Autobiography

Over the past 30 years people have spent
millions trying to challenge us. Some came
from a mail order background, so they had
stock and some infrastructure but not enough.
Those who were new-starts had no chance.
Every time a competitor came in they would
try to seduce our girls away from us and for a
few months our progress would be affected.
But inevitably the rival would fail and our
success would continue. I can plot the arrival
of various competitors from our sales figures.
I am able to pinpoint, for example, when
Lovelace attempted to compete, and when
Harmony tried their luck. In 2004 millionaire
businessman Andrew Joseph invested over £8
million in a Hustler franchise, part of Larry
Flint’s American porn empire. The first store
opened in Birmingham in October that year,
and the second, in Brewer Street, in 2005. It
was announced in February 2006 that Hustler
had ceased trading. We even recently fought
off Beate Uhse, the huge German company
whose idea Dandy Kim copied when he opened
two Ann Summers shops in 1970. They used
their German name, and it went down like a
lead Zeppelin. It sounded more like a German
tank division than a sexy toys and lingerie
shop.
Despite successfully beating off our
competitors for the last 30 years, we remain
vigilant. As my housekeeper Mary told me, ‘An
Ann Summers party is one of life’s experiences’
and there is always a new clientele. Party Plan
is still growing, though obviously not at the
pace it did initially. In the early years it grew at
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