admin @ Tue, 2005-10-11 11:00
But Anne Summers is hoping that installing peep holes on the changing room of its Princes Street store is the answer to luring more male shoppers.
The cubicles in the new-look store will have small spy hole windows at eye-level. The idea is that women can throw open the peep hole, allowing their partners a look at what they have to look forward to, without having to step out in front of other shoppers.
So convinced are the management of the peepholes' popularity that it already plans to roll them out to the company's other stores over the next three years.
Jacqueline Gold, chief executive of the family's £520 million empire, said the spy holes would be one of the main attractions of the revamped store.
"An innovation will be a spy hole window that opens on the inside so that customers who want to parade for their partners can offer a peep show for their partners outside."
"I don't anticipate objections. We'll have a small sex toys section and a bondage section at the back, but we won't impose any restrictions."
While retailers throughout the UK are reporting a sales slowdown, Ann Summers says it has experienced up to a 40 per cent rise in sales this year.
The owner of a lingerie shop in the New Town said she was unsurprised by the move, as a major preoccupation in the trade is attracting more male customers.
She said: "I think they're doing it to encourage more men to come and buy with their partners. It's difficult as a lot of men feel intimidated in lingerie boutiques."
Ms Thommen said in her store she tried to create a welcoming atmosphere for men by offering private appointments and having a changing area which can be cordoned off for "private views".
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