Take a peep at how Ann Summers attracts men

Published on Tuesday 11 October 2005 11:48

IT may sound like something from a Victorian end-of-the-pier show.

But Anne Summers is hoping that installing peep holes on the changing room of its Princes Street store is the answer to luring more male shoppers.

The store has been no stranger to controversy since being founded by millionaire brothers David and Ralph Gold in 1972.

Since then its risque products are said to have revolutionised the shopping habits of British women.

But when the Princes Street store reopens on Friday after a redesign it will feature an innovation seen as a brash attempt to attract more men.

The cubicles in the new-look store will have small spy hole windows at eye-level. The idea is that women can throw open the peep hole, allowing their partners a look at what they have to look forward to, without having to step out in front of other shoppers.

So convinced are the management of the peepholes' popularity that it already plans to roll them out to the company's other stores over the next three years.

Jacqueline Gold, chief executive of the family's 520 million empire, said the spy holes would be one of the main attractions of the revamped store.

She said: "The store will retain an intimate boudoir feel.

"An innovation will be a spy hole window that opens on the inside so that customers who want to parade for their partners can offer a peep show for their partners outside."

Ms Gold, 45, and said the firm was simply catering for public demand.

"I don't anticipate objections. We'll have a small sex toys section and a bondage section at the back, but we won't impose any restrictions."

She said any customers bringing in children would be asked to keep them away from the most risque items on sale.

While retailers throughout the UK are reporting a sales slowdown, Ann Summers says it has experienced up to a 40 per cent rise in sales this year.

The revamp of the Princes Street store, its first since it opened in 2002, is part of a multi-million pound investment.

Ann Summers currently has 123 UK branches, nine of which are in Scotland, and says 80 per cent of its clientele are women.

The owner of a lingerie shop in the New Town said she was unsurprised by the move, as a major preoccupation in the trade is attracting more male customers.

Claire Thommen, who owns Boudiche in Frederick Street, said men often felt embarrassed in underwear shops.

She said: "I think they're doing it to encourage more men to come and buy with their partners. It's difficult as a lot of men feel intimidated in lingerie boutiques."

Ms Thommen said in her store she tried to create a welcoming atmosphere for men by offering private appointments and having a changing area which can be cordoned off for "private views".

Ann Summers launched its own home parties sideline in 1981.

Billed by the group as the "ultimate girls' night in", parties are held at customers' homes and hosted by Ann Summers representatives, who show a range of lingerie as well as sex toys, edible body paints and massage lotions.