16 or larger. They like that we cater for everyone. Bigger girls and, again, the tranny market, mean we stock a good range of XL and XXL stuff. We sell the sort of diaphanous babydoll thing to guys of 6ft - that sort of negligee seems to be what they like as it’s not just how it looks, it’s how it feels. Same with the shoes. It’s as much about the sensation of how they feel to wear as it is how they look. We’ve also got Roxana and Sven O underwear for guys. They’ve sold well we’re looking to source some other designs. Some of what they want wouldn’t keep you warm in a snow storm, but we try to respond to customers’ needs. Certainly, in the fetishy, something-a-bit-different end of that market, we’ve found male underwear a good seller. With the gloves, we find the black and white ones sell to women - and men - looking for a sexy look, but the neon fishnet ones, those are mostly for the club scene.”
Moving on to novelties and costumes, Mike handed us a sexy ladybird outfit and said: “Hen and stag novelties were an obvious route to go down, without upsetting the council. Some of these are ‘Gadget Shop’ items rather than sex shop lines. There’s a good following for party items. We get the Saturday Night girls who want something to mess about with on a big night out. Same with the dolls we do. We had an inflated one ‘guarding’ the back door and some delivery guys bought one because they were going out for the weekend and wanted one for a laugh. That was their story anyway!”
He continued: “Our customer split is roughly 50/50. The women we see say they feel comfortable here because it’s unlicensed, bright, clean and tidy. We keep on top of that, ensuring it’s a nice experience when anyone visits and welcoming. We pride ourselves on being helpful too. If trying ten pairs of shoes on is what it takes to make a sale, we’ll happily help them do that. The change of sign, from just Heelz to Heelz
Adult Store has also brought more people in.” As an unlicensed shop, the toy range was compact and bijou. “The mini-wands are doing very well for us,” said Mike. “They’re like a miniature version of the Hitatchi, which people like. They’re a good price for a multi-speed vibe. We can’t go too mad with what stock we display. We can’t push the council too far as the change of name from just Heelz to Heelz Adult Store worried them a bit. Those issues seem to have gone away at the moment but we don’t want to draw their interest, so what we do with the toys is pretty low key. It’s true of the whole store actually. We’ve limited space, giving an intimate feel, so the last thing we want to do is over-stock and make it feel overcrowded, overwhelming and with so much choice customers don’t know which way to go. If it turns out we don’t have what they want, we might direct them to the website. Every customer gets a flyer in their bag - that’s the rule - which tells them about the website, shop details, opening times and parking.”
BROTHERS IN-STORE
Mike joined the adult industry after owning a gym in Derby which - due to council issues - closed down in the late nineties. He was left with some money and plenty of time and decided to make a new business out of a hobby which, in his case, included dabbling in contact magazines and amateur porn. The All Amateurs DVD label was formed and in 2003 it released Homemade/Amateur Housewives and Girlfriends 1, which is now up to volume 10. DVM has released over 50 DVDs since that first title and older titles still sell, as Mike explained: “The genuine amateur niche isn’t an overly exploited one. Because they’re ‘the real deal’, they’ve always done well. They’re genuine UK girls and couples, and we do a bit of a ‘home town’ thing on the DVDs, so you get a feel
for who they are. In the early days, when we did Midland Shaggers say, there’d be landmarks and road signs from around Leicester, and those would be flying off the shelves in and around Leicester then.” Brother Dave joined the business soon after it started and the McGees financed the production of the early films from their savings. The workload tends to be split between Mike overseeing wholesale and Dave having a focus on the toys, shoes, websites and shop. “That said, we help each other out with anything that needs doing, so there are no clear lines. When it’s a shared business, you can’t really turn around and say, ‘that’s your job’ when it’s our job. That’s how it works and it works well.”
THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF DVM ENTERPRISES...
The company visits its customers on a regular basis, as Mike explained: “We used to have a couple of days a week out in a van, delivering, but with the way things are for the industry as a whole, we’ve needed to change our routes to get to see more people. Some have gone unlicensed or have moved away from certain product areas so we have to carry a much wider range of stock for them. Not just the DVDs on the van, but a mix. We constantly have to change lines around so when we make our deliveries, we’ve always got something new on board to show and talk about. We have six or seven runs around the country, travelling out one day and seeing customers on the way up, and the following day we’ll come back down the other side of the country, to cover as many people as we can on one trip. I suppose we could drop customer visits and just post everything out - which we do for customers needing stock in a hurry, if we’ll not be seeing them for a few days - but the philosophy behind spending money on fuel and a hotel is twofold. Partly, the carriers charge so much, so as long
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Erotic Trade Only June 2012
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