Mumbo jumbo: be daring, be open!

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The story began a couple of years ago. At that time, a curious thought came across our minds: what if we put a sex shop looking unlike a sex shop? A place that anyone can visit, regardless of their age, in order to find a thing that fits for them, with a modest remark: every item there is to be somewhat "peppery" anyway.

We undertook a serious analysis: we gathered information, conducted some inquiries, made plans and designed the concepts. The idea proved to be far from simple: to open a retail chain of stores that even the unprepared buyers could visit with no fear. Those who are interested in the 18+ topic, yet are unconscious of the fact, and feel scared to step into a common sex shop.  We intended to establish a place deprived of the dirty design and those stereotyped showcases and we wanted to have it located at a shopping center definitely. That's the way Shtuchki-Driuchki appeared. It is a chain of shops selling peppery items. What does the word combination "peppery items" mean? At our shop, you can buy everything for love and comfort, for the relationship including sex. They are gifts and souvenirs, textile and tableware, intimate cosmetics and lingerie, adult toys and accessories. Our buyers comprise an audience of different age and preferences. Someone seeks a gag present for a specific occasion, others search for some "spicy" souvenirs for no particular reason, just to have a laugh, some people come to buy a specific product: for household, for private use, for people they love and, of course, the items of the 18+ segment. The location within big shopping centers provides us with the possibility of addressing both our target audience and those casual visitors who come to our shop for the first time, fearless, and leave the shop with sex toys. We show people that sex items are meant for everyone, they are accessible and open. 

In October, 2017, our first store was opened in Tyumen', during 2018- three more stores were opened, one of them was established in the city of Izhevsk.

At the moment, we are a progressive, long-term franchise with a new business approach, an interesting product range and a pair of aces in the hole.

How do we differ from the other shops? What can we offer from those things the market has never seen before?

1.   A barrier-free entrance to the big shopping centers of the city. Some clear windows, a spacious 0+ zone, a friendly climate and a smart design, basically different from that of the traditional intimate stores. All this proves to be very attractive and nothing risky for the owners of the TCs, they are willing to cooperate and promote us.

2.   Competent trade matrix and merchandising-no lingering lots, so to say, all the items are on top and are sold out rapidly as hot cakes.

3.   A thoroughly shaped marketing strategy, from advertising action stage to dealing with social media. We follow the uniform style and design at every step.

4.   We enjoy doing things, not chattering. Only three weeks passed from having chosen a place to the shop's opening. To say the truth, we are proud of ourselves!

5.   After a month of operation, one of our shops managed to cover the expenses. The benefit proved bigger that the costs. It is a success!

6.   We are against Chinese off- brands. So, we don't sell cheap, low-quality goods. If we could compare ourselves to some popular brands, we would be something like Zara Home, having a peppery implication.

7.   And the key point is that we've got our own product range. Nowadays, it includes sex toys, while the souvenirs and the textile are to be added soon. At the beginning, we expected to address younger and more daring audience. But, as the experience showed, such products are demanded at the ages of 45 and 55. It allowed us to diversify the range to attract much more customers that we had intended. Still, we are very pleased with the fact and we go on exploring this direction. 

But, we are not going to open all cards, let us save the suspense for later, up to the exhibition Ero Expo, scheduled for September. See you there!