A lot of pros for one major con
The boss got back from Vegas a few days back. He was out there to attend the convention centered around the AVN awards. I doubt our store will sending another envoy to that particular venue again. To say he was disappointed by what he found would be an understatement.
Apparently, the adult film industry has reached a point where they're largely not interested in getting stores excited about carrying their titles. There were a few vendors there, but nothing that gave any indication they were anything but a minor sideline if not afterthought to the whole. Obviously, this was simply a venue to trot out the stable of performers for the ranks of slavering fans fawn over and possibly score a picture with.
I find this a disgustingly sad state of affairs.
When an industry becomes so bloated and arrogant that no longer feels the need to court or acknowledge the vendors who make up the bulk of physical purchases, there's something seriously flawed in the business model. The loss of opportunity is staggering. Those in a position to be able to seriously present their product to people who have already demonstrated an interest in it by attending your function, are instead resting on their laurels and soaking up the mindless compliments from those who are largely peripheral to how large their next paycheque will be.
What it tells me is that the mainstream production companies consider themselves safe and take it for granted that they are going to command a certain market share of the industry. They feel they've cemented enough deals with the huge video distribution houses and national adult superstore chains that picking up any more vendors with less than a dozen or so storefronts is purely extraneous. The smaller merchants can either fall into line and be happy they're given the privilege of getting to thumb through a catalog or they can go without, either way, they are beneath the notice of their fleshly overlords.
While on a financial level this might be depressingly true, it is never a good idea to flaunt it in a buyer's face. The key to successful and lasting sales is to make every last customer feel like they are valued. Forgetting this point translates into buyers who feel absolutely no loyalty to the vendor. As soon as someone offers a deal equal to or better than the original, they're going to switch without a moment's hesitation. The more they feel their business is appreciated, the more favorably they are going to weigh the rival offer regardless of how it breaks down on paper. Retail is very much a game of managing contacts.
Right now, the major production companies consider themselves the only game in town so they can do whatever the fuck they want. The state of the market is not stable, requiring financial pressure to keep upstarts from ripping into the rotten, increasingly disillusioned middle and shattering the strangle hold the big names have enjoyed for years. There's only so much that financial strong-arm tactics can do to squeeze out challengers. Bread-and-circus only keeps you popular with the masses as long as you keep them going.
From the state of this year's adult video convention, I'd say the industry is overdue for that shake-up.
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