Is your point-of-sale technology up to date? Or is your POS system turning a potentially great retail location into a different kind of “POS”?
When POS systems malfunction or fail, Zondre Watson is your go-to tech guy. A self-described “data geek and eternal retail rebel,” Watson knows adult retail inside and out. He’s experienced the sex toy industry as a store manager, sales data enthusiast and web developer.
The future of this industry is immersive, smart and very fun.
Currently, as general manager of technology and analytics for Ero-Tech, he is responsible for overseeing 22 Secrets Adult Boutique, Lingerie Etc. and Not Too Naughty store locations. His daily tasks include managing reporting, training and hiring, and streamlining processes.
“On one hand, I work with Excel, inventory metrics and AI-based tools,” Watson says. “I’ve built training manuals, implemented dynamic reordering tools, streamlined accounting and helped store managers understand performance metrics in ways that directly impact profitability.
“On the other hand, I train store teams, build leadership pipelines and troubleshoot HR challenges,” he continues. “Understanding how much gross profit a company earns for every dollar and turnover is important — but so is knowing what motivates a new assistant manager on a Saturday night.”
Before conquering the IT side of adult retail, however, Watson sold dopamine in a different form: as an entrepreneur in the chocolate arts.
Upon graduating with an MBA from Hawai‘i Pacific University amid the Great Recession of the late 2000s, the then 30-something Watson teamed up with a close friend to start a business that matched his high ambitions: a chocolate and coffee shop in Ka‘a‘awa, Hawai‘i.
“It was called FAB — short for ‘Fine Ass Brand,’” he explains. “Our main product line? Round, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. Naturally, we leaned all the way into the joke: dark salty balls, blue balls, flaky balls, sticky balls — you name it. The shop became a must-visit tourist attraction, complete with a blow-up donkey and cutouts people could pose with.”
Although the brand’s products were popular, a road collapse and the closure of a popular nearby restaurant forced Watson and his business partner to close their store.
“However, I left with five years of experience running a retail business, building a brand and learning the grind of entrepreneurship,” Watson reflects.
As it turned out, those skills would soon come in handy.
“One of my former clients owned an adult store called Sensually Yours, and needed a manager,” Watson recalls. “I was intrigued but hesitant, as I still harbored dreams of working for Blue Origin or some other space company.
“It turns out adult retail and rocket science are more similar than you’d think,” he adds mischievously. “Both involve a lot of thrust.”
Watson initially thought about declining the position, but after talking to some business contacts, he realized that nearly everyone he knew had shopped there.
“Plus, the store had a great local reputation,” he says. “So I applied. From the moment I started, I was hooked.”
Once onboard, Watson hit the ground running.
“My first mission was an end-to-end operational overhaul,” he says. “I evaluated everything from the website to accounting practices and employee training.”
His most entertaining task, however, involved a stint as the store’s unofficial flavored lube tester. During a two-week period on the sales floor, Watson familiarized himself with all the many available varieties of lube. One particular flavor happened to catch his attention.
“We carried Topco’s cum lube, and no one knew if it had a flavor,” he laughs. “Naturally, we all had to find out. Later, I told that story to Lupe from CalExotics. She’d just worked on a cum-scented sauce and was thrilled someone finally ‘got it.’ Spoiler: they nailed it.”
Most of his time, though, ended up being spent on updating the store’s outdated POS system — which could only be used by one person at a time, and operated “about as well as a dial-up modem” — and fixing the store’s e-commerce platform, another source of frustration.
“I brought in a cloud-based system with customizable reports, enabling real-time insights and reordering,” recalls Watson. “I also synced our POS with a new accounting platform, pulling the books out of the dark ages."
On the e-commerce front, he discovered the store’s website had two problems.
“It listed items we didn’t actually stock, and in-store customers would ask for products that were only available online,” says Watson. “So I built a new site with live inventory and ‘buy online, pick up in-store’ functionality — just in time for the COVID shutdowns.”
He also developed a system to track and potentially eliminate items collecting dust on the shelves. In the process, he coined a sardonic new term.
“Birthday inventory,” he laughs. “It means stock that sits around so long, you’re tempted to throw it a party.”
When he eventually landed in San Diego and joined Ero-Tech, Watson serendipitously found that they had been using the same sad POS system he had overhauled back in Hawaii. Though it seemed as though this would make quick work of his new gig, there was a catch.
“I had to implement the new system at 22 store locations,” Watson says. “The data couldn’t be exported, so I rebuilt the inventory from scratch and conducted physical inventories by spending two weeks at each store.”
He sounds exhausted just describing the marathon project.
“It was a retail road trip like no other,” he admits.
Now that the stores are comfortably up and running, Watson is focused on further implementing time-saving technology for Ero-Tech’s stores. His goals include cutting costs, preventing idle inventory, and and optimizing the hybrid model of the brick-and-mortar stores that also offer web sales, including live inventory updates.
“I often say inventory is like a giant cash drawer,” says Watson. “You wouldn’t let someone steal $50 from the till, so why let $10,000 in unsold product just sit on the wall?”
When it comes to brick-and-mortar stores selling online, Watson has a straightforward philosophy.
“Customers want convenience, transparency and accuracy,” he says. “If your website shows an item in stock and it’s not available in-store, you’re starting that interaction with disappointment. That’s not a vibe we’re going for.”
Beyond geeking out over Excel spreadsheets and the power of cloud computing, Watson says that what he most enjoys about working in adult retail is that he can be his full, funny and unrestrained self at work. For this techie of all trades, the sex toy space is a playground.
“The future of this industry is immersive, smart and very fun,” concludes Watson. “This industry doesn’t sit still — and neither do we.”
