Though China leads the way in affordable pleasure product manufacturing, the country's acceptance of sex toys seems to end at the assembly line — though hopefully not for long with Chinese businesswomen like Fanny Chen in charge.
Chen is head of sales for Svakom, a Chinese brand that's earned worldwide acclaim as a luxury sex toy creation house. The company’s sleek and innovative designs range from classic vibrators like the slim Iris G-spot toy to the app-controlled Ella Kegel-style bullet to the swirling, tendril-like fingers of the Nymph.
I’ve always considered myself a go-getter and this job came to me precisely when I was ready to tackle new challenges.
However, Chen explains that despite the emergence of softly marketed, classy products like Svakom's — and China's proficiency in churning out all manner of adult toys, including the highly explicit — the government has yet to allow brick-and-mortar boutiques to exist openly. Chen, whose own life was changed by a Svakom sex toy, sees through traditional taboos as she helps to shape international attitudes on sensual health and pleasure. Every day at Svakom headquarters is another opportunity for Chen to make her mark as a modern Chinese woman with a progressive mission.
In this month's Women in Adult, we'd like to recognize Chen's unique contributions that aim to revolutionize the way Asia — and the world — view sexual wellness.
XBIZ: How did you begin your education and career prior to landing in sex toy sales?
Fanny Chen: I have always been working in American companies since my graduation. My last career before Svakom was at a home decor company. It’s a big jump from being at a company dealing in home decor to sex toys. I love dealing in home decor products like home furniture and interior designs. It has been a passion of my life, but the pleasure industry is so much fun and I am totally in love with it.
I studied international business at my university, so I actually am doing what I studied and what I like. It has been a really amazing journey for me in this industry, as there goes a saying in our team: “the fun never ends.”
XBIZ: What led you to transition away from the mainstream design world into the pleasure space?
Chen: I always remember the first day I entered the Svakom office with a friend of mine who knew David, who was the sales director back then. I saw a big round display table beside a reception area with beautiful colors of product displays. I just fell in love with them right away. What I knew about sex toys before was [only] vibrators with replaceable batteries inside, and cheap materials. But when I stepped inside Svakom, [their] elegant designs and rechargeable toys just totally opened up my mind. I never tried a sex toy before I joined Svakom. On that day, not only [did] I get the job, but also got my first vibrator, Echo. It’s always been one of my favorites. Since then, I have kept exploring and the fun never ends.
XBIZ: What do you find unique about the sex toy market and demand for sexual health products in China? How do you find it different from the U.S.?
Chen: The sex toy market is way smaller than other industries like consumer electronics, home decor or beauty products, which are full of competition and have huge market share as well. The sex toy market is small compared to them but does have multiple brands and products.
After attending two years of trade fairs and events, everyone gets familiar with each other. That’s what I really love about this industry: people do not see each other as competitors, but a big family with a lot of friends. There are events like the XBIZ Retreat, ANME, Thaifest, Erofame and Octoberfest. These events not only bring retailers together with brands, but also bring amazing opportunities for people from this industry to get together and get to know more about each other.
China is a very unique market from the U.S. and even the rest of the world. In general, women in small cities and towns are still quite traditional as compared to women from big cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, who are open-minded to try many things. More than 90 percent of the sales of sex toys are from online websites or ecommerce sites. Offline businesses are not allowed in busy marketplaces. They are always hidden on street corners. Chinese governments have strict laws for offline sex-toy shops.
We can’t expect that things will change in a short span of time. I think that’s what has been missing from the Chinese market as compared to the rest of the world. We have [far] less high-end looking sex shops with well-educated salespeople, which can bring a pleasant buying experience for customers. I hope one day that will change and that there will be new policies introduced soon by every government to protect and help brick-and-mortar stores. People will miss out on the shopping experience and for the sex toy industry, we need to create this kind of experience by creating more beautiful and comfortable-looking offline stores.
XBIZ: Why is Svakom such a good fit for you career-wise? What personal values about sexual health and pleasure products do you share with your company and how they present their brand?
Chen: Svakom represents a pivoting point in my career and my personal life as well. I’ve always considered myself a go-getter and this job came to me precisely when I was ready to tackle new challenges. I was craving new experiences. The fast-paced environment that we live on a daily basis in the Svakom office offered me exactly that; it was, and still is, refreshing, exciting and mind-blowing fun. There’s always something new to learn. There’s always room for creativity and innovation, and that keeps me motivated 24-7. Very quickly after I joined this industry I understood that sex toys are tools that can bring you closer to yourself and to your partners, but Svakom taught me to go even further than that. Therefore, it is extremely important for me to be part of a team that breaks barriers and taboos; a team that brings consciousness and awareness; a team that wants to see everybody grow, inside and outside the office.
XBIZ: Who do you consider mentors or inspirations when you look at your female colleagues in the industry?
Chen: There are quite a few people I admire in this industry. I have visited many countries with Svakom. These business trips and people I meet during the trips really inspire me so much to encourage women to love themselves by making themselves familiar more about their bodies.
Ilinska Alina and Zaporozhets Angela are two sisters who own the biggest chain stores called “No Taboos” in Ukraine. They inspired me so much [by] what they are doing with their business and their version [of the] pleasure industry. They have beautiful shops with very well-educated sales staff. Their aim is to sell an experience to whoever comes to their shops, and to organize various women-oriented events in various countries to provide sexual health education and wellness based on a modern lifestyle.
Another woman I admire is Ana Gehring. She is a pelvic physiotherapist specialized in the rehabilitation of female sexual dysfunctions and a producer of content about vaginas in her spare time. My team and I had the pleasure of meeting her at the Venus fair in Berlin and had the opportunity to get to know her better and realized how devoted and important her job is. She gives a lot of lectures in Brazil. She treats [many] patients at her office and she teaches many classes in different colleges and postgraduate courses, as well as congresses.
I would like to quote something she said that I admire: “Nothing, nothing at all, gives me more satisfaction than improving the sex life of women.” Definitely an empowered woman with clear objectives, transform[ing] peoples’ intimate lives through self-knowledge.
XBIZ: Tell us a little about daily life working at Svakom headquarters in China.
Chen: It’s hectic! Everything moves so fast that if you blink, you might miss something. Having a multicultural team is always crazy because you are dealing with a lot of different mindsets and approaches to the same subject and that opens up your mind in ways that only few are capable to experience. I consider myself very lucky and, trust me, there is not even a single boring day here.
XBIZ: What do you find the most enjoyable or humorous about working in the sex toy industry?
Chen: I love trade shows. It’s the only time that brands can come together, and also our whole complete team from the U.S., Europe and China gathers at the expo. I love the shows like XBIZ Retreat in the U.S., SAS in the city in Australia, Erovalley in the Netherlands and Thaifest in Russia, where both retailers and brands gather.
One of the humorous moments was definitely when I took my flights with toys in my hand luggage and at checkpoint, a security person opened my bags full of sex toys. Normally they give me a look and weird smile on their face and then let me pass.
There was also another unforgettable experience. We were having some relaxing time with our distributor and people from other brands after a business event in Moscow. We went to the countryside [to] enjoy a Russian sauna in the snowy weather. I remember I was just wearing a bikini and jumped into the snow. That’s quite an experience for me. We partied with Russians after business hours. Then I realized they are serious when we talk about business, but I have experienced that they became so funny when they are at parties.
XBIZ: How much has the pleasure trade changed since you began your career with Svakom? How do you foresee our future?
Chen: The pleasure industry has changed a lot, especially in past four years. I still remember around four years ago, there were few tech-based products. We can proudly say that Svakom was one of the few brands that launched app-based product six years ago, [namely] our renowned Camera Vibrator called Siime Eye. Most of the brands in this industry in the past focused on basic penis-shaped vibrators.
But there are a lot of changes I have seen with the passage of time. The industry has come up with innovative products based on modern lifestyles, like app-based sex toys that we can control from anywhere in the world through our smartphones.
The pleasure industry has moved towards wellness and enhancing connection, and this is what we can expect in the future. There will be more innovative ways introduced by the pleasure industry that will help people to enhance their relationship and get intimate with each other and build strong bonds.
XBIZ: Can you tell us anything exciting about the coming year, both for Svakom and your life outside the office?
Chen: Even though the coronavirus is a big concern across the world and we are fighting with it, this year is full of plans and some exciting news — both for the company and my personal life.
We will have [the] Reborn collection coming from the Svakom family with a total of four new SKUs, which are developed on the concept of long-distance interaction and can also interact with cam websites. We updated three of our bestselling products with a totally new design for the cam industry and people who are in long-distance relationships. So far we received amazing feedback from our customers, [who] are all excited about it. We launched our first masturbator last year, Alex, and it became a huge success. By the end of this year, we will also launch a smaller size rechargeable masturbator with a lower price to meet more consumers' demands.
This year [is] supposed to be a year of weddings and honeymoons for my boyfriend and me. Our best friends’ wedding has been planned in July in Spain and the Netherlands. My wedding will be in November in the Philippines. Now the coronavirus situation may delay all these plans, but we are still looking forward to all these weddings. Hopefully soon the virus will be gone and our life and work will be back to normal.
Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
