perfection. She aspires to expand the company’s warehouse and retail foothold while growing the popularity of sex toys in the mainstream. As Guy puts it, Adam & Eve stores should be welcoming to women and couples and as comfortable to enter as “walking into Target.”
This month, we’re honoring Kathryn Guy as the second McGee family member to be featured in a Woman in Adult profile. As Guy tells XBIZ, her mother, Kara McGee, is the inspiration behind the drive and leadership attitude that make her a woman in adult whom we can all look up to.
XBIZ: So, Kathryn, tell us about your career. What do you do at your local Adam & Eve brick and mortar?
Guy: I am currently a part owner and the buyer for TAF Distributing, which distributes product to our 18 Adam & Eve locations across the country. I work every day in our warehouse in Boise, Idaho with my family, including my husband who just joined the team. I started at 18 years old working in our Adam & Eve here in Boise. I left to go to college in London for four years, came back and have pretty much been working in the family business ever since. I have worked as a sales associate, manager, picker, packer, buyer, accounts manager and now owner. I have grown with the company and want to keep expanding and perfecting it for years to come.
XBIZ: Considering that Adam & Eve is a physical retailer, what unique tactics did your team employ during the pandemic? How long did you have to keep stores closed before getting business hours mostly back to normal?
Guy: Everyone was affected in both positive and negative ways during the pandemic. We did have to shut a few of our stores down for a little while, but we got creative and arranged safe environments quickly to keep business up and running. In terms of distribution, we saw most of the issues in shipping, packaging and stocking. This struggle forced us to keep a larger stock on hand as well as implement tighter schedules that correspond to shipping times. The biggest surprise to us was how business seemed to boom during the worst pandemic months. It just goes to show that even in uncertain times, people always need a little bit of love in their life.
XBIZ: How would you describe your company values?
Guy: Our Adam & Eve franchise group strives to be the best in customer service. We want to maintain a reliable reputation and keep repeat customers satisfied. Anyone that walks in our store, no matter what they are looking for, deserves to feel accepted, respected and leave with exactly what they came in looking for, if not something better!
XBIZ: As a woman in the adult retail industry, what do you love the most about working for TAF Distribution? What makes the company a great place to be?
Guy: I believe that TAF is an extremely fun place to work. We are constantly implementing processes that help everyone in the company grow. Working with my family is a great experience, and our goal is always to work as a team. Almost all our upper management is women, and I think that gives us a positive edge to relate to our customer clientele and to our staff. We believe in helping our staff reach their full potential and do so in a friendly, professional and accepting environment.
XBIZ: Which fellow female industry colleagues deserve a shoutout for helping your career, whether in your day-to-day work or overall in your career path?
Guy: I feel very lucky to work in an industry with so many strong female leaders. First, I have to shout out my mom, Kara McGee. She and my dad started this, and I truly believe she has been the cogs keeping it running since the beginning. She is an amazing person inside and out and none of us would be where we are without her. I also must shout out Amanda Mitchell, our lingerie buyer as well as my soon-to-be sister-in-law. She is such a hard worker and a genuinely great person. I would keep her over my brother any day! A couple other amazing ladies that I look up to in the industry would have to be Rebecca Weinberg [XR], Kimberly Scott Faubel [COTR], Lucy Vonne D’Olimpio [Evolved] and Jennifer Brice [Wicked Sensual Care]. I love that I get to work with those ladies so often, even if it is just through email correspondence. They are all super easy to work with and seriously amazing at what they do.
XBIZ: How is Adam & Eve continuing to pave the way for women to feel more comfortable with their sexuality and buying sex toys?
Guy: Our Adam & Eve stores are definitely female-friendly, and we are always looking to help out our fellow ladies. We want to make it as normal walking into Adam & Eve as it is walking into Target. Our goal is customer service, so whether someone is a beginner or a “freak in the sheets,” we can help them. Not only should women feel completely free and accepted in all our locations, but anyone, however they identify, is welcome and accepted in our stores.
XBIZ: What are your plans to continue growing and evolving your career over the next handful of years? How will you show other women the way forward?
Guy: My plans are to expand both our warehouse and our stores to become a well-oiled machine. By working as a solid team, I would like to continue to create procedures that smoothly get products from manufacturers to the customers’ hands in the most efficient and the most helpful way. I think being a woman in this industry is extremely powerful and important. My goal is to make sex more mainstream, give people better experiences with sex, and grow the industry as a whole. I am so lucky to work with all the amazing women I do on a day-to-day basis. I love what I do and wouldn’t change it for anything!
Each month, XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
