DreamNex CEO Patrice Macar said he intends to use the capital raised from the sale of the company’s stock to increase brand awareness for SexyAvenue abroad.
In a filing with French regulators, the company described itself as a retail market leader in “high-class, sober and good-quality products and entertainment.”
Founded in 1999, DreamNex disclosed more than $6 million in profits on $44 million in sales.
Macar attributed the company’s rapid growth to a liberalization of attitudes toward sexuality and an increase in high-speed Internet access.
Through its SexyAvenue website, the company sells sex toys, lingerie and DVDs. Among the items for sale on the website are the Vibro Flower Power, the Love Muscle Massager and Kama Sutra playing cards.
DreamNex also said it planned to use some of the capital raised in the offering to launch an online dating service.
In the meantime, the company’s 172-page filing with French regulators conceded that there was ample room for growth in SexyAvenue’s own backyard. The retailer cited a 2004 Durex study that found only 20 percent of French women own vibrators or other sex toys, compared with 50 percent of women in the U.S.