Anyone who has any questions about whether the sex industry has entered mainstream culture should visit London's elegant science museum last month.
On the last Wednesday of October, a group of technicians from adult toys and underwear retail Ann Summers gave an illustrated lecture on the history of sex toys in a crowded front hall.
The speech spans thousands of years, including "toys" in Prehistoric, Roman, Greek, medieval, Chinese and Victorian times ".
100 people crowded into a room of 50 people.
This is the mainstream marketing event that Ann Summers started regularly.
This is a simple fact about consumer psychology-the pursuit of happiness is no longer taboo.
Damn guy.
Ann Summers, with an annual sales of £ 128, is now raising its mainstream status through two high sales
Opening of profile store
12 days ago, it opened 134 stores in Westfield, the West London mall, the largest shopping mall in Europe.
The store is between T-
Mobile and Halifax leisure indifference with T-shirt shop.
On December 3, Ann Summers will open a store in blue water, the mammoth Kent mall.
The lady behind the chain, one of Britain's most famous female entrepreneurs, Jacqueline Gold, said she has been working to make the chain more accessible over the past three years.
"The couple came here to spice up their sex life, not to go to some of the shabby back street shops," she explained as we walked through the carefully marketed Westfield store.
Ann Summers's shop is like a classroom full of kids-they get naughty in the back.
It's kind of non around the entrance.
Someone will find threatening underwear in the bras of the Marks & Spencer and Knickerbox chains, which Ann Summers bought in 2000. Mid-
There are more sexy lines and women's "dress up" outfits in the store-nurses, prison guards, female students.
Behind the store, behind a discreet screen, are sex toys.
Ann Summers sells 2 m Rampant Rabbit vibrator every year.
They are extremely sophisticated machines with a price of about £ 50 each, with a variety of models to choose from.
Gold MS said it was her most proud product and described the rabbit as "almost iconic ".
As if to emphasize the normal state of the product, an example of each model is displayed on the counter, allowing customers to touch and feel before buying, just like Jessops's digital camera or Tesco's Apple.
Same quality as others
Market products, these machines are developed by focus groups and tested by customer groups (
(All volunteers, of course).
Ann Summer's position in the market has been rewarded.
Although the chain lacks passenger traffic as much as the rest of the commercial street, it has experienced a good recession.
Sales of "events" such as Valentine's Day and Halloween have soared.
For example, in the week ended February 19,for-
Sales increased by 14 pc year on year.
MS Gold says the simple fact is that people have more sex during the downturn. "They do.
Staying at home is a new way to go out.
"People like to shake up in the recession," she said . "
"To be honest, we are certainly one of the retailers who are dealing well.
This is a very challenging time because there are fewer and fewer people on the street.
"We have an advantage, we are a niche market," she added . ".
That is to say, the "niche" will soon become more crowded.
Last weekend, Victoria, an American lingerie chain, secretly planned to open a store in the UK.
The Golden MS had a busy year.
She gave birth to her first child Scarlett three months ago, and now it's been six months and she's back at work.
"It's really hard to balance.
It's hard, I can't deny.
But you let it work, "she said.
The morning of the interview, Scarlett was with us at the Westfield store, her mother and a helping hand to take care of her.
We talked about women in business.
Last month, Harriet Haman, Minister of Women and Equality, said, "the nightmare of men --
In the new global economy, only the board of directors must end, otherwise it is possible for British businesses to be downgraded to "look back ".
Gold MS agrees.
"I am in full favor of women joining the board.
There are no more women in business, which is tragic.
Women are a minority, which can be intimidating in the context of the boys club, especially in the retail sector.
"In this city, women try to imitate men, and I hate that," she said . ".
Please ask Haman to MS the gender ratio of Ann Samer.
The staff of the store is about 95 pc and the headquarters is about 65 pc for women.
How does the government encourage businesses to recruit more female executives?
The issue is socially related and policy-related, according to Gould.
"I don't think it's a government problem.
When you see why women don't go back to work, you have to face the fact that many women don't want to go back.
Society is a part of it.
Family support is very important and it affects the mother's decision.
"She does say, however, that the new father should be given longer paternity leave after the birth of the child.
"I don't want to be involved in politics at all, but the matter of paternity leave needs to be considered.
"For small businesses, women go out for a year, which can cause confusion," she said . ".
Smart, dedicated, fun MS Gold is admired by her staff (
"She's so charming," said a particularly chewy person. eyed employee).
She said she admired Tesco and Primark as a retailer.
"Looking back at the past 25 years, you can see the development of Tesco. Twenty-
Five years ago, we had nothing but grocery stores selling food and washing powder.
"If you were talking a few years ago
About the people I admire
I'm talking about Marks & Spencer.
But for this market, mergers and acquisitions are going through a difficult period . "
Given the high profile of MS gold, she inevitably plays a role in many reality shows.
She flinch at the thought of it.
"I turned down Celebrity Big Brother and ice-skating one.
I will not do anything that I do not like to do, nor will I destroy what I have achieved. " She pauses.
"I love cooking though, so I will do it if asked to do the Hell kitchen.
"The Gold family has no plans to sell or sell the business, and the company remains the 100 PCs owned by its family.
Last year, Ralph, the uncle of MS Gold, sold his stake in Ann Xia's parent company, Gold Group International, to David, his brother Jacqueline's father.
"I am passionate about the brand.
I want to leave it at home.
I just don't want to be public.
"I asked her if she was going to hand over power to the next generation one day.
"It's about passion, and if Scarlett is as passionate as I am, I hope she will never want to sell it.
"The 49-year-old CV lives in Kent's favorite Ann Summers product, the Rampant Rabbit vibrator favorite actor Sir Anthony Hopkins's current favorite TV show" I love X.