While waiting for the barge, in his sex shop on Boulevard de Clichy, in Paris (9th - 18th century), Terry patiently dusts off the packaging of the dildos and fur handcuffs that seem to have been stranded here for years.
The young salesman is convinced: if the activity wants to survive, it must evolve and “follow mentalities”.
“All these accessories that are gathering dust, at some point, they will have to be thrown away,” he says with a smile.
Demand has evolved, but we continue to offer things that were sold twenty years ago.
The sex shop remains very heteronormative.
There is always this patriarchal, very phallic vision, which needs to be given new life.
This is what made me want to work in the profession.
But for bosses who have been doing this for years, it's complicated to change.
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Also read: From Pigalle to rue Saint-Denis, the twilight of sex shops, businesses in danger of disappearing
On the Parisian market, however, brands are trying to renew the genre.
Since 2007, as noted by Apur (Parisian Urban Planning Workshop) in a study, the Passage du Désir brand has opened six stores in Paris and two others in Île-de-France.
“It renews the concept by positioning itself on the sale of items promoting the intimate well-being of the couple,” underlines the report.
The “chic and glamorous” boutique, which claims to be the “first brand dedicated to the sustainable development of couples”, was built in opposition to the traditional sex shop.
Products displayed in the style of cosmetics brands, a sober plum-colored storefront, refined shelving... “We're a bit like the Sephora of sex,” sums up a saleswoman from the store located on rue Saint-Lazare ( IXth).
Châtelet (Paris, I), February 20.
With its refined storefront, the Passage du Désir brand renews the genre.
LP/Olivier Corsan
At Passage du Désir, the clientele, mainly female, is aged “from 18 to 90 years old,” specifies the employee.
Here, we enter without complexes, nothing is hidden.
Some come with a specific idea, others need advice.
We were trained for that.
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Fifteen years ago, the concept was born in the head of Patrick Pruvot, founder of the brand, who then lived… rue Saint-Denis in Paris.
“The problem with traditional sex shops is that they mix pornography and eroticism,” says the boss.
But the coexistence of the two is not very consistent.
By launching the concept, I wanted to take eroticism in the noble sense of the term.
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“Here, there is nothing shocking, everything is well presented”
Fifteen years later, the “gift shop for adults”, as summarized in an advertising campaign, has come a long way: the brand, which has seventeen points of sale in France, must open three additional here at the end of the year.
Among the loyal customers, there is Princia, who regularly comes to buy massage oils on site.
“It has nothing to do with a sex shop,” says the young woman.
There is nothing shocking here, everything is well presented, I always find what I need.
I have no problem going inside, it's a store like any other.
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Murielle came there “a bit by chance” after receiving a voucher.
“Sex shops?
I have never set foot there, except perhaps once in my youth, smiles the septuagenarian.
I didn't know about this store, but it seems quite respectable.
I went into it without any preconceptions.
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