2 Shy 2 Ask

I recently visited Boudoir Sex Toys and sat down with Angelina, its founder and MD to discuss the topic of sex toys and women, the impact of a growing adult market in the female retail sector and the future of sex toys for women and its influence on societal perception of female sexuality.

Angelina you come from an academic background, what made you decide to set up Boudoir Sex Toys (The Boudoir)?  

I had always planned on staying inside academia for much longer than I did perhaps a research post or study abroad, but after completing my last degree course my entrepreneurial urges over rode and I left to embark on my first project importing children’s clothes and trading designer second hand items through various outlets I set up. This was pre - Ebay and it proved extremely successful at the time. I moved into land purchase and property development after that and supplied fresh produce to the supermarkets for a while. I think of myself as a ‘Del Boy’ and am continuously seeing opportunities in daily life to set up a stall and peddle my wares. I brought my first sex toy at 19 from a private shop and thought to myself ‘why can’t I shop for this in a comfortable environment?’ It was a horrible experience and it was an idea I shelved for 15 years later until Boudoir Sex Toys came into existence at a time when I was looking for a new project. 

What difficulties have you faced establishing  Boudoir Sex Toys as a woman?

I think being a female in the adult industry has proved fairly irrelevant, in your personal life its more significant. My friends and family were great and perhaps not surprised after my years of dabbling in various market sectors. The true difficulty is establishing an adult business  full stop. I was completely unprepared for the response I got from banks, merchant providers etc as an adult start up. The level of competition and expertise needed to establish a company online in an extremely competitive environment also takes you by surprise. Its easy to see the companies that had the technical knowledge before the ’sex toys’ company formation whereas I had Boudoir Sex Toys mapped out with no experience of trading online. I stick with things though, which is why four years on Boudoir sex Toys is still here.

Do feel that the adult market caters for women adequately?  

Yes I do, as with any market it adapts to the lucrative areas and if revenue streams become apparent then the market caters for that, it doesn’t discriminate. I feel that sex toys for women have entered a completely different arena and will continue to progress and improve with time. We had the rampant rabbit and Ann Summers did so much to bring sex toys to women in a more comfortable environment but today there are endless products catering for female masturbation and couples enjoyment over and above a rabbit vibrator.

What would you attribute to this growing female market?

Its simply spending power.  Women are paying their way and the power of their pound has attracted manufacturers of all category of goods and service not just sex toys. Women are therefore getting what they want from cheaper toys, innovations that pave the way and designer sex toy manufacturers that appeal to the affluent female market sector. At Boudoir Sex Toys we try to represent all of those products.

Do you feel that  society as a whole has become more accepting of the adult industry?

Ann Summers have obviously blazed a trail lfor all that is to follow and you have to admire the tenacity of the company. It would be fair to say that sex toys are becoming more mainstream and large high street retailers and manufacturers are realising the benefit of stocking and producing adult goods. The industry as a whole still has a long way to go but it is common understanding that it is a growing market of which there aren’t that many at the moment.

What makes you different from the many online stores at the moment and whats the future for Boudoir Sex Toys? 

The difference with Boudoir Sex Toys is the genuine interest in the industry. I think that many guys approach the market drawn to making the most  money online, understanding their capability at gaining top positions for primary keywords or with lots of cash to throw at the project. You need one or the other to make a significant impact from the start. I started Boudoir Sex Toys with a passion for the product and had to learn about the vehicle for selling which meant we didn’t make such a flying start in the natural listings. I feel the connection with our customers is far more personal and I want to develop that with time. I have plans to take Boudoir Sex Toys to the high street with some interesting store concepts in the pipeline!

You can visit Boudoir Sex Toys as www.boudoirsextoys.co.uk

Follow Angelina on twitter at  http://twitter.com/BoudoirSexToys