Pure Romance
History
Patty Brisben, a former pediatrician's assistant, founded the company Slumber Parties in Loveland, Ohio 1993.[4] Her business used contract salespeople to sell sex toys, lotions, and massage oils through at-home parties.[6] In 2000, the company had six full-time employees and had annual sales of less than $2 million.[6]
Brisben's son, Chris Cicchinelli, joined the company in 2000 and encouraged his mother to expand beyond local sales into markets such as St. Louis, Missouri.[6][7] By 2003 the company had $30 million in sales, 3,500 consultants, and was active in 46 US states and the US Virgin Islands.[6][8] The company was renamed Pure Romance in 2003.[6]
In 2011, the Pure Romance expanded into South Africa and Australia.[9] In 2012, Cicchinelli took over the position of President and CEO while Brisben stayed on as chair of the company. At this time the company reported to have $100 million in annual sales and 75,000 consultants, building on the popularity of the recently published erotic romance novel 50 Shades of Grey.[10][4]
In February 2014, the company moved its headquarters to downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.[11]
In 2014 Pure Romance purchased Slumber Parties, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, based multi-level marketing company which sold similar products.[12] In 2016 the company purchased Passion Parties, another competing multi-level marketing company with a similar product line, expanding the company into the Canadian market.[13] Over 5 million women attend a Pure Romance party every year.[14]
In January 2016, Pure Romance, among other MLM’s, entered into an agreement with the State of Hawaii’s Department of Taxation to obtain a single general excise license and become the represented tax collection agent on behalf of its direct sellers.[3]
The company reported $217.92 million in sales in 2017 and claims to have more than 30,000 consultants.[15][16] In 2018, it reported $237 million in sales.[17] The company reported $282 million in sales in 2021 and has more than 30,000 consultants.[18] Pure Romance has Consultants in the US, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
In April 2023, Pure Romance removed the multilevel marketing, or MLM, aspect of its business and adopted a more omnichannel approach.[19][20]
References
- ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: P&G manager joins Pure Romance to launch digital marketing" (in en). Apr 17, 2018. https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/04/17/exclusive-p-g-manager-joins-pure-romance-to-launch.html.
- ↑ Shellnutt, Kate (2016-05-12). "Why your Facebook feed is filled with women selling essential oils and press-on nails" (in en). https://www.vox.com/2016/5/12/11577466/multilevel-marketing.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "State of Hawaii - State Authorized Multi-Level Marketing Agreements". July 25, 2019. https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/a2_b2_8mlm/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ryzik, Melena (2012-08-03). "Company Finds ‘Grey’ and Pink Yield Pure Green" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/us/pure-romance-formula-grey-pink-and-green.html.
- ↑ "But is it Pure Romance for your wallet?" (in en-US). 2018-06-11. https://bottlesoup.com/2018/06/10/pure-romance-financial-opportunity/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 May, Lucy (Dec 8, 2003). "'Pure Romance' takes to Web with new focus". https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2003/12/08/story6.html.
- ↑ "About Us | Pure Romance". https://www.pureromance.com/Pws/homeoffice/tabs/about-us?bizname=homeoffice&tabname=about-us.
- ↑ "Pure Romance gains national attention". Oct 15, 2004. https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2004/10/11/daily49.html.
- ↑ May, Lucy (Aug 18, 2011). "Pure Romance set to embark on international expansion". https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2011/08/pure-romance-set-to-embark-on.html.
- ↑ "Private equity firm invests in Pure Romance". Jun 14, 2012. https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2012/06/14/private-equity-firm-invests-in-pure.html.
- ↑ Benson, Lisa (Jul 24, 2014). "Cool Places: Go inside Pure Romance's stylish new downtown headquarters". https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/07/24/cool-places-go-inside-pure-romances-stylish-new.html.
- ↑ Wetterich, Chris (Jan 17, 2014). "Pure Romance adds to bedroom empire, buys competitor". https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/01/17/pure-romance-expands-buys-slumber.html.
- ↑ Caproni, Erin (Jan 11, 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Pure Romance acquires major competitor". https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/01/11/exclusive-pure-romance-acquires-major-competitor.html.
- ↑ "Pure Romance To Host Women's Sex Health Seminar For Thousands". https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/08/06/pure-romance-to-host-womens-health.html.
- ↑ Caproni, Erin (Feb 1, 2019). "Pure Romance debuts popup shop: PHOTOS". https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/02/01/pure-romance-debuts-popup-shop-photos.html.
- ↑ Neff, Jack (2019-09-24). "How this sex-toy business is helping transgender youth" (in en). https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/how-sex-toy-business-helping-transgender-youth/2198821.
- ↑ Erpenbeck, Meg (2020-05-11). "Quarantine sparks huge sales for Pure Romance". https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/05/11/quarantine-sparks-huge-sales-for-pure-romance.html.
- ↑ "Deloitte Cincinnati 100: Which firms are on the list of largest privately held companies?" (in en-US). https://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2022/11/10/top-100-largest-private-companies-cincinnati-ohio-2022-deloitte-cincinnati-100-list/69569930007/.
- ↑ "Cincinnati's Pure Romance drops MLM business model to avoid stigma". https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/04/28/pure-romance-changes-business-model.html.
- ↑ Burns, Emily (2023-04-28). "EXCLUSIVE: Sexual Wellness Brand Pure Romance Pivots to Omnichannel Business" (in en-US). https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/wellness/sexual-wellness-brand-pure-romance-removes-multi-level-marketing-1235633008/.
