Jump to content

Ann Summers: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 30: Line 30:
But a chance visit to a [[Tupperware]]-style fashion party in an east [[London]] [[apartment|flat]] in [[1981]] changed everything - Jacqueline saw the potential of selling sexy [[lingerie]] and [[sex toys]] to [[women]] in the privacy of their own homes. Jacqueline launched the Ann Summers Party Plan - a home marketing plan for sex toys, with a strict "no men allowed" policy. These parties were and remain immensely popular, providing women with an excuse to meet for a party and talk about sex, and have entered British popular culture. They also provided the company with a way of circumventing the law which limited their presentation space for sex toys<ref>http://www.zyra.org.uk/annsummers.htm</ref>.
But a chance visit to a [[Tupperware]]-style fashion party in an east [[London]] [[apartment|flat]] in [[1981]] changed everything - Jacqueline saw the potential of selling sexy [[lingerie]] and [[sex toys]] to [[women]] in the privacy of their own homes. Jacqueline launched the Ann Summers Party Plan - a home marketing plan for sex toys, with a strict "no men allowed" policy. These parties were and remain immensely popular, providing women with an excuse to meet for a party and talk about sex, and have entered British popular culture. They also provided the company with a way of circumventing the law which limited their presentation space for sex toys<ref>http://www.zyra.org.uk/annsummers.htm</ref>.


Jacqueline was made a director of the company in [[1987]], and in [[1993]] became [[Managing Director]]. Jacqueline transformed the chain into a multi-million pound business, with a sales force today of over 7,500 women as party organisers; 136 high street stores in the UK, [[Ireland]], [[Channel Islands]] and one each in [[Spain]] and [[Australia]]; with an annual turnover of £155 million. In [[1999]] the chain opened its website, and in [[2000]] it acquired the five stores of the ''[[Knickerbox]]'' brand <ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/699230.stm ,BBC News, 3 April 2000</ref> and its range of premium site lingerie kiosks - ''"Knickerbox"'' concessions are now in every Ann Summers store.
Jacqueline was made a director of the company in [[1987]], [[Managing Director]] in [[1993]] and later Chief Executive. Jacqueline transformed the chain into a multi-million pound business, with a sales force today of over 7,500 women as party organisers; 136 high street stores in the UK, [[Ireland]], [[Channel Islands]] and [[Valencia]],[[Spain]]; with an annual turnover of £155 million. In [[1999]] the chain opened its website, and in [[2000]] it acquired the five stores of the ''[[Knickerbox]]'' brand <ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/699230.stm ,BBC News, 3 April 2000</ref> and its range of premium site lingerie kiosks - ''"Knickerbox"'' concessions are now in every Ann Summers store.


Although the chain still has a number of licenced sex shops in [[Bristol]] and [[London]] selling a wide range of adult DVDs, Jacqueline has described the latest award-winning new store concept as: ''"Wonderful! Every time I walk in, it feels as if I‘m entering an intimate, sexy and very girly boudoir. I just love it."''<ref>http://www.newbusiness.co.uk/article/07/11/2006/building_a_brand.html</ref>
Although the chain still has a number of licenced sex shops in [[Bristol]] and [[London]] selling a wide range of adult DVDs, Jacqueline has described the latest award-winning new store concept as: ''"Wonderful! Every time I walk in, it feels as if I‘m entering an intimate, sexy and very girly boudoir. I just love it."''<ref>http://www.newbusiness.co.uk/article/07/11/2006/building_a_brand.html</ref>

Revision as of 19:18, 9 October 2007

Ann Summers Ltd
Company typePrivate (Ltd)
IndustryRetail
FoundedLondon
HeadquartersWhyteleafe, Surrey, CR3 0BZ
Key people
David Gold
Ralph Gold
Jacqueline Gold(CEO)
ProductsClothing
Adult toys
Revenue£155 million (04-05)
Websitehttp://www.annsummers.com

Ann Summers is the most successful British chain of High street sex shops.

As an unlicensed sex shop under British law, it means only a small proportion of the available product lines can be sex toys and the range of pornography sold is strictly limited in both volume and content.

History

Previous strong growth has been replaced by falling sales and profits have halved from £2.8m in 2005 - 2006 to £1.53m pretax for the period 2006 - 2007[1][2]. Profits doubled to £9.5m in 2001 - 2002[3], £8.9m in 2002 - 2003[4] ,falling to £3.2m in 2003 - 2004, following investment[5], dropping to £2.2M in 2004 - 2005[6]. Other parts of GGI, the parent company have also been sold off, such as Gold Air, which is now owned by Air Partner [7], along with a large number of Birmingham City shares[8] and a management buyout of a leading publishing business[9][10]. GGI also own shares in the Sunday Sport[11]. Passion8, stringfellows and Beate Uhse AG are some of Ann Summers competitors.

The company was named after the female secretary of the male founder and has always targeted female consumers.

Having worked at Royal Doulton, Jacqueline Gold decided she did not want to go into management, and asked her father David Gold to gain extra work experience. After acquiring the four stores of the "Ann Summers" chain in 1972 with his brother Ralph Gold, they gave Jacqueline at the age of 19 summer work experience in May 1979 - Jacqueline was paid £45 a week, less than the tea lady[12].

As her parents had separated when she was 12, Jacqueline was not close to her father. Gold also didn't like the atmosphere at "Ann Summers", which was Gold Group's "up market" clean sex shop. Jacqueline says of her introduction: "It wasn't a very nice atmosphere to work in. It was all men, it was the sex industry as we all perceive it to be."

But a chance visit to a Tupperware-style fashion party in an east London flat in 1981 changed everything - Jacqueline saw the potential of selling sexy lingerie and sex toys to women in the privacy of their own homes. Jacqueline launched the Ann Summers Party Plan - a home marketing plan for sex toys, with a strict "no men allowed" policy. These parties were and remain immensely popular, providing women with an excuse to meet for a party and talk about sex, and have entered British popular culture. They also provided the company with a way of circumventing the law which limited their presentation space for sex toys[13].

Jacqueline was made a director of the company in 1987, Managing Director in 1993 and later Chief Executive. Jacqueline transformed the chain into a multi-million pound business, with a sales force today of over 7,500 women as party organisers; 136 high street stores in the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands and Valencia,Spain; with an annual turnover of £155 million. In 1999 the chain opened its website, and in 2000 it acquired the five stores of the Knickerbox brand [14] and its range of premium site lingerie kiosks - "Knickerbox" concessions are now in every Ann Summers store.

Although the chain still has a number of licenced sex shops in Bristol and London selling a wide range of adult DVDs, Jacqueline has described the latest award-winning new store concept as: "Wonderful! Every time I walk in, it feels as if I‘m entering an intimate, sexy and very girly boudoir. I just love it."[15]

The company employs a series of celebrity models to show off its lingerie, who presently include Kate Lawler, Nancy Sorrell and Emma B.

Controversy

Due to the adult nature of the stores, Ann Summers has faced a lot of opposition, both legal and social. For example, when attempting to open a new store in Tunbridge Wells[16], they were accused of "degrading marriage"[17]. In 2003, they won a legal battle to advertise for employees in job centres[18] and an ASA complaint was rejected [19].

Ann Summers in Perth was forced to close after the local people complained about the store (mostly from parents embarrassed by questions raised by their children) which also led to other problems with the store.[1] This makes Perth the only UK city where an Ann Summers store failed to take off. [2]

In 2002, the company was hit with a number of problems including the theft of some of its internal IT systems[20] and a recall of its best selling vibrator[21].

In 2006 Muslim groups were offended with the release of a blow up doll[22]

In 2007, the company faced legal issues with Apple Inc due to its release of an electronic add-on to music players called the iGasm. The company has not backed down despite cease and desist orders by Apple. [3]. Also, a former employee was pursuing a libel claim against Jacqueline Gold[23].

Trivia

The Ann Summers store in Liverpool city centre is the former home of Beatles manager Brian Epstein's record store NEMS.

Notes

  1. Note that the jacquelinegold.com website says that she became director in 1987 and Chief Executive only in 1993, whereas Ann Summers corporate literature says she was heading the company as soon as 1987.
  2. Again the jacquelinegold.com and company websites are contradictory - the former saying that a web presence was established in 1999, the latter in 1997.

References

  1. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/08/21/cnann121.xml, Telegraph, 21 August 2007
  2. ^ http://www.fmwf.com/newsarticle.php?id=1374&cat=5, Financial Mail Women's Forum, 26 August 2007
  3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/business/2117823.stm ,BBC News, 9 July 2002
  4. ^ http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=930&id=553112004 ,The Scotsman, 15 May 2004
  5. ^ http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=192102005 ,The Scotsman, 20 February 2005
  6. ^ http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article708255.ece ,Times Online, 23 April 2006
  7. ^ http://www.davidgold.co.uk/business/daily-telegraph.html
  8. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/6900404.stm, BBC News, 16 July 2007
  9. ^ http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/David_Gold_Gold_Group_International.YXIjRWJonnYeow.html ,Growing Business, October 2005
  10. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=438444&in_page_id=1879&cid=0&ei=6F_iRb7yLL7QHPP0jXo ,Daily Mail ,26 Feb 2007
  11. ^ http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article2224869.ece, Times Online, 9 August 2007
  12. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5220856.stm, BBC News, 22 August 2006
  13. ^ http://www.zyra.org.uk/annsummers.htm
  14. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/699230.stm ,BBC News, 3 April 2000
  15. ^ http://www.newbusiness.co.uk/article/07/11/2006/building_a_brand.html
  16. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/england/kent/4189176.stm ,BBC News, 26 August 2005
  17. ^ "Family fortunes Ann Summers style", BBC News, 22 August 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2006.
  18. ^ http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=930&id=672582003 ,Scotsman, 18 June 2003
  19. ^ "'Hotbot' adult poster banned", BBC News, 9 April 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2006.
  20. ^ http://www.computing.co.uk/vnunet/news/2117858/anne-summers-offers-reward, Computing, 5 March 2002
  21. ^ http://u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=24185
  22. ^ http://news.independent.co.uk/people/pandora/article344202.ece, Independent, 9 February 2006
  23. ^ http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx?issue=13002007091600000000001001&page=8&article=cc897791-4557-4506-8451-2dc4385745e6&key=Xp7m6GUcZW3qiK+3JssRFA==&feed=rss
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ann_Summers&oldid=163390739"