Just 29 years old, General Manager Nicole Aviles shares what drew her to adult retail, why My Tropx stands out from the competition and how she navigates the room as a young female in management.
(Note: This article appears in the April 2026 issue of SE Magazine.)
Three months. That’s how long it took 29-year-old Nicole Aviles to go from sales clerk to store manager after walking away from a factory job in Palmdale, California. Not long after that, Prime Retail Management, the company that recently acquired My Tropx, promoted her to regional manager, overseeing six locations across Florida and Louisiana.
In this interview with StorErotica Legal Correspondent Larry Kaplan, Aviles talks about what drew her to adult retail, what makes My Tropx different from every other store in her portfolio and what it takes to lead a team when half the room assumes you don’t know what you’re doing.
SE: You went from a factory floor in Palmdale, California, to managing an adult retail store in under three months, and now you’re overseeing multiple locations across Florida and Louisiana. How many stores do you oversee?
Aviles: Six locations, five in Florida and one in Louisiana.
SE: Factories weren’t your thing. What was it about this industry that made you feel like you’d found your path?
Aviles: I like that it’s a safe and supportive space, an environment built on no judgment, where you can always be yourself, and everyone’s voice is respected. That matters deeply to me.
SE: My Tropx is genuinely different from a traditional adult store. How does it feel different to walk into one?
Aviles: My Tropx is more Pride-focused than most stores. Our staff ensures every customer feels welcome and has a safe space to ask questions openly, without judgment. And our stock isn’t just toys and lubricants; it also includes the very best LGBTQ+ clothing.
The Wilton Manors store strictly caters to gay men, while the new St. Pete store is for everybody: female customers, couples, gay men and straight men. There are arcade booths and theaters with sections that cater to everyone as well. We really do have something for everybody.
SE: When you hire staff for My Tropx, are you looking for a different kind of employee than at your other stores?
Aviles: Yes. In addition to being Pride-friendly, we want people who can deliver a genuinely excellent customer service experience and who are knowledgeable about the clothing. Someone who can, for example, help a customer try on a harness and make them feel completely comfortable doing it.
SE: Clothing is central to the My Tropx identity in a way that it simply isn’t at a traditional adult store. How do you approach buying and merchandising?
Aviles: I look at what customers actually want. I ask them directly, “What would you like to see?” I’m very open to that feedback, and I work to make sure we can get those things in at reasonable price points. We don’t overprice anything. We carry high-end items, but we also carry products at a range of price points, because not everyone is shopping on the same budget.
SE: You’re growing from one My Tropx location in Wilton Manors to three with new stores in St. Pete and North Miami. Each of those LGBTQ+ communities has its own personality. What stays consistent across all three, and what gets tailored to each market?
Aviles: Wilton Manors has been there for years, in a well-established gay neighborhood with traffic from gay cruises out of Fort Lauderdale and Miami. A loyal customer base is already in place. We’re still building that in St. Pete, but we have a real advantage there with a large LGBTQ+ population, gay bars and clubs just minutes away and no other LGBTQ+ clothing stores nearby. No competition. North Miami is still under renovation, but I feel great about that location also. It’s near the beach, and the demographics are right.
“I walk into situations sometimes where I can see people thinking, ‘Who does this girl think she is, telling me what to do?’”
— Nicole Aviles
SE: What does a typical work week look like for you?
Aviles: A lot of juggling. I visit all the stores I oversee weekly, making sure they’re stocked with what customers are looking for, that we have the latest items and that my team has what they need to keep things running. But my primary focus is always supporting my staff and store managers. I make sure they know they can come to me with anything, that they have my full support. When people are afraid to call you or feel like they can’t reach you, things go sideways before you even find out there was a problem.
SE: You rose from sales clerk to store manager in three months and are now a regional manager. What did Prime Retail Management see in you?
Aviles: I think they saw my determination. I don’t make excuses; if I’m given a task, I find a way to get it done. I was eager to learn, and I genuinely wanted it. There was a force in me that wanted to excel. A lot of people are full of excuses. I was committed, and I think that showed in my work.
SE: What are the keys to profitability for a store like My Tropx in 2026, especially competing against online retail?
Aviles: Staying current. Always having the newest products, the latest items and really listening to what customers are looking for, not just in clothing, but in toys, lubricants and specific brands. When something goes viral on social media, you need to have it. Many adult stores stick with the same old inventory and never evolve. That’s not us.
Pricing matters too. You can have exclusive items, but they have to be accessible. And you have to be willing to hear what your customers actually want, because they’ll tell you if you let them.
SE: What’s the best part of your job, and what’s the hardest?
Aviles: The best part is the learning. Every single day, I pick up something new about managing, about people, about this industry. Managing is constantly evolving; there’s no old guidebook for it. I’m like a sponge. Everything I’ve absorbed since joining Prime Retail has made me better, and that filters down to the whole team.
The hardest part? Being 29 and being a woman. I walk into situations sometimes where I can see people thinking, “Who does this girl think she is, telling me what to do?” I don’t look at it as having to prove myself, exactly, but in some situations, I do have to earn the room in a way that someone older or a man probably wouldn’t. I’ve made my peace with that. I just keep working.
SE: That’s a remarkably clear-eyed way to look at it.
Aviles: I think work ethic is everything. I see a lot of people, especially in this generation, who go from job to job without really committing to anything. I deeply value building something. There’s always room to be better, in work, in managing, in how you show up for your team. That’s something I think about every day.
Larry Kaplan is a broker specializing in the sale and purchase of adult retail stores and adult nightclubs, and the Executive Director of ACE of Michigan, the state trade association for adult nightclubs. For 25 years, Mr. Kaplan has been the Legal Correspondent for ED Publications. Contact Larry Kaplan at 313-815-3311 or email larry@kaplanstoresales.com.
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