Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2013. The figures and plans it cites are from 2013: SexPlace’s 60% revenue growth in the first half of the year with 7 shops, planned openings, and expansion to Colombia and Brazil. The chain’s current status is unknown.
In the middle of the economic crisis, many companies have been forced to close while others have seen their revenue fall. Meanwhile, a business opportunity has opened up with erotic shops, because people no longer have so many taboos about the subject. The new erotic shops are also nothing like the old sex shops, which had to be opened somewhere out of sight and where most customers went in wearing a cap and sunglasses, with their heads down. The sector has changed a lot since then.
If we look at the revenue of the erotic shop chain SexPlace in Spain, it has not only survived the crisis but increased its revenue by 60% in the first half of 2013, with only 7 shops in the country. Its plans include opening at least 3 more shops in Spain by September and 10 more before the end of the year, as well as expanding with new shops in Colombia, Brazil and a few other Latin American countries.
Erotic lingerie, toys, erotic literature and all kinds of accessories are increasingly in demand. The company says that, contrary to what many people might think, in 90% of cases the entrepreneurs who open these shops are women between 30 and 45 with a university education. The clichés that the erotic business was a man’s thing and for “perverts” are a thing of the past: women and stable couples now account for a very important part of the revenue in this kind of business.
This industry is probably one of the most profitable, and as time goes by and people shed most of their taboos, everything suggests that revenue in the “erotic” sector will keep growing. That makes it an excellent business opportunity, both for opening physical shops and for online stores.
In the case of SexPlace, you can join as a franchisee, as with other brands in the sector.
Further reading
Featured image: Ernie Murphy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
