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Ann Summers

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For the Australian writer, see Anne Summers.

Ann Summers Ltd
Company typePrivate Ltd
IndustryRetail
Founded1970, London
FounderMichael Caborn-Waterfield
HeadquartersWhyteleafe, Surrey, UK
Number of locations
80 high street stores
Area served
United Kingdom
Ireland
Channel Islands
Key people
Maria Hollins (CEO)[1]
Vanessa Gold (Chair)
ProductsClothing
Sex toys
Revenue£109.96 million (2018)[2]
Websitewww.annsummers.com
Ann Summers store in Huddersfield
Ann Summers store in London
Ann Summers store in Hull

Ann Summers is a British multinational retailer company specialising in sex toys and lingerie, with 80 high street stores in the UK, Ireland, and the Channel Islands.[3] In 2000, Ann Summers acquired the Knickerbox brand,[4] a label with an emphasis on more comfortable and feminine underwear, while the Ann Summers-labelled products tend to be more erotic in style. The chain had an annual turnover of £117.3 million in 2007–2008.

History

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The company was named after Annice Summers, the female secretary of the male founder, Michael Caborn-Waterfield.

Annice Summers was born Annice Goodwin in 1941, but later took her stepfather's surname. She left the company soon after it opened, following a row with Caborn-Waterfield. She went to live in Umbria, Italy, two hours from Rome, and died of cancer in October 2012.[5]

In 2000, Ann Summers acquired the underwear brand Knickerbox for an undisclosed sum. However, in 2014 they announced plans to sell the brand.[6]

Retail

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The first Ann Summers shop was opened in 1970 in Marble Arch, London, from which it grew to six shops.

Ann Summers was purchased in 1971 by brothers Ralph and David Gold,[7] who turned it from a standard sex shop into an established high street brand and lingerie boutique. In 1981, David Gold installed his daughter Jacqueline Gold (who was the Executive Chair of Ann Summers)[8] and she introduced the Party Plan concept. The retail operations for all of Ann Summers' shops are managed from their Head Office in Whyteleafe, Surrey and, as of December 2010, Ann Summers operated 144 retail outlets across the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and Spain.

The shops offer lingerie, underwear, cosmetics, swimwear and sex toys. The stores sell two million Rampant Rabbits, a kind of vibrator developed by Jacqueline Gold,[9] per year.[10]

Ann Summers parties

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Jacqueline Gold initiated the Party Plan concept in 1981.[10] Initially, the Ann Summers parties were as much a way of circumventing regulations restricting the display of sex toys as they were a marketing tactic, but their popularity quickly grew and Ann Summers now employs over 7,500 Party Organisers,[11] coordinated from the Head Office in Surrey. There were around 4,000 Ann Summers parties every week in the UK in 2003.[12]

The Ann Summers parties [12] include the presentation of sex toys and lingerie in the informal setting of someone's home, usually the home of one of the attendees. It can also involve the perusal of a catalogue, and often there are party games.[13]

Controversy

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Due to the adult nature of the business, Ann Summers has frequently faced opposition, both legal and social. For example, in 2003, they won a legal battle to advertise for employees in job centres[14] and an ASA complaint was rejected.[15]

They have also encountered opposition to their advertising. The company received a letter of complaint from Buckingham Palace, due to a non-endorsed advertisement featuring the Queen.[16]

In 2003, the company's payments to party organisers were discussed by a number of media sources.[17]

In 2004, two complaints were upheld by the ASA.[18] The ASA decided that the first ad was degrading to women, offensive and unsuitable for use as a poster. In the second case the ASA ruled that the use of a reference to the nursery rhyme "Ride a Cock Horse" was likely to attract the attention of children and that the advertisement was unsuitable for the medium in which it appeared.

An Ann Summers lingerie factory in Portsmouth closed in 2005, with over 50 redundancies.[19]

Additionally, Ann Summers in Perth, Scotland, was forced to close after the local people complained about the store (mostly from parents embarrassed by questions raised by their children), which also led to other problems with the store.[20] Perth was originally the only UK town where an Ann Summers store failed to take off.[21] However, in May 2007 the Middleton Grange, Hartlepool store which opened in November 2005 was closed after less than two years of trading due to poor sales.[22]

In 2006, Muslim groups complained about the release of a blow-up doll named Mustafa Shag, claiming that the doll was offensive to Muslims as Mustafa was one of the names given to the Prophet Mohamed.[23]

In 2007, the company faced legal issues with Apple Inc due to its release of an electronic add-on to music players called the iGasm. The company has not backed down despite cease-and-desist orders by Apple.[24] Also, a former director, who is now a Beate Uhse AG employee[25] is pursuing a libel claim against Jacqueline Gold.[26] An advertisement was banned from the London Underground in the same year.[27]

In 2010, Ann Summers' Halloween advertisement was banned by the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre, which decided the advertisement used "fairly overt sexual references in terms of sound effects."[28]

In 2011 an advertising campaign which featured a pastiche of a Marks and Spencer advertisement was withdrawn after a threat of legal action by M&S.[29]

References

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  1. ^ "About us - History of Ann Summers".
  2. ^ "Turnover of Ann Summers worldwide from financial year 2010 to 2018". Statista. January 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Ann Summers Store Finder". Archived from the original on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  4. ^ "Ann Summers to buy Knickerbox". BBC News. 3 April 2000. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  5. ^ "MRS SEX; Girl behind Ann Summers legend is now rich recluse". 3 April 2000 – via The Free Library.
  6. ^ Armstrong, Ashley (15 March 2014). "Ann Summers to sell Knickerbox". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  7. ^ ZapelliA Web Solutions - www.zapellia.co.uk (31 March 2000). "The History of Ann Summers". Ann Summers Party Plan. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  8. ^ "Ann Summers reshuffles top team". Drapers. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  9. ^ Lavinia, Emily (8 March 2024). "10 best rabbit vibrators that will help to intensify your solo pleasure". The Independent. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Jacqueline-Gold-profile-of-the-chief-executive-of-Ann-Summers". The Telegraph. London. 24 December 2010. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  11. ^ "DB Consulting : Ann Summers" (PDF). Dbconsulting.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  12. ^ a b Oaff, Barbara (3 September 2003). "Ann Summers Party Organisers". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  13. ^ "Ann Summers Catalogue pdf" (PDF). Ann Summers. 24 December 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  14. ^ "Sex toy chain overturns job adverts ban". Business.scotsman.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  15. ^ "'Hotbot' adult poster banned". BBC News. 9 April 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  16. ^ Cozens, Claire (26 June 2002). "Queen is not amused by Ann Summers sex ad | Media | MediaGuardian". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  17. ^ Barbara Oaff (9 February 2003). "Wage slaves: Ann Summers party organisers | Money | The Guardian". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  18. ^ [1] Archived 17 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ "Jobs fear at saucy lingerie plant". Portsmouth.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  20. ^ "The latest news, sport, showbiz and comment from". the Sunday Mail. 11 August 2009. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  21. ^ "The latest news, sport, showbiz and comment from". the Sunday Mail. 11 August 2009. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  22. ^ Willis, Ian (15 May 2007). "It's the last of the Summers line". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  23. ^ "Emma, Ann and a sex doll that upsets Muslims". London: News.independent.co.uk. 9 February 2006. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  24. ^ "Apple v Ann Summers in iGasm spat". Macworld.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  25. ^ Michael Vaughan, Beate Uhse (30 October 2002). "Sex war threat haunts UK High Streets". BBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  26. ^ [2] Archived 23 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ "Ann Summers Rabbit ads banned from the Tube". 23 August 2007. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  28. ^ "Ann Summers has 'offensive' Halloween advert banned | Metro News". Metro.co.uk. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  29. ^ "Ann Summers pulls Squeal Deal after M&S threats". 20 April 2011. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
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