Special Focus: Much more than the middle man!

SE: What would you like retailers to know about your company and doing business with you?

GARCIA: Holiday has been distributing pleasure products at the wholesale level since 1985. The greatest asset at Holiday Products is our team of veteran, industry professionals in sales, purchasing and customer support. Our product knowledge and high level of personalized customer service is top notch and second to none.

This has proven to be of critical value and importance to our customer base in these trying times. While we are keenly customer focused and relationship driven, we also know the importance of our product offerings. We understand retailers don’t have much time to evaluate every single item that is released, so we take that part off their hands. By only offering items that are known sellers as well as new products supporting key attributes and latest trends, we have found a formula that not only works well for our clients but also saves them time.

SE: What new products or lines are you most excited about in your portfolio?

GARCIA: We have greatly expanded our selection of lingerie vendors, incorporating many new styles. Holiday Products recently released an extensive lingerie catalog featuring top-rated Lingerie Manufacturers, which we will release bi-annually. There are so many incredible products and lines, but we are really loving the multi-use items by ZALO USA. In their Legend series, the Bess stimulator, and Kyro Massage Wand both include multiple attachments that encourage the consumer to be creative. The fabulously packaged Unicorn Set is a great kit that includes three of the adult market’s most desirable features: strong vibration, thrusting, and touchless pressure wave stimulation. Over the past year, Holiday has also incorporated a new form of catalog production. Instead of delivering one massive catalog yearly, we are releasing our catalogs in collections throughout the year. Our first release for 2022 will be “Vibrators.”

SE: What training/marketing resources do you offer retailers as far as the lines you carry?

GARCIA: Our award-nominated, The Resource (holidayproductsresource.com) is a great tool retailers use to get to know items before bringing them on board. We feature five products or collections per week, and we also include two industry-related articles selected for their value to our clients. These are easy snack-sized reads that provide a ton of information in a condensed format delivered daily or weekly directly to a customer’s inbox.

We have also partnered with our vendors to send their top reps to stores offering in-person trainings. Because of the new normal, we have also found remarkable success in Zoom trainings as well as virtual conferences with retailers.

SE: What’s the most common feedback you hear from stores on their relationship with distributors in general?

GARCIA: Feedback has been nothing but positive from our stores, especially during this pandemic. Savvy retailers know distributors are more than just order-takers. We
love and strive to be considered partners in their growth and success. Stores that were opposed to working with distributors now see the simplicity of working with us and are very thankful for the convenience, one-stop shopping and personal service. We can offer an overview of all products and I think customers appreciate our honesty when it comes to selection. Lastly, having accessibility to so many brands in one location makes it much easier to find substitutions in dealing with all the supply chain constraints surrounding the pandemic.

SE: How are you navigating or circumventing ordering/ shipping delays plaguing most industries, including adult retail?

GARCIA: Quite simply, we have an amazing purchasing department. They are constantly communicating with our vendors to obtain the most up-to-date information which we pass on to our customers in a timely manner. This helps them plan accordingly for delays in product, price increases, outages and items that have been discontinued. We are telling customers to keep the shelves stocked! You can’t sell what you don’t have. Our veteran team of account managers can recommend substitutions that will fly off the shelves for you!

For more information, visit holidayproducts.com.

HONEY’S PLACE
Answers courtesy of Bonnie Feingold, CEO Honey’s Place

SE: What would you like retailers to know about your company and doing business with you?

FEINGOLD: Honey’s Place has been in business for almost 30 years. We have an excellent fill rate and ship most orders the same day. Honey’s Place offers one stop shopping featuring the best brands in pleasure products and one of the most extensive lingerie selections in the industry. We strive to be the best at what we do, making our customers and their needs our priority.

SE: What new products or lines are you most excited about in your portfolio?

FEINGOLD: One of the newest brands that we are excited to launch at Honey’s Place is Viben. Viben is a collection of high quality rabbits, wands, handheld stimulators and high-functioning panty vibes. Each Viben product is packaged in vibrant, eye-catching packaging that jumps off a wall in any retail environment. We are excited to be offering this new innovative and sophisticated brand! Viben is 100% water friendly, offers training and support to retailers and backs up their products with a 1 year warranty. It is a great new brand to offer to our customers!

SE: What training/marketing resources do you offer retailers as far as the lines you carry?

FEINGOLD: We work with all of our manufacturing partners to offer product training and marketing materials for our customers. Customers are able to order signage and testers on our website or they can partner with their sales rep if there is anything that Honey’s Place isn’t currently offering. We are happy to work with our customers and our brand ambassadors to create specialized training and marketing offers that best fits the customers needs.

SE: What’s the most common feedback you hear from stores on their relationship with distributors in general?

FEINGOLD: As a distributor, we are here to help our customers be successful and the feedback we are getting is that our customers are seeing this effort. Working with distribution partners allows stores to offer a wide range of products in their buildings, get the support and training they need from vendors, ensures stores are getting the best-selling product in a timely manner and helps build relationships throughout the industry. The relationships that Honey’s Place has with its customers is paramount and the cornerstone of our business. We will continue to strive to support and embrace our customers’ needs so that we are constantly improving those relationships.

For more information, visit honeysplace.com.

ORION WHOLESALE
Answers courtesy of Björn Radcke, Head of Sales & Marketing (B2B) at ORION Wholesale

SE: What would you like retailers to know about your company and doing business with you?

RADCKE: ORION Wholesale is one of the most successful erotic wholesale companies in Europe with its extensive best-seller assortment, and especially with its packaging designs and labels that have done more than just influence the erotic industry. Our market-leading labels and products are well-known all over the world and stand for a successful, sustainable strategy, which has the necessary tactfulness for the erotic industry. Retailers and customers trust in this know-how and benefit from the variety of products and labels that are high-quality and have brand recognition.

Furthermore, ORION Wholesale stands for fair and stable prices, high delivery capacity, and competent, service- oriented advice. We have customers all over the world
and our motivated team is available for them every day. However, ORION Wholesale’s main focus is on a trusting, collaborative business relationship and personal contact.

We supply our customers with up to 80,000 items a day. We even do the entire order fulfillment for some retailers. Our standardized, multi-order-picking system, the three pick-to-light systems and the two material flow computers ensure the quick processing of orders. This means our customers all over the world receive their orders on time.

SE: What new products or lines are you most excited about in your portfolio?

RADCKE: ORION Wholesale will again launch many innovative new products in 2022. Among other things, our customers can look forward to the vibepad 2 — a new version of the strong-selling vibro-cushion that stimulates the clitoris, vagina and anus in a completely hands-free way. We will also launch the new “CUPA” sex toys and “Your new favorite” sex toys which will be available on the market at the beginning of 2022. And, of course, we will expand our extensive lingerie range with many exclusive designer pieces.

SE: What training/marketing resources do you offer retailers as far as the lines you carry?

RADCKE: We will be present at tradeshows around the world whenever possible to present our products in person. In addition, we will continue to offer online training and personal consultations.

All our new products also have detailed factsheets, which we make available to our customers free of charge. We also feature displays, flyers, testers, etc., for optimal presentation at the point of sale.

SE: What’s the most common feedback you hear from stores on their relationship with distributors in general?

RADCKE: Our customers appreciate our extensive assortment as well as the quality of our products. And of course our all-round service and above all the personal contact.

SE: How are you navigating or circumventing ordering/ shipping delays plaguing most industries, including adult retail?

RADCKE: We have a large warehouse with a robust inventory. Of course, this is no guarantee delivery problems will not occur in the foreseeable future due to the current global situation. But our product managers are in constant contact with our manufacturers and suppliers and try to avoid possible bottlenecks. All in all, our customers are also familiar with the current situation and we always try to find a solution together. Therefore, above all, communication is very important.

For more information, visit orion-wholesale.com.

WILLIAMS TRADING CO.
Answers courtesy of Scott D., Director of Sales and Marketing at Williams Trading Co.

SE: What would you like retailers to know about your company and doing business with you?

SCOTT: The most important thing we want our retailers to know is that we are a family-owned company with a culture of doing the right thing, and not pressuring our customers. Our sales reps have been active in this industry for more than 20 or 30 years and bring a level of professionalism and working knowledge to the business for our existing and new customers. We have also recently invested in technology that supports the drop shipping industry, which allows for full drop ship integration with Flex Point and Inventory Source. This new technology lets internet retailers automatically upload products, sync inventory and route orders with our complete data feed of 17,000 items. Being able to offer a more advanced integration service means customers can stay synced to our product data, images and inventory levels to maximize sales.

SE: What new products or lines are you most excited about in your portfolio?

SCOTT: We are excited about the new Pipedream Products Body Dock System and the new line of King Cock Elite Silicone products! The Body Dock from Pipedream is an innovative system patented push and play system that will allow most suction cup dildos to be attached to the harness, with no rings, snaps, or other types of adapters.

Nu Sensuelle continues to innovate with a brand new take on an already popular item: the Nu Sensuelle Trinitii in black and 18k gold. The Nu Sensuelle Alluvion Wands are also excellent products for retailers to add to this highly successful line.

We have also expanded our lingerie selection with a number of new items from Magic Silk.

SE: What training/marketing resources do you offer retailers as far as the lines you carry?

SCOTT: Williams Trading offers two e-learning platforms: WTULearn.com and WTUSexhealth.com. With the support of our vendor partners and several well-known
sex educators in the industry, we’ve worked hard to bring new, comprehensive training programs to Williams Trading University. WTU Sex Health launched last year as a channel that focuses on sexual health & wellness topics that retailers can draw upon when serving their customers. While products are shown in each course, the primary focus is the health & wellness subject. Users of the original WTU platform can create a free log in on the Williams Trading Sexual Health & Wellness Channel and find a wealth of educational content that has been curated specifically to give store associates information relating to their customers’ sexual health & wellness needs.

Between the original platform and the new Health & Wellness channel, we are proud to announce that we have awarded more than 185,000 certifications.

SE: What’s the most common feedback you hear from stores on their relationship with distributors in general?

SCOTT: We value our dealers and have built many long-term relationships with them over the years. Stores rely on the experience of distributor personnel in the guidance and support of new product releases. The most common feedback we hear is to keep it simple! Store operators can be overwhelmed with the breadth of new product offerings, so we produce a digital Weekly Pick video every Monday, as well as a digital New Release guide every Friday that allows dealers to click on links that take them directly to the products they want to buy.

SE: How are you navigating or circumventing ordering/ shipping delays plaguing most industries, including adult retail?

SCOTT: We made early adjustments to our supply chain ordering system with all of our vendors since the start of the COVID epidemic. We have the ability to forecast and adjust for demand increases, but we did experience outages with selected brands due to material shortages, and product transportation delays. Our vendor community has been very responsive with the supply chain disruptions and we have been able to keep a positive stocked position, and we make sure we keep the lines of communication open with our customers when we expect delays to occur.

For more information, visit williamstradingco.com.

ENTRENUE
Answers courtesy of Lily Wang, VP of Sales & Marketing for Entrenue

SE: What would you like retailers to know about your company and doing business with you?

WANG: Entrenue started off as a small book distributor in 1996 and has since grown to being the industry’s unique and boutique specialty distributor headquartered in Phoenix.

SE: What new products or lines are you most excited about in your portfolio?

WANG: Besides representing over 500 book titles, we’re proud of our curated portfolio of beautiful brands, from well-known brands to the small, woman-designed, woman- owned brand who started in her garage (or bedroom).

We are exclusive with dozens of brands including Bijoux Indiscrets, Crave, Lora DiCarlo, Neo Sensual, Spareparts, and newest to launch, Love Not War!

SE: What training/marketing resources do you offer retailers as far as the lines you carry?

WANG: We’ll customize trainings around our client- retailers’ needs, whether it’s by brand-manufacture or category like anatomy, hygiene, lubricants or style of products.

SE: What’s the most common feedback you hear from stores on their relationship with distributors in general?

WANG: There is a growing need and want for distributors — while not everyone is able to work directly with each other, we’re thrilled to be part of the ecosystem. And because of growing demand, we’ve needed to hire more folks!

For more information, visit entrenue.com.

EAST COAST NEWS
Answers courtesy of Grace Boyer, Marketing Coordinator for East Coast News

SE: What would you like retailers to know about your company and doing business with you?

BOYER: ECN is more than just a vendor; we want our customers to think of us as a partner. We have the most knowledgeable staff in the industry that works side by side with our retail partners to ensure their success. We have three strategically placed warehouses across the country and staff in four additional states to provide the best service and get our retail partners their shipments within 1-3 business days.

SE: What new products or lines are you most excited about in your portfolio?

BOYER: Not only do we have incredible manufacturers that are exclusive to ECN, we are also the only full-line distributor of the industry’s hottest brands, with many exclusive items from those brands. We are excited to present Pleasure Trip, a unique collaboration between Wow Tech, Bliss, and pjur. These three bundles have been specially curated with your customers in mind and are only available at ECN.

 

SE: What’s the most common feedback you hear from stores on their relationship with distributors in general?

BOYER: We constantly hear how important our role is with them, how much support and education we provide, and the ease with which we get them their product and assets. We can’t give away all our secrets!.

SE: How are you navigating or circumventing ordering/ shipping delays plaguing most industries, including adult retail?

BOYER: ECN has cultivated close relationships with vendors and retail partners in order to stay ahead of any upcoming stocking or shipping delays. We work with our vendor partners to ensure that all three of our warehouses are well stocked to get our retail partners everything they need.

For more information, visit ecn.com.

PARADISE MARKETING
Answers courtesy of Dennis Paradise, President at Paradise Marketing

SE: What would you like retailers to know about your company and doing business with you?

PARADISE: Founded in 1978, Paradise Marketing is the leading and preeminent source for condoms, personal lubricant, and high volume accessories for trade account.

SE: What new products or lines are you most excited about in your portfolio?

PARADISE: We’ve recently added Cake Condoms, and we’ll be making major addition announcements in conjunction with the Altitude Lingerie Show.

SE: What training/marketing resources do you offer retailers as far as the lines you carry?

PARADISE: Our staff does virtual trainings by appointment.

SE: How are you navigating or circumventing ordering/ shipping delays plaguing most industries, including adult retail?

PARADISE: I think up until January 2022, we haven’t had a problem. However, I think the next six months we’ll see extended lead times and shortages of some brands.

For more information, visit paradisemarketing.com.

SINK OR SWIM
Answers courtesy of Jorge Solorzano, Director of Operations at Sink or Swim

SE: What would you like retailers to know about your company and doing business with you?

SOLORZANO: We are an industry exclusive enhancement company, you won’t find our products in liquor stores or gas stations.

SE: What new products or lines are you most excited about in your portfolio?

SOLORZANO: We introduced Big Dick Energy and Big Clit Energy around the ANME show.

SE: What training/marketing resources do you offer retailers as far as the lines you carry?

SOLORZANO: We are the only enhancement company that does in-store and virtual training.

SE: What’s the most common feedback you hear from stores on their relationship with distributors in general?

SOLORZANO: That the fill rates are very low, luckily our products are made here in the USA and we maintain a 95% fill rate on average.

SE: How are you navigating or circumventing ordering/shipping delays plaguing most industries, including adult retail?

SOLORZANO: All our products are proudly made here in the United States.

For more information, visit sinkorswimsales.com.