Trigg Laboratories’ Michael Trigg explains his bold move, and how it affects retailers.
On July 16, Michael Trigg, the CEO and founder of Trigg Laboratories—most known for its Wet portfolio—issued a bold proclamation to the adult retail world:
Trigg Laboratories was moving to direct-tier pricing.
Citing rising costs of doing business, Trigg said in his letter the discount from wholesale would be based on order volume and that this would be available to everyone.
“We must all ultimately make decisions that we hope are in the best interest of our businesses,” said Trigg to close his letter.
SE Magazine spoke with Trigg since the letter’s publication to find out more about the timing of the decision, what changes this might bring and the consumer reaction.
SE: You said in your letter no one wants to be candid when it comes to Amazon and pharmacy-chain lube sales. Why do you think that is?
TRIGG: Many of us veterans in the industry like to reminisce about the “way things were.” We like to live in the “good ol’ days” before the Amazon’s and .com’s; before the emergence of adult products outside of adult stores. These undeniable forces have changed the industry landscape, causing adult brick-and-mortar stores to experience contracting sales volumes. Adult lubricant and toy companies aggressively seek new channels of revenue. Many are pouring money into exhibitions at pharmacy trade shows to penetrate the pharmacy chain market. Every major pharmacy chain now has sex toys and lubricants on the shelves at highly discounted prices. Direct-to-retailer pricing is steadily becoming a common business practice. Faced with these trends, there comes a time when we must make a choice—adapt or fail. To be more competitive, we expanded our offering to include lower volume-based discount tier pricing available to adult retailers at buywetdirect.com.
These are difficult conversations, but honest ones often are. Placing myself in the shoes of our industry retailers, I would rather hear the truth and be able to make informed decisions, rather than having a manufacturer blow smoke up my ass.
SE: What kind of logistics went into the decision to offer direct pricing?
TRIGG: I’ve dedicated the last 30 years of my life to this industry and value the countless professional relationships and friendships I’ve built during that time. The changes we are adopting—of which direct pricing is only one—are born from the feedback we’ve gathered from adult retailers. We have been receiving more and more requests to sell directly to stores as competition from online sales and pharmacy chains grow. We spoke with hundreds of adult stores who requested the changes. We hold ourselves to the highest standard and are working to ensure we provide both the best quality products and service to our partners and customers.
SE: Is there a certain product or product range that’s most impacted by this shift?
TRIGG: I have found that this shift is not restricted to any specific product range. Both Amazon and pharmacy chains continue to expand product ranges and alter consumer behavior.
SE: How does this pricing structure change impact what you can do in other avenues of operation?
TRIGG: The new pricing structure does not impact any other avenues of operation. Trigg Laboratories manufactures over 100 brands, aside from Wet. We produce many of the adult brands you have on your shelves today. We are fully accredited and licensed, including: EU MDD, eMDR compliant; Registered with the FDA as a medical device manufacturer; Certified to ISO 13485:2016, ENISO 13485:2016 and MDSAP (These are the highest levels of this certification); Over-the-Counter (OTC) drug establishment license; FDA Compliant manufacturing (QSR and cGMP); FDA 510(k) Cleared product; Accredited UL RCP Certificate; UL cGMP Certified; CE mark product.
Should your business be looking to expand to a private label brand, we are an authority in that field.
“These are difficult conversations, but honest ones often are. Placing myself in the shoes of our industry retailers, I would rather hear the truth and be able to make informed decisions, rather than having a manufacturer blow smoke up my ass.” – Trigg
SE: Will you still be attending the distributor in-house tradeshows?
TRIGG: No. We would rather divert those resources to building the Wet brand with consumers. Ultimately, it is the consumer that remains the biggest decision maker in what products they purchase.
SE: How did your customers react to this? What would you say to assuage those customers of yours who are reluctant to change?
TRIGG: First, let me define “customer.” Adult distributors, retailers, and end-users/consumers who buy Wet are all our customers. This was such a sweeping change in our business; an announcement at an event like AMNE seemed the only appropriate platform to break the news. I anticipated that most adult distributors would be unhappy. Almost all said they would be dropping Wet, but ultimately none did. I appreciate that they came to understand the reasoning behind the decision and continued our partnerships. The strain on the friendships I’ve built in the last three decades was my greatest challenge. I’m happy to know that our bonds can endure the trials brought on in our changing industry.
For those who are reluctant to change and prefer the convenience of ordering with a distributor, then please continue to do so. I understand distributors are the one-stop-shop where a retailer can get everything with one order and those strong relationships go back many years.
If you prefer to speak with one of our operators at buywetdirect.com, you have that option as well. No matter which avenue you choose, Trigg Laboratories will be there to answer your product questions, keep you apprised of our new Wet products, schedule in-store trainings, provide testers and marketing materials. We are at your service to support your needs.
We will continue to innovate and launch new and exciting products. At ExpoMark this September, we introduced Wet Femme Massage Oils which are designed and created by women for women. They are very feminine, luxurious and stunning. We also introduced our trial-size store display; the beauty of this display hits a new bar for adult retail. It’s priced at a 50% discount off wholesale (for the product only) and the display is 100% free. The key now is to get the most profit from every square inch of your store.
SE: Are there any other big changes coming from Wet?
TRIGG: Life is change and change is constant. Someone once called me “The Willie Wonka of Lube.” Those of you who know me well already understand just how true that is. Like Willie, a time comes when a change of approach is necessary. Timing is a key to success; it’s all about riding the perfect crest of a wave, as new opportunities present themselves.
For more information, please visit buywet.com, email buywetdirect.com, or call (866) 901-6285.
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