Internet, TV, film fuel sex toy industry's multi-billion-dollar growth

With the po movie-making industry reportedly shrinking in the Sanu2009Feando Valley, another — adult novelty manufacturing and distribution — has mushroomed into an economic powerhouse.

“It’s the biggest un-talked-about industry in the Valley,” said William W. Roberts, director of the Sanu2009Feando Valley Economic Research Center at Calu2009State Northridge.

But somebody’s talking — and buying, to the tune of about $15u2009billion in revenue for the sex toy industry in 2014, according to Statistic Brain, which culls worldwide data about a variety of business sectors, such as domestic box office and concert ticket sales.

This adult niche, which includes a wide range of products such as lotions, vibrators, clothing, props and fuiture, could hit $50u2009billion in revenue by 2020, according to an article last summer in Forbes magazine.

Sex toys go mainstream

Fueled by inteet sales, exposure from the HBO series “Sex and the City,” and the film “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the sex toy sector has become more mainstream over the last several years.

“We saw our sales triple when ‘Fifty Shade’ came out. We didn’t even know what was going on,” said Lisa Lawless, founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Science & Art in Sexuality. She has also operated Holistic Wisdom, an online sex toy store for 16u2009years, and she offers consulting services to the sector.

Evidence that the sector is more mainstream is just a mouse click away.

Personal sex enhancement products are available online at retailers, including major chains such as Wal-Mart. The CVS website has a Sexual Health option and category for vibrators and sex toys while Amazon offers a Sexual Wellness section that shoppers can browse.

‘Filling a retail need’

The industry’s roots run deep into North Hollywood, where in 1996 Ron Braverman acquired a 1,500-square-foot facility, hired nine employees and began manufacturing and distributing sex toys under the Doc Johnson label.

“The San Feando Valley is still the epicenter,” said Chad Braverman, Ron’s son and the companies chief operating officer/chief creative officer.

Doc Johnson is one of the sectors biggest players.

He also credits “Sex and the City,” which aired from 1998 to 2004, as being the tipping point that spread wider acceptance of sexual products.

“You had these four strong women who were role models and one of the underlying (plot points) was a sex toy and they were using it and talking about it,” Chad Braverman said. “Before, people were buying the products but not talking about it.”

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Doc Johnson’s track record seems to support this. The company is celebrating its 40thu2009aiversary and has grown into a multi-building complex totaling 250,000u2009square feet and employing about 450u2009people when demand peaks in advance of the winter holidays.

And it’s a family affair. Ron Braverman’s daughter, Erica, handles social media for the company.

Ron Braverman is one of the founders of the Chatsworth-based Adult Novelty Expo, which last month held its 20th-aual business-to-business Manufacturers Expo at the Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel.

About 100u2009manufacturers displayed their wares at the three-day event, which attracted more than 700u2009retailers.

Like other trade shows, longtime friends reunited, new business relationships were formed and products were ordered.

Braverman’s company occupied one of the larger spaces in the hotel’s convention center, and it was a bustling place on a recent Monday moing.

“It’s like any other business in the world,” he said while sitting at a small conference table. “We’re selling and filling a retail need.”

And women were as well- represented as men on both the product-development and retail side of the show.

Next to Braverman’s booth was another large display space occupied by CalExotics, a company founded in 1994 by Chinou2009Hills resident Susan Colvin. The company also markets a luxury line under the Jopen brand.

CalExotics operates out of a 140,000-square-foot facility in Ontario, has 75u2009employees and a catalog with more than 3,000u2009items.

“We just wanted to create a company that was geared to females and be couples friendly,” Colvin said. “From that point on, we improved our products, our packaging and used better materials to make a more reliable and more powerful product for women. They are very mainstream-looking and they could be on your coffee table and people may not realize it is an adult product.”

One of them on display at the trade show was the company’s Mini Marvels Silicone Marvelous Massager, which looks like a computer mouse or paper weight and is shaped like a clam shell.

It opens and closes over the user’s fingers and the package contains a USB cable that can plug into a computer to recharge the device’s battery.

With more adult films being distributed via the inteet, the shopping experience for novelties has become more welcoming because women no longer have to go into adult book and video stores to purchase the products, Colvin said.

“Retail stores changed dramatically over the years. We worked with them to make them couple friendly and the clerks are well- trained, friendly and helpful,” she said. “Times have changed. Young people expect to use massagers and toys. They have a different perspective than people that are a little bit older.

“People now assume they should have a healthy, active sex life. That’s an important part of being an adult. That attitude is more pervasive that it was 25u2009years ago.”

And the devices can be therapeutic for people with health issues, she said.

That message is being spread by organizations such as NAASAS.

“There are health issues actually being addressed by the products we are selling,” Lawless said.