The story of the Condom store
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By Cheryl Squadrito, Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA--Nov. 28--The days of dueling safe-sex shops are over in
Philadelphia. Condom Nation started out in November 1991, with flash and
glitter - TV coverage, big parties, and a lot of buzz - about the small store
just off South Street.
But like a fizzled firecracker, the store closed unceremoniously in May. So
did a second Condom Nation, at 1734 Chestnut St.
A competitor, Condom World, only operated on South Street for a few months
in 1992.
Today, just one Philadelphia condom boutique remains in business, Condom
Kingdom at 441 South St. owner Stuart Schlaffman says that business is good,
but novelty sex items are a major part of his sales.
It's tough to make a buck selling just condoms, Schlaffman said. The markup
is between 80 and 100 percent, but a dozen retail for between $4.99 and
$9.95.
"My staff make more money than I do," Schlaffman said. Schlaffman said
novelty items and sex toys make up about half of his sales and his
best-selling item is a manual of sexual positions. ("It's not pornographic,"
he insisted.)
Saturday night is the busiest night at his 800-square-foot South Street
store, he said, although only 25 percent of the people in the store actually
buy something. One wall in the brightly lighted store is covered in thousands
of condom packages, another features massage oils and edible underwear, while
sex toys and vibrators are in a back corner.
Although he tried, David Cohen, owner of the after-hours nightclub Revival,
said he could not make a go of Condom World on South Street.
"There is no street in town where people shop for condoms five days a week,"
Cohen said. "Nobody buys on South Street. It just has lookers and laughers."
Cohen recently sold his Condom World in Boston. "The market in Boston was 50
times better than here. Someone made me a great offer, so I sold the
company."
Cohen said that his Boston store had a better location, and, significantly,
was in an area that attracted many more college students.
In the storefront at 626 S. Fourth Street, where Condom Nation used to be,
remnants of Christmas and Valentine's Day displays lie in the window: There
was a novelty condom called "It's a life saver" along with red Christmas
balls, elf shoes and Valentine's hearts.
Condom Nation owners Ted Oates and Gene Borden could not be reached despite
repeated attempts over several weeks to contact them.
Condom Kingdom's owner, Stuart Schlaffman, bought what was left of Condom
Nation's stock last spring. Schlaffman said that he did not know why his
competition decided to close, but said the store's location off South Street
may have been a problem.
When Condom Nation open on November 1991, Borden was quoted as saying, "It
was time to take a risk ... Time to take a chance."
Neither owner had experience in the condom trade when they opened Condom
Nation. Oates was a stockbroker, and Borden was in direct marketing.
"Gay men can often get condoms for free at bars where they have bowls filled
with them," Oates said then. "Women like these stores because they're
comfortable and they can easily ask questions, instead of how it is in a
pharmacy."
The 700-square-foot store - which had been a jacuzzi and hot tub shop - sold
off-beat items like Condomints (confections shaped like contraceptives),
Safe Sox (with a condom compartment), Sperm Banks, Over-the-Hill Rubbers
("One Year Supply, Contains One") and the Full Body Condom.
"This business is going to be very upbeat," Oates said at the time. "It's a
place you visit to have fun."
When Oates and Borden opened the store, only two other condom stores existed
in the country, both named Condomania, they said. Today Condomania has four
stores: Los Angeles, New York and two in Miami, and its clientele is
overwhelmingly female.
Research shows that women are more likely than men to buy condoms. At Condom
Kingdom, Schlaffman said that more women buy condoms then men.
About one in four women who take oral contraceptives buy and use condoms,
according to Carol Carrozza, director of marketing for Ansell Inc., makers
of LifeStyles condoms.
A study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, an independent, nonprofit research
organization in Manhattan, found that teenagers and unmarried women use
condoms most frequently. Another study, in 1991, found that black men are
more likely than white men to use a condom. Also, men under 30 are more
likely to use a condom than those older than 30.
Kevin Conare, deputy executive director of Action AIDS in Philadelphia, said
that it's sad to see any condom specialty stores close.
"A certain group of people are comfortable going into Rite Aid to buy
condoms, but some people prefer to go to a store like (Condom Nation) because
they know that other people are there for the same reasons and they won't be
judged," Conare said.
Conare said that although people are educated about the risks of getting
AIDS or sexually transmitted disease, too few high school students and gays
use condoms.
"Studies show that 80 percent of high school students are having sex before
graduation and most of them are not using condoms," Conare said. "They think
that it can't happen to them, that they can't get it."
Conare said that many gays have stopped using condoms because they see their
friends who were very careful dying of AIDS.
"They feel that they are going to get it anyway, so why bother," Conare
said.
"One of the other things about Condom Nation, about why it's sad to see them
go, they are very visible presences in the community letting people know that
it's really OK to buy condoms, use condoms," Conare said. "In some ways they
take a very playful approach. It's good because it's important that people
know that safe sex can be fun."
This year about 413 million condoms will be sold in the United States.
Research by the Towne-Oller division of Information Resources Inc. shows that
Carter-Wallace Inc.'s Trojan brand holds a commanding 56.2 percent share of
the market.
Ansell's Carrozza said that there are five basic condom styles most condom
manufacturers produce - flared, ribbed, contoured, straight and studded.
Flared is the best seller marketwide, with ribbed coming in second.
Sales of condoms increased nearly 50 percent in the late 1980s to $265
million in 1989 from $180 million in 1986, the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control reported.
No national market data are available on the new female condoms. They are
sold at Schlaffman's Condom Kingdom, $12.99 for a three-pack and $24.99 for a
six pack.