Imagine if one day you walk into Wal-Mart and in-between the cheap crush board shelving and the thin plastic garbage cans was a nine inch dildo complete with realistic testicles. The German retailer KarstadtQuelle, one of the largest retailers in Germany, now carries lingerie, fur trimmed handcuffs, floggers, and vibrators to boost the companys bottom line.

Young assistants brandishing nothing more threatening than feather dusters stand by ready to offer advice on merchandise, much of which is normally the domain of lonely businessmen lurking in the seedy side-streets near Frankfurt's main train station.

"Often sex shops are in areas where normal women don't want to go," says Antje Greve who, after 10 years working for Karstadt, is now Mae B.'s sales and purchasing manager. "Men come in too and ask why there isn't a shop like this for them." []

Greve believes the new venture can broaden KarstadtQuelle's traditional customer base after Europe's biggest department store group warned this week that its 15-billion-euro business would make hefty losses.

If only Target would carry a posture collar that fits or a Jackhammer Jesus on clearance.

Argene

Pittsburgh, PA

June 2004

AUG 11, 2004 12:47 AM

Must tack trip onto Amsterdam to see this.

Nyghtwish

Williamsburg, VA

February 2004

AUG 11, 2004 12:54 AM

Awesome. But I could never buy something risque at a store like that. If I'm buying something sketchy, I feel like I should BE someplace sketchy.

Mnemesis

Japan

June 2004

AUG 11, 2004 03:36 AM

Germany is verrrry open about sex. The biggest sex store in Berlin, including an "erotic museum" is right outside the main train station, Bahnhof zoo. Porn is sold at every news stand and kiosk in the country, and the covers leave nothing to the imagination.
This doesn't surprise me in the least.

FrankMask

Saint Paul, MN

June 2003

AUG 11, 2004 05:38 AM

Call me when I can wander around town naked on a lark, and no body looks at me funny when they turn up a box of condoms among my effects.

wAxlips

Prospect Park, PA

April 2004

AUG 11, 2004 09:55 AM

Blessing said:
Awesome. But I could never buy something risque at a store like that. If I'm buying something sketchy, I feel like I should BE someplace sketchy.

Yeah I agree. If I want to buy sex toys I want to go to a place that specializes in sex toys where I can be assured that the sales associates aren't going to stare at me oddly for my selections or whisper as I walk out through the door. Plus I like paying a good amount of money for things that I'll be using in my body....buying stuff like that in a department store just doesn't seem right...

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NEWS: Penetrating Retail in Germany

Christopher

Portland, OR

November 2002

AUG 10, 2004 10:00 PM

Argene

Pittsburgh, PA

June 2004

AUG 11, 2004 12:47 AM

Nyghtwish

Williamsburg, VA

February 2004

AUG 11, 2004 12:54 AM

Mnemesis

Japan

June 2004

AUG 11, 2004 03:36 AM

FrankMask

Saint Paul, MN

June 2003

AUG 11, 2004 05:38 AM

wAxlips

Prospect Park, PA

April 2004

AUG 11, 2004 09:55 AM