In the last issue we revealed the finalists for the 2013 ETO Awards and I’d like to pass on my sincere congratulations to every single finalist. Whether you go on to win your category or not, you have already beaten off stiff competition to get to this stage and can feel justly proud that your [...]
In the March issue of ETO we look back at the life and times of AITA, the operatic-sounding trade association which is facing its final curtain. I was planning to run a standard-size feature recording AITA’s highlights but, when I actually did the looking back, there were a lot more than I remembered and it [...]
The poor old British High Street took a bit of a kicking earlier this year when specialist retail chains Jessops, HMV and Blockbuster called in administrators within days of each other.
I strongly suspect that 2012 has been the best year ever for pleasure products, with so many previously niche items finding their way into the mainstream and retailer after retailer reporting record sales figures. Who, this time last year, would have possibly predicted that at one point in the summer there would be a global [...]
I am indebted to William W Watt for the quote: “Do not put your faith in what statistics say until you have carefully considered what they do not say.”
I hope every retailer is making hay (fifty shades of hay) while the sun continues to shine on ‘that’ erotic fiction trilogy. In the latest issue of ETO Katie Byrne of Ann Summers tells us how the chain has been reacting to the phenomenon and Emily Dubberley, who appeared on This Morning to talk about [...]
In the week before the ETO Show, the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) released figures for the month of May 2012 which revealed that all retail sales values showed an increase of 3.3% over May 2011, with retail sales volumes estimated to have risen by 2.4%.
After all we’ve been through over the past four years, can there really be any retailers left with staff who couldn’t give two hoots about their customers? Consumer group Which? discovered that there could indeed, in its May 2012 customer service survey of more than 11,000 consumers.
When the overall economic climate has been so miserable for so long it’s easy to forget that there are some firms which are not just surviving but actively thriving. A fine example is Lovehoney, where I spent an enjoyable afternoon last month talking business with the owners. The resulting feature is on page 26 of the May issue of ETO and it should make very interesting reading for anyone in the adult market – and some will find it particularly interesting.
Apologies in advance if you feel we are banging our own drum a bit this month, but it’s not every day that a publication chalks up 100 issues. We are marking the milestone in a number of ways including compiling a list of what have been the most important 100 pleasure products that we have encountered during our time in the industry. Part one is in the April issue and you can actually win 100 pleasure products if you are the first person to guess what our top three will be, in order. Tweet your guesses to @ETOMagazine and mention #ETOTop100.
