Peaches and Cream

Company – Peaches and Cream
Established – May 1999
Head Office Located – Glenfield, Auckland, NZ
How many staff – 50+
How many stores/offices/locations – 14 Retail stores across New Zealand
URL – www.peachesandcream.co.nz and www.thegrinder.co.nz

What does a typical week at your business look like?
Get into the office early and liaise with our overseas suppliers and see what new shipments are coming in for the week ahead. Schedule that week’s meetings with our H/O team, sales reps, business mentor and Retail Manager who looks after all of the day to day running of our stores. Check the past week sales and compare to the previous year to see how we are tracking.

If we look at your retail business 10 years ago versus now, what changes did you see and how have your responded to them?
10 years ago our stores were smaller and more male orientated with lots of magazines and DVDs. Today our stores are large, bright, female and couples friendly. With a huge selection of toys, lingerie and a smaller section with DVDs and mags. 3 years ago we did a major re-branding and put our stores all under the ‘Peaches and Cream’ brand instead of ‘Erox’ with the exception of ‘The Grinder’ which caters for the gay cliental, with speciality products and designer menswear.

What are some of the best things your business has done/what is your business especially proud of?
We are really proud to be the market leader in New Zealand for Adult retail; we have the most stores around the country and have something for all walks of life and interests. We are frequently having product training sessions with our staff so they are kept up to date with all new products released and can share all the info with the customers on the best items for their needs.

What have been some of the best moments at your business?
Quickly re-opening our Christchurch store after the second earthquake and second relocation! We managed to find a new location not too far from our last one, which was surprising as so many of the buildings/stores were badly damaged and destroyed or landlord didn’t want an adult store. The Christchurch public fully got behind us and when we had our grand opening day they came down in masses, that was a huge day for us and their support was so heart warming.

What are a few of the key variables in order of importance to ensure the best chance of success in adult retail?
1. Great motivated staff
2. Great motivated staff
3. Great motivated staff
4. Good stock range
5. Marketing
6. Good relationships with suppliers
Great staff are your best key asset.

What makes a great store location?
High visibility and good parking.

Does your business target a specific customer demographic? How would you define your customer base?
Customer base would be 30+, couples and females. Being a small population we try to cater for everyone. Our store ‘The Grinder’ is a mainly gay orientated store so we cover all bases. We have our online business as well so even if you aren’t located near one of our locations you can still order the same great products and get them shipped to you anywhere.

How important are sales staff/store staff?
They are VITAL without them we don’t have a business, if you don’t have good retail staff you might as well close the doors.

What makes a great adult retail staff member?
Someone who is bubbly, has experience with toys, friendly and someone who is willing to learn about new things. Open minded is a must as a wide variety of people come in.

How often would your business change a store layout or re-merchandise?
As new ranges arrive quite frequently we are always tweaking the stores to fit in the new items. Promotional displays are done every few weeks to fit in with the latest deals we have running and the different celebrations throughout the year are also themed in store (Valentines, Christmas, Easter, Halloween etc).

How important is new product or product selection in a store?
Very important! Lots of regulars like to try the latest new things and add to their collection. It also gives staff great new conversation starters. You need to cover all the basic ranges and have a selection of both affordable but quality items and the higher range for the customer who is after a bit more luxurious exclusive item.

What trends has your business observed in adult pleasure products?
We have a huge influx for remote control items, re-chargeable and better more expensive products. The male enhancement ranges have also dramatically increased from – Pills to pumps and everything in-between!

How does your business keep informed about adult pleasure products?
We go to the tradeshows around the world (ExpoMark, Sexpo, ANME, Eurofame) and keep close contact with all our suppliers and they will often fly down to visit us with new lines and do staff training while they are here.

What makes a successful product?
Quality materials, long lasting, strong power. Good packaging and design. If it has those key elements and combine that with great sales staff it will be a success!

What have been some of the best selling items of all time?
For us it has been: We-Vibe, Fleshlights, G-Vibe, Rabbit Vibe, Male performance pills, Penis pumps and more recently the ’50 Shades of Grey’ range.

How is your business responding to the rise in ecommerce sales?
We are doing more promotions online and in store, ship both domestically and internationally, built our website so it is easy to navigate and mobile friendly, adding all the new ranges once they come in. We have a full time web designer who looks after all the day-to-day running.

How would you view the market for adult pleasure products in New Zealand, in general? Are there any challenges particular to operating in New Zealand versus Australia?
In New Zealand due to the smaller population the market place isn’t as huge as compared to Australia. Even though we have the most stores throughout the country, we still have a bit of competition from other smaller owner operated companies. We also have extra taxes with the shipping of lingerie and the exchange rates fluctuating can affect our bottom line.

What advice could you give someone intending to start in the adult retail today?
‘Don’t be an idiot’ lol, think long and hard about it. I wouldn’t recommend starting from scratch; it would be better to find an existing store and then makes changes to how you want it.

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