Winter storms are rare in Dallas, so on the rare occasions when one hits, it tends to bring the city to a halt. Speaking with XBIZ, Adam Edwards is clearly amused by the novelty of it.
“We’ve had some snow,” he laughs. “Snow and ice! So, we’ve been closed for a couple of days.”
I always knew I wanted to join the family business, so I came in and have been enjoying it ever since.
Still, the inclement weather can’t stop Edwards from doing something he’s done for most of his adult life: talking shop. About six and a half years ago, as soon he turned 18, he joined Condom Sense. His father, Mike Edwards, started the company in the 1990s.
“He’s been in the business for over 30 years now,” Edwards marvels. “He just loves the business — especially the education part of it. I always knew I wanted to join the family business, so I came in and have been enjoying it ever since.
“When I first started, I was trying to learn the ins and outs of the company,” Edwards recalls. “I started off in the warehouse, where we distribute at least half of our products to the stores.”
From there, Edwards transitioned to in-person product and sales training. He eventually moved into ordering and operations, gradually expanding from managing purchases for a single location to overseeing multiple stores. His progression wasn’t just about learning how the business works, however. It was also about earning trust within a family company built from the ground up.
‘The exact feeling they’re looking for’
Founded well before the internet changed shopping habits, Condom Sense now has 11 locations across the Dallas area, with a 12th in progress. Importantly, the chain has accomplished that growth without losing the core principles that defined it from the start: education, care and a refusal to embrace outdated stereotypes about pleasure retail.
Now a VP, Edwards manages things “in the field” while his father handles operations remotely from an office inside one of the company’s stores. The mission, the younger Edwards affirms, hasn’t changed: Create a pleasurable retail experience where people feel safe, informed and respected, whether they’re walking in for the first time or returning for the 10th.
“We’ve always been strong internally,” he says. “I tell my staff, ‘I don’t want anybody to go to Amazon. I don’t want anybody to go to Walmart.’ Amazon is not going to educate you. All they’re going to do is write a description and say ‘This bullet vibrates and has 10 functions.’ But do you really know what those 10 functions feel like?”
For Edwards, the difference between making a purchase and having a positive experience often hinges on staff training — and dedication to helping customers find what they truly want, not just what’s easiest to sell.
“Of course you want to make big sales,” he says. “But I also want to give customers the exact feeling they’re looking for.”
In addition to reflecting Condom Sense’s values, that philosophy also turns out to be good for business. Education leads to better outcomes, fewer returns and stronger relationships with customers, who come to trust the store’s recommendations.
The Back End
Making that happen, Edwards stresses, starts with having knowledgeable people in the stores.
“Whatever we learn on the back end in our profession, we try to teach it to our staff and our customers,” he shares. “That’s always been the formula.”
He describes Condom Sense as a business with a “people first” culture rooted in genuine care for both customers and employees. That can mean helping staff with transportation to work, or stepping in during moments of personal financial stress.
“Even with the tough economy right now, we still pride ourselves on how we educate people and how we take care of them,” he says. “And we get it back in return.”
The results are quiet but significant: long-term employees who have been with the company for more than a decade, stable management teams and a culture where loyalty is earned instead of demanded.
‘This is luxury’
According to Edwards, Condom Sense’s retail strategy starts well before a customer reaches the register. It begins with the store’s location and continues with how it feels the moment someone walks inside.
“Some sex stores open on the outskirts of town,” he notes. “People are kind of scared to go to streets known for drugs and violence. I’m one of them! Even if I’m interested in that kind of store, I’m going to avoid those streets. But if it’s near a place like Rodeo Drive, I’ll stop in. I’ll buy a vibrator.
“The ‘classier’ people who don’t think this is normal — I want to bring it to their neighborhood,” Edwards adds. “Nine times out of 10, they end up coming in.”
That thinking has shaped Condom Sense’s expansion strategy, which has focused on high-traffic, premium locations — even when that meant slower growth and tougher negotiations.
“We were at five or six stores for a good while because nobody wanted to lease to us,” Edwards recalls. “We’ll pay premium rent just to get our name out there.”
In cases where leasing wasn’t an option, owning became the answer.
“If you don’t want us, good luck kicking us out,” Edwards laughs. “We bought this building.”
The reward, he says, is a customer base that includes people who might never have thought about entering a “sex store,” but feel at ease walking in because the space seems like it belongs there.
“We try to make our stores look similar to a Victoria’s Secret type of place,” Edwards said, referencing familiar retail cues that signal comfort, legitimacy and mainstream appeal. “When you walk in, the first thing you see is a beautiful glass lube tower. Then, on the walls and our displays, you see lingerie. Then you go in a little bit further and you see enhancements. You have to go farther back to see the vibrators and bondage section.”
That refined approach isn’t driven solely by aesthetics. Some years back, Condom Sense encountered resistance from city officials when opening a new location.
“They were like, ‘Customers say that you guys have way too many dildos,’” Edwards recalls. “‘It feels overwhelming when you walk in, with a bunch of toys all over the place.’”
Embracing that critique as a potentially useful insight, the company redesigned the store to make customers feel more comfortable. That new approach became a model for other locations.
The goal, Edwards says, is simple: to eliminate the feeling that being there is somehow wrong.
“We want to make you feel like this is luxury,” he says. “This is class.”
“Then once you’re in the store, you’re in the store,” he smiles. “So if you’re looking for lingerie, you’re going to look for a vibrator while you’re at it.”
Condom Sense Academy
Since education is the foundation of the Condom Sense brand, it only makes sense that the company is setting its sights on expanding that education beyond store walls.
“We’re creating a sex academy for customers,” Edwards says. “That’s our next big challenge that we’re working on.”
The idea is simple but ambitious: an online education platform that provides both internal staff training and public-facing guidance. The plan is to begin with Condom Sense’s biggest bestsellers and then expand from there, category by category.
Edwards shares a straightforward and common example: material compatibility.
“If you have a silicone toy, you do not want to use a silicone lube with it,” he says. “We’re going to educate you on that because that’s something my staff would know, but customers may not.”
That focus on practical knowledge and real-world concerns also extends into wellness — not as a marketing tactic, but as a direct response to what customers are already asking about. To guide its educational content, the company observes search behavior and forums to monitor how people discuss pleasure and health online.
“We’re trying to cross-reference,” Edwards explains. “We’re doing our best to identify the most common health issues in the market.
“Anxiety is one of the biggest challenges people face these days,” he notes. “People keep asking, ‘What vibrator helps with anxiety?’ We’re trying to help educate and see what we can do on our end to make you feel better.”
To expand its library, Condom Sense is also transforming existing sex education articles into engaging video explainers, aimed at reducing intimidation and making information easier to understand — especially for first-time shoppers. The company already has an active YouTube presence, with real staff members appearing in educational videos on topics like “How to Choose Your First Sex Toy” and “How Seasons Affect Your Sex Drive.”
Behind the scenes, store employees contribute to scripting and product insight, while the marketing team handles editing and presentation. The result is content rooted in real retail experience, not just copy-and-paste descriptions.
‘Let us help you’
The other big initiative currently underway at Condom Sense is its private-label product line.
“We’ve already developed a large Condom Sense line,” Edwards says. “So far, we have a few rabbits, a rose and even an air pulse toy.”
The goal isn’t to overshadow established manufacturers, but to complement them — providing similar products at more affordable prices while upholding the same standards of quality and education.
“Most rose toys sell for around $60 retail,” he explains. “I’m selling mine for $40. I’m taking a hit, but I want my name out there and it’s the exact same item.”
Edwards is clear about what it won’t become: a store dominated by house-brand “space fillers” or limited assortments that sacrifice choice.
“We want to carry all the major brands in our store,” he says. “We want to carry all of it — plus ours.”
In the long term, Edwards envisions the house line as a foundation for extending the Condom Sense brand beyond Dallas.
“Our next step is to wholesale eventually, but still stay in the retail business and sell our own line too,” he enthuses.
Wherever philosophy: “Pleasure without apology.” The aim is to eliminate shame and intimidation, making pleasure retail feel as normal and legitimate as any other wellness purchase.
“Whoever you are, you want to have pleasure,” Edwards says simply. “You’re going to do it regardless, so let us help you and be open about it.”
In a marketplace where nearly everything can be bought with a click, Condom Sense is betting on what can’t be duplicated online: a welcoming environment, knowledgeable staff, a thoughtful product selection and an experience that makes customers feel supported rather than judged.
Edwards attributes this model, and the company’s longevity, to his father’s attitude in business and in life.
“It’s kind of like a karma effect,” he says. “What you put in will come back to you.”
