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.
Loaded buzzwords like “eco-friendly” and “inclusive” aren't just marketing fodder to Kim Marks. As founder and CEO of the small Oregon-based retail chain As You Like It, Marks lives her ethos in every business step she takes.
I am always learning and growing and finding new ways to support my community and take care of the environment.
As a former environmental and social justice activist with a degree in forest and freshwater ecology, Marks views issues like climate change with a scientific mind. Unsurprisingly, Marks does not support adult products that could poison local waterways or reinforce harmful gender stereotypes.
Marks owns stores in both Eugene and Ashland, Oregon, two appropriately woodsy areas of the country with communities that appreciate As You Like It's very sex-ed, all-inclusive approach to selling pleasure products.
Marks worked diligently through the worst of the pandemic years to keep her shops running while safeguarding the health and safety of employees and customers alike, offering private shopping services and home delivery. By the time the pandemic cooled down, As You Like It stores were well-positioned to continue as spaces where locals can gather for warm and welcoming guest speakers, kink classes and other in-store events.
As a female company founder, chief of daily operations and local sex educator, Kim Marks embodies the spirit of a Woman in Adult in every sense of the word. This month, XBIZ Premiere honors Marks for her enduring business ethics and commitment to bettering the pleasure industry from the ground up.
XBIZ: What was the genesis of As You Like It? How has the journey been for you, from when you first began until now, as a household name in the pleasure space?
Marks: I started conceptualizing the idea for the store I wanted to create in 2009. A couple of years later, after a lot of research and planning, I decided to start working on the website, which officially launched in January 2012. I really wanted a storefront, but I couldn’t find a landlord willing to rent to me at that time, so I pivoted to launching a home party business. All of this was happening in Portland, Oregon, but in 2014 I realized I wanted to move back to Eugene and continue the plan there. We opened the Eugene location in December 2014 and our second location in Ashland, Oregon in September 2019. I have my sights on opening a third location in the next few years.
The journey has been so rewarding, no doubt about it. I get to live my passion every day and put products in my stores that meet my standards for being truly body-safe, gender-inclusive and body-positive, not just lip service on packaging or in marketing materials. I like to know how things are made, where things are made and determine what product styles work best for each body type.
XBIZ: As You Like It positions itself as a “non-toxic, eco-friendly, body-positive” experience for shoppers. What does following this code of ethics mean to you?
Marks: This code of ethics is exactly why I entered the sexual wellness space. I have a background in climate justice organizing with a degree in forest ecology with a focus on freshwater ecology as well. Prior to As You Like It, I spent over 20 years as an environmental and social justice activist in the Pacific Northwest working for or with groups like Greenpeace, Rising Tide and the Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment, so if anyone wants to have a conversation about what it means to be eco-friendly or run a business with a minimal carbon footprint, I’m absolutely here for it.
The lack of sincerity in some of the marketing tropes used by major manufacturers is severely disappointing and I wanted to show that businesses can do the right thing, set standards for their product selection and be successful. You don’t have to compromise one to do the other.
Additionally, I want people to feel welcome in my space, as do so many of us retailers. For me, this means that they can see themselves in the items I select. We proudly offer locally-made lingerie that goes to size 34, for example.
Am I perfect? No. I am always learning and growing and finding new ways to support my community and take care of the environment. This also means constantly reviewing the chemicals added to many of the products out there and the impact they have on the ecosystem. Many things have a shockingly high impact on our riverine ecosystems, such as pheromones and other chemicals. They directly impact our amphibians and fish.
These values are a core part of our business identity and it’s present in the training of every member of my team from day one. They are educated on product material safety standards. They are trained on what vocabulary to use when interacting with everyone they communicate with, from customers to co-workers. We strive to provide a positive safe space within our stores for everyone. My team and the community take an enormous amount of pride in As You Like It’s values. We are a third-party certified green business and we have won several awards both locally and nationally.
XBIZ: For those who have never visited, what is special and unique about As You Like It? What does your store do differently from other shops?
Marks: There are many of us who are running amazing stores, but I think these are the things that set As You Like It apart:
I try to be transparent in my buying. For example, we have published a list of materials and ingredients that you will never find in an As You Like It location. It’s available in stores and right on our website. As a cancer survivor, I take the commitment to body safety to heart. Our locations are warm, tasteful and welcoming to all.
We have one of the largest book selections at any given time. We currently offer around 500 unique books in our shop and quite a healthy gender-affirming section as well.
Our customers can shop on their terms whether they know exactly what they’re looking for or need a little guidance — we’re here for all of it. We are a destination for those shopping alone, in groups or as a couple and also proudly offer private, guided shopping experiences, which can be especially helpful too, and appreciated by those looking for gender-affirming products or processing a trauma.
XBIZ: This past year was something of a comeback for companies, especially retailers, after COVID regs loosened. How did you spend 2022 in regards to reopening and refreshing your shop?
Marks: We took it one day at a time. I measured the comfort of our community and my team and acted accordingly. Our staff continues to use masks regularly in our stores and each store is outfitted with several air purifiers and other cleaning agents. For our shoppers, we transitioned from “mask required” to “mask appreciated” in September for Eugene and May 2022 for Ashland.
We gave our online presence an update to ensure those that prefer to shop online are able to do so efficiently and pick up at our locations at no additional cost to them. In some cases, I would even run deliveries. Being a smaller company means we are lean and agile, which allows us to creatively assist and serve our community by trying out new ideas and services.
At the same time, we more than doubled the size of our Eugene store. This was not necessarily the plan — ha! — but our landlord sold the building, so we either needed to take the full building or relocate. So far, the increase from 800 square feet to 2,000 square feet has been working and feels great!
XBIZ: What did it take to make it through the pandemic?
Marks: That is a hard question. I worked every day during the shutdown until sometime in September and I don't recommend that. It took leaning on my team and my community to pull us through. It takes the ability to understand how to adapt. We did private shopping, which is something that luckily we have always offered and folks knew about, and I even did home delivery. Sometimes the fate of a business is in the hands of luck, hard work and the local community.
Learning how a pandemic will limit your business and identifying new opportunities that can only exist during a pandemic helped us through it. We knew to some degree that we had a captive audience of work-from-home human beings stuck in their homes during the pandemic. We pivoted to serve our guests where they were by optimizing our online shopping experience at AsYouLikeItShop.com
Whenever feasible, my team was put to work writing content, posting to social media and meeting our customers where they were online to have meaningful conversations about current events, mental health, sexual health and what mattered to them.
XBIZ: Where do you foresee the future for As You Like It? Do you have any big plans for the company for 2023? What can the industry look forward to from you and your team?
Marks: It’s still early in 2023, but our stores are back to regular hours of operation. We have recently resumed offering a full calendar of in-store events that were so popular for us prior to COVID. This month alone we have guest speakers, rope-tying workshops and our book club is back! All these events are listed on our social media and featured in our emails. If you can’t tell, we are very excited about our event calendar.
We have started working with a marketing agency with a pedigree in the sexual wellness space to help target revenue growth opportunities. This allows me, as the owner, to focus on expanding the business. This year I will be pursuing conversations with my manufacturing and distribution partners to ensure As You Like It stores are utilizing the best assets and promotional tools available to us. This is just the tip of the iceberg for us. Expect to see so much more from As You Like It throughout the year.
