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A major highlight of the of the Annual STOREROTICA “What’s New Marketplace” Convention and Tradeshow—an element which separates it from other similar conventions—is the “Smart Panel Sessions.”  Our three days of panel sessions, workshops and seminars feature some of the brightest minds the erotic retail industry has to offer, and are designed to help owners and buyers make “smart” decisions as they navigate their way through this difficult economy into a new era of retail success. These business leaders, from both inside and outside of the erotic retail industry, will pass along their wisdom and expertise to our attendees in highly personalized panel sessions that encourage audience-speaker interaction.

The STOREROTICA “Heads of State” Roundtable Discussions

August 24, 2010, 10:30 am to 12: 30 pm

The Mirage, Las Vegas

Every industry has its forerunners, its luminaries and its heads of state.  These are the people who have become recognized as the industry’s experts—the ones who lead, while others follow.  They’ve blazed trails, been innovators, and changed the landscape of an entire industry.

These people are the “Heads of State” for the erotic retail industry, and they are coming to STOREROTICA 2010.

The STOREROTICA “Heads of State” roundtable discussions will take place on Tuesday, August 24th, during our STOREROTICA’s “What’s New Marketplace” Convention & Tradeshow.  Each one of these “Heads of State” will have their own roundtable, and STOREROTICA attendees will have the very rare and valuable opportunity to sit down with the industry heavyweights of their choice and speak with them in a very intimate setting.

The “Heads of State” from the erotic retail industry, all in one place at one time, sharing their experiences and offering their own unique brand of advice—when has anything like this ever taken place?

The following erotic retail industry executives (listed in alphabetical order) have confirmed their appearance at the STOREROTICA 2010 Show’s “Heads of State” Roundtable discussions. Each one of these executives will have their own roundtable, and STOREROTICA attendees will have the very rare and valuable opportunity to sit down with the industry heavyweights of their choice and speak with them in a very intimate setting.  (Note: Please check this website regularly, as more “Heads of State” will be added in the coming weeks.)

Tom Berger:   Tom Berger is Chief Executive Officer of the popular Fairvilla chain of erotic department stores located throughout Florida, and has been with the company for more than 20 years.  Known as the “architects of adult retail,” Fairvilla has consistently been at the forefront of knowing how to sell intimate apparel and erotic products to the general public, most notably to the couples market.   Berger has consulted other erotic retailers in the past regarding sales strengthening tactics, how to create mainstream appeal for erotic retail and the importance of maintaining a good relationship with government municipalities.  Fairvilla is a three-time nominee for STOREROTICA’s Store Chain of the Year Award, and is the 2009 recipient of AVN’s “O” award for Outstanding Boutique, recognizing “exceptional design and service in a single store.”

Ron Braverman:  Ron Braverman is the President of novelty giant, Doc Johnson.   At the time that Braverman took the helm of Doc Johnson in 1976, the company manufactured only a handful of products. However Braverman’s vision fueled his innovation and today the company boasts a catalog of over 2,000 items.  Each year’s new launches continue to raise the bar in terms of materials, quality, design, technology, safety and packaging. Under his leadership, Doc Johnson has won numerous awards, from Best Packaging to Adult Novelty Company of the Year. Women’s Health, a top health/lifestyle magazine, named Doc Johnson’s Lucid Dream #14, from the popular Lucid Dreams collection, “Maxi” Vibe of the Year in 2007, and bestowed a “Best in Sex” honor to the company for Doc’s Cocktails, a popular line of oral play lubricants, in the 2008 “Sex Awards” issue.

Mark Franks:  Before becoming President and CEO of the Castle Megastore chain of erotic retail department stores, Mark Franks covered virtually every other area of the adult entertainment industry.  From owning a video production outfit to running a distribution operation out of Amsterdam serving most of Western Europe to being a partner in an adult novelty company, Franks has experienced—and overcome—his share of challenges.  Through the past six years Franks has been the man responsible for revitalizing the Castle name into a powerhouse in erotic retail.  Today, Castle Megastore boasts 18 stores across the country. 


Larry Garland: Since founding Eldorado back in 1974, Larry Garland is used to changing with the times. From a jewelry trader to a smoking accessory dealer to a national distributor of intimate products, Garland’s company has evolved within the ever-changing arena of erotic retail.  Today, Eldorado has grown into one of the most trusted distributors of adult product in the country.  “With a distributor and store owner, it’s all about having the right kind of communication,” says Garland.  “It’s a about having faith in each other.”  Eldorado is a back-to-back (2008, 2009) winner of STOREROTICA’s Distributor of the Year Award.



Phyllis Heppenstall:  With nearly three decades of experience as a retailer, manufacturer and wholesaler, Phyllis Heppenstall is one of the industry’s leading figures.  As the owner and founder of the Peekay erotic retail chain consisting of over 30 A Touch of Romance, Lovers, and Conrev stores, as well as being a manufacturer and wholesaler of a vast array of adult products, Heppenstall is an expert in virtually every aspect of erotic retail. Peekay was awarded the very first STOREROTICA Store Chain of the Year Award in 2007. 



Peggy Mac:  Peggy Mac is the Vice President of Sales for Digital Playground. Digital Playground is a world leader in adult filmmaking and interactive formats, and boasts the largest HD library available. Since 1993, Digital Playground has earned over 200 awards and they currently maintain more than 40 percent of the adult DVD market. It is the first company to produce a true, crossover adult title, Pirates. That film went on to receive an “R” rating from the Motion Picture Academy Association, gaining distribution in all of the major, mainstream retailers.
 
Nick Orlandino:  Since joining Pipedream Products in 1992 as their VP of Sales and Marketing, Nick Orlandino has worked his way up to now being the Chief Operating Officer of one of the largest manufacturers of adult novelties, gag gifts and pleasure products in the world. Orlandino is included in the 2008/2009 Princeton Premier Registry, where he is listed among the most accomplished business leaders and professionals. Throughout the years, Orlandino has received numerous industry awards and achievements, including being named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s list of fastest-growing companies.  Pipedream was also the recipient of back-to-back STOREROTICA Manufacturer of the Year Awards.


Christopher C. Scharff: Christopher C. Scharff is one of the most respected executives in the intimate apparel industry since taking over Dreamgirl International 2003.  In his six years as CEO, Scharff has dedicated his time to upgrading Dreamgirl merchandising, product development, quality and domestic and international sales efforts.  Scharff received both his undergraduate and Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley.  His Bachelor of Arts degree was in Economics with Phi Beta Kappa honors.  Scharff also attended the University de Bordeaux and the Universite de Paris I, Pantheon-Sorbonne in France.  From 1992 to 1995, Scharff served on the board of Directors of the California Apparel Industry Coalition.  Currently, Scharff is an Executive Member of the Fashion Group International and a Member of the California Fashion Association. 

Martin Tucker:  With a degree in Metallurgical Engineering, Martin Tucker started Topco Sales in 1973 and grew it to becoming a leading manufacturer of adult toys. With an emphasis on research and development, he has remained on the cutting edge by consistently incorporating new technological discoveries into the conceptualization of quality adult products. Three of Tucker’s scientific breakthroughs have been the creation of low-cost vibrators, products made from Cyberskin material (a name he coined), and the Virtual Girl doll. In February 2010, Tucker began a new factory in China (called MyWorld), where he is designing new products for the next generation of adult toys in this vastly growing industry.    

The “How-To” Workshop Series

For those attending the STOREROTICA “How-To” workshop series, you’d better bring a pad and a pen.  Each of these one-hour workshops is designed to provide very specific how-to advice in four very specific retail categories.

A domain by any other name

Where there’s smoke, there’s profIt

How to set up a smoke section in your store
Monday, August 23, 2-3 pm
Moderator:  John Cornetta, successful erotic retail storeowner and former Publisher of Adult Store Buyer Magazine.

For stores looking to supplement their current inventory and attract an entirely new stream of customers, it may be time to take a look at establishing a smoke section.  As several erotic retail storeowners have learned, smoke products can be just as profitable as the rest of the store’s inventory, and allow retailers to continue the industry trend of diversification. 
This STOREROTICA “How-to” workshop will offer valuable advice on how to establish a smoke section in your store, how to know which products to order first, and how to train your employees to know the intricacies of selling smoke products.
About the moderator:  Since 2000, John Cornetta’s Love Shack chain of erotic retail stores has spread to nearly a dozen locations in Georgia.  In 2002, he opened his first Burn Smoke Shop, and in the immediate success that followed, integrated a Burn Smoke Shop into each Love Shack location. Cornetta says that, through this slow economy, “smoke (products have) kept the stores open.”

Living Room Sex? 

How to get the most out of home parties
Monday, August 23, 1-2 pm
Moderator: Tamara Payton Bell, Founder and President of the Home Party Planners Association of America (HPPA)

Home parties—held informally, intimately, often in living rooms with small groups of mainly women—are consistently growing in popularity.  Now, erotic retailers can start an additional revenue source by working together with home party planners, or by creating their own home party divisions. 
By selling product in the comfort of someone’s home, home party planners are providing a new gateway into erotic retail stores. This STOREROTICA “How-to” workshop will offer tips on how stores can work directly with home party planners to promote their stores, as well as the many areas brick-and-mortars must be aware of before taking their storefronts to the suburbs.
About the moderator: Tamara Bell has been in the party planning industry for the past 25 years.  Since starting HPPPA, she has assisted several erotic retailers develop home party divisions within their stores and consulted their staff.  “Attending this workshop will help retailers understand how home parties work and how incorporating this division into their already developed store will bring in new customers who do not otherwise patronize their business now,” says Bell.  

Can I help you?

How to have the most knowledgeable staff
Monday, August 23, 3-4 pm
Moderator:  Phyllis Heppenstall, owner of the Peekay store chain

Sure, they may look good while selling a toy, a piece of lingerie or a DVD, but how much does your staff actually know about the products that you’re sellling in your store?  Do your employees know how to answer your customers’ questions? Do they make your customers feel welcome and comfortable in your store? 
Just about every product in your store would qualify as an “intimate” product.  As such, it is vitally important for the staff at an adult store or lingerie boutique to be properly trained and educated.  This STOREROTICA “How-to” workshop will offer tips on how properly hire and train the best staff, how to get free product training for your staff from industry vendors, and how to ensure that your employees are helping you establish repeat customers—rather than chasing them out the door.
About the moderator:  With nearly three decades of experience as a retailer, manufacturer and wholesaler, Phyllis Heppenstall is one of the industry’s leading figures. Heppenstall says that having well-trained employees is one of the keys to the Peekay chain’s overwhelming success.  “In this workshop,” she says, “we’ll discuss the ways for storeowners to train and retain the perfect front-line retail employees.”

Legal Panel:

How—and why—to develop a positive relationship with your community

Presented by Attorney John Weston
Wednesday, August 25, 10:30 am to Noon

In the early 1950s, the United States fought the Chinese and their allies in a bloody war in Korea.  Afterwards, a long evolving period of edgy calm descended on the two hostile blocks: the Western democracies led by the United States, and the Soviet Union and its client states.
      The ‘50s and ‘60s were dominated by this standoff—the Cold War—in contrast to the hot war of Korea.  Both the Western and Soviet blocs exhausted themselves, spending countless sums on weapons, espionage and coalition-building, sometimes involving actual warfare, but most times involving nothing more than horrifically scary posturing.
      Almost without our knowing how, the world entered a new phase: Peaceful Coexistence.  Neither side liked the other; each continued to compete and be each other’s implacable foe; yet slowly, over time, the bitter enemies became resigned to each other’s existence.
      This evolution seems to parallel today’s relationships between adult businesses and many local governments.  Historically, local government strenuously opposed adult entertainment; and, with good reason, owners of adult entertainment businesses distrusted, feared and, let’s face it, often hated local government.  A visit from or the sight of a building inspector, a police officer, or a city council staff member meant only one thing—trouble!
      In this age of Tea Parties, we are urged to be distrustful of officialdom. “I am from the government, I am here to help you,” has gotten laughs for decades.  But for adult business owners, it was never a laughing matter.  No interaction with government ever gave rise to rejoicing.  Invariably, it involved miles of red tape, delay, harassment, and often the threat or reality of immediate or imminent closure.  Many adult business owners experienced governmental assaults ranging from the outrageous to the merely irritating.
      To this historic local governmental hostility, adult businesses responded with the only weapons at hand: offensive or defensive litigation.  Thanks to the efforts of attorneys, almost all of them members of the First Amendment Lawyers Association, the rights of adult entertainment businesses and the rights of the public at large to have appropriate access to adult entertainment materials have often been vindicated—but at great cost to the businesses.  Similarly, local governments have expended significant resources in titanic struggles with adult businesses, and have paid tens of millions of dollars in attorneys fees to reimburse successful adult businesses which prevailed in federal civil rights lawsuits against those local governments.
      But today, just as the Cold War evolved into the era of Peaceful Coexistence, it seems that, in much of America, local government and adult businesses may well be in a similar state of “live and let live.”  The longtime adversaries are tired of expending vast resources in battle, and government has grudgingly come to recognize the enduring popularity of adult entertainment.  The terms “porn star” and “lap dance” have become part of modern speech; one can hardly watch a sitcom today without a reference to a stripper pole or some other term from the adult entertainment lexicon.  Language and situations which are common in primetime television might well have sent people to jail 25 years ago.  Just imagine what the Federal Communications Commission or other governmental censors would have done years ago with ads for Viagra or Cialis.  A culture which prohibited married couples in movies or TV shows to be shown to share a bed onscreen would have turned apoplectic at the admonition to call one’s doctor if an erection lasted more than four hours.  In short, adult entertainment has become an accepted staple of the American entertainment marketplace, if not an altogether appreciated one.
      So, for those and other reasons, contemporary realities suggest a different approach for adult businesses involving an outreach to the community, its officials and its citizens—both residential and commercial—and full participation in community affairs, business organizations and participatory democracy.  I have long advocated that adult businesses must be good neighbors and good corporate citizens; the flip side of that is that they have the right to sit at the same table with other businesses while they all participate in shaping their own destinies and that of their communities.
     On August 25, I will be privileged to chair a panel which will address how to be a good neighbor and good corporate citizen and, more importantly, how to reach out to the private community and local government, how to network and build bridges and how to take one’s rightful place in both the business and political realms in which one’s adult business is located.  We will explore both how to develop allies in the community who will help support you politically and how to play a meaningful role in the political life of your community.  We will also focus on how to combat law enforcement hostility and foster support from local government agencies and personnel.  Just as “a dollar saved is a dollar earned,” an ordinance fight avoided can make the difference between a bad year and a good one, or even survival itself.  I anticipate that it will be a lively and interesting panel, and I look forward to seeing you there.  Please feel free to e-mail any suggestions, comments or points you’d like addressed.
John H. Weston is a partner in the Los Angeles, California law firm of Weston, Garrou & Mooney, with offices in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, Utah.  Mr. Weston argued Young v. American Mini Theatres,  City of Erie v. Pap’s A.M., Inc., and City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc., among others, before the U.S. Supreme Court, all of which involved and had a significant impact on major aspects of the adult entertainment industry.  He can be reached by calling (310) 442-0072 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Click the links below to read detailed coverage of individual Smart Panel Sessions from the 2009 show:

The “Buy Smart” Session

The “State of the Erotic Retail Union” Keynote Address

The “Sell Smart” Session

The “Future Smart” Session

PAST CONVENTION SPEAKERS

One of the highlights of the Annual STOREROTICA Convention and Tradeshow are the Panel Sessions and Workshops, where
retail store owners and general managers have the opportunity to hear the thoughts of our industry's top marketing, promotions,
management and legal professionals.  Past speakers at the STOREROTICA show have included: