by David Chapman
Staff Writer
The seductive signs and neon lights of Northeast Florida adult industry stores draw the sheepish grins, scowls and curious looks they always have from many motorists. But one thing is certain for the local businesses: sex still sells.
And in marketplaces dictated by supply and demand, there’s still plenty of demand for the business — even if it isn’t your everyday coffee shop, legal office or widget factory.
“I’m just a regular business owner,” said Ralph Howie, owner of the Sunset Novelties & Videos store on Beach Boulevard, “just like many other small business owners out there.”
Since 2003, Howie has operated the Intracoastal West store that offers a variety of items and accessories that, as Howie describes, assist in relationships.
“Our main goal is romance enhancement and education,” he said. “Most of the time we find that people who come to the store don’t communicate with each other and it affects their relationship.”
Embarrassment, ineffective communication lines and adding spice to a struggling or dormant relationship are the most common requests Howie said he receives from couples, which is a large market share of Howie’s business. The store’s patrons don’t fall into any particular category either, he said. The male to female ratio is right around 1-to-1 and professionals from all walks — doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, managers and others — frequent the store, even if it’s just out of curiosity.
Howie’s wares range from bachelorette and bachelor party materials and gag gifts to instructional videos, lingerie and hookahs, and he enjoys dispelling the image of being a seedy, behind-the-curtains, business.
“We’re really an upscale marketplace with a focus on customer service,” he said. “We’re extremely clean and take care of our customers ... when they leave, even if they don’t buy anything, we want them to walk out knowing they had a great experience.”
It’s been those positive word-of-mouth stories and not traditional marketing avenues — newspapers, magazines, television spots — that have proven effective. Realizing this, Howie stopped spending his money on such avenues and instead invests in the store.
Business times have changed, though.
Until around 2006, Howie said business was better than solid. However, numerous other stores offering similar wares and experiences moved into the area — some have remained, some closed — and caused a market saturation. The Internet has become an ever-increasing entity, as people turned to its anonymity to secure purchases. The economy, another reason businesses are struggling, hasn’t spared the adult industry, either.
“We’re still doing well, but it’s been a lot of things the last few years (that have affected business),” he said. “People always like to come inside the store to see what we have in-person ... we’re also on the Internet ... we’re okay.”
The nature of the business draws some critics, but not as many as one might think. Howie mainly sees it during election time, when someone rails against the industry while looking to make a name for themselves or create an issue.
A former deacon of a Baptist church and longtime owner of a printing company in North Carolina, Howie hasn’t always been in the adult industry. Following the sale of that printing company, he and his wife of 35 years moved to Deltona where he suffered a heart attack shortly after. He then took a sales job that had him in Jacksonville for business matters when his son — who actually owned adult businesses before — asked if he’d like to try his hand at the business and establish a Jacksonville presence.
“So I did,” he said, “and I’ve enjoyed it. You feel a lot of gratification when you help a couple in their relationship ... and over the years, we have.”
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