To: bellindalevez-ga
Who are the major players in the sex toy industry, can you give me
this information by name of company/brand and value or % of the
market, analysed for the US, Far East, Europe and UK.

<In Europe the major supplier of sex toys is Beate Uhse, a
Germany-based company. They have annual sales of over $100 million.
They are the best know brand in Germany and the name is known to 98%
of Germans. The company has 200 shops in 9 European countries
including the U.K. The company was founded in 1947. In 2001 sales were
222m Euros. Gross profit was 2.2m Euros. Regional market share is 17%
and mail order market share is 46%.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2372027.stm
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0003/05/bun.00.html

In the U.K., Ann Summers is the major retailer of sex toys. The
company was established in 1972. They now have 75 stores with plans
for a further 80 over the next two years. In addition they have 8000
party planners who sell their products at Tupperware style parties. In
2002-2002 its turnover was £85 million. Profits reached £9.5 million.
70 % of the companies customers are women.
http://shopping.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4584468,00.html

The major players in the U.S. are Doc Johnson, Topco and Swedish
Erotica which are multi-billion dollar businesses. There are no exact
figures available as they are privately held companies.

Doc Johnson is a Los Angeles-based company which is a multi-billion
dollar business. http://www.libidomag.com/nakedbrunch/archive/sextoys.html

Topco, established in 1973 is based in San Fernando and will soon be
moving to new premises in Chatsworth. They specialise in researching
and developing new products. They also plan to open a new
manufacturing base in China.
http://www.topco-sales.com/generalinfo/topco.html

Swedish Erotica is owned by Susan Colvin. The company is based in
Chino California.
http://www.adultvideonews.com/archives/200102/cover/cover0201_01.html

The Hustler Hollywood chain has reported that they have better than
expected sales but declined to divulge the figures. They are planning
to expand by opening several stores next year.
http://www.adultvideonews.com/cover/cover1201_02.html

Shaki.com is one of China’s largest manufacturers of sex toys.
http://www.shaki.com/aboutus.htm


Wenzhou Loves Health Products is a China-based company that is one of
the top 10 makers of erotica. 70% of their products are exported to
Europe and the U.S. They manufacture 10,000 sex toys per day. Sales in
2001 were $8 billion. The company is investing $12 million in a new
factory and expects sales to rise to $100 million.
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2002/apr/08/top_stories/20020408top4.html
http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501020527-238672,00.html>


<Additional links.>

<The feminisation of the sex industry.>
<http://www.preciousonline.co.uk/features/october00/sex_special/feminisation_of_the_sex_industry.html>


<Search strategy:>

<"sex toys"  "market share">
<://www.google.com/search?q=%22sex+toys%22++%22market+share%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=60&sa=N>

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Request for Answer Clarification by kbwdick-ga on 17 Mar 2003 07:23 PST

Hi Belinda,

Thankyou for your research it is very helpful.  I am going to ask
additional questions using the company email credit card information,
as my card is taking a serious beating. I will adress the question to
you in the question if you don't mind.

Karen

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Clarification of Answer by belindalevez-ga on 17 Mar 2003 08:22 PST

That's fine. I'll start researching your new question.

The research information you are providing is extremely helpful.  Thankyou so much.