Bondage is having a moment.
Not for the first time, of course.
When "Fifty Shades of Grey" became a surprise megahit, selling more than 100 million copies, adult toy stores described a sharp rise in women snapping up blindfolds, handcuffs and, most of all, Kegel exercise balls, which had a memorable cameo in the book. Caught off guard, the balls were often out of stock and one manufacturer had to implement night shifts to keep up with demand.
But that was after the book.
When the "Fifty Shades" movie hits theaters widely Friday, expected to pull in at least $50 million over the four-day weekend, the steamy scenes that spurred some couples to pick up a riding crop for the first time will play out on screen for the millions more who weren't inclined to leaf through the lusty pages.
"I do believe that after the movie comes out that sales are going to grow even more," said Sara Ramirez, associate publisher of XBiz, which publishes trade magazines for the adult industry. Ramirez, who said she didn't read the books but is excited to the see the relentlessly hyped movie, believes the big-screen version of "Fifty Shades," the titillating tale of an ingenue submitting to the sadomasochistic games of a powerful billionaire, will dwarf the book's impact on the sex toy industry.
This time, though, retailers are prepared.
At Tulip, an adult store with locations in Lakeview and Andersonville, owner Camila Klinger has been stocking up on new types of ropes, paddles and fetish gear, plus the officially licensed "Fifty Shades of Grey" line of sex toys, which bear quotes from the book on their packaging to remind shoppers of the scene in which a particular product was used.
Starting next week, Klinger plans to offer in-home parties to showcase the "Fifty Shades" line - like Tupperware parties, except with a suitcase full of bondage gear and a workshop on the BDSM lifestyle (the term refers to bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadomasochism).
Once a very small percentage of revenue, BDSM product sales have at least doubled since "Fifty Shades" became a phenomenon, Klinger said, which also has helped lift sales of other items, as shoppers picking up ankle restraints might also grab some lingerie.
The heightened enthusiasm isn't without risk.
Citing data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, The Washington Post reported last week that the number of Americans requiring emergency room care for injuries involving sex toys has doubled since 2007. While there's no proof linking overzealous "Fifty Shades" fans to the injuries - 83 percent of which required "foreign body removals" - most of them happened in 2012 and 2013, after the book was published, the Post noted.
The "Fifty Shades" franchise can't take responsibility for boosting bedroom adventurousness on its own. Greater social acceptance of sexual paraphernalia has been driving adult store revenues up for almost a decade, according to a report from market research firm IBISWorld.
But IBIS credits "Fifty Shades" for helping U.S. sales grow 7.5 percent in 2013, to $609.8 million. Women account for 67 percent of those store sales, up from 55 percent in 2008, thanks largely to the mainstreaming of sex toys as well as declines in male consumption as pornography has shifted to the Web.
Ramirez, who said adult store revenues are notoriously difficult to pinpoint, puts domestic sales closer to $1 billion to $2 billion. More than a dozen manufacturers have launched bondage lines inspired by "Fifty Shades," she said, greatly increasing the product mix with higher-quality items.
At the chain Lovers Lane, stores have grown their bondage collections by 40 to 50 percent to prepare for the movie, said Jenny Silva, regional sales manager overseeing 32 locations in Illinois, Michigan and Indiana.
"People used to be so nervous going into the bondage section," she said. "It seems like it's not so taboo anymore."
The franchise has already made its way into unlikely retail markets. Target is carrying the "Fifty Shades" official gear at most of its stores. Movie tie-ins can be found in OPI nail polish, Surf laundry detergent, a Make Up For Ever lip set and a Vermont Teddy Bear holding a mask and mini handcuffs.
Those naughty bears were a good bet. They are on track to sell out and are the company's best-selling themed bear to date, a Vermont Teddy Bear spokeswoman said.
While Klinger, the Tulip owner, has concerns about the "Fifty Shades" story, which she says is a "complete misrepresentation" of BDSM and is "really a description of a girl in an abusive relationship," she said the interest it has driven in sexual exploration is a positive.
Before the movie trailer was released, a typical BDSM 101 workshop at Tulip would draw 18 attendees, she said. But last month almost 60 people piled into the Lakeview store for the class, forming a line out the door, Klinger said. Ninety percent of them were first-timers.
"It offers a really great educational opportunity that we didn't have before," she said.
At Pleasure Chest in Lakeview, store manager Sarah Sloane said the makeup of her classes has changed dramatically since the launch of the book, when she would see couples in their 50s and 60s who were new to kink coming in to buy bondage gear.
"We recently did a class talking about spanking and flogging, and we had 25 people in it," Sloane said. "That wouldn't have happened three years ago."
Cheryl Sloane, owner of G Boutique in Bucktown and unrelated to the Pleasure Chest's Sloane, said her priority in the ramp up to the movie's release is preparing her sales associates to educate customers.
"People come in and buy what they see in the books or movie, and it may not be what they actually want," Sloane said. For example, those Kegel exercise balls, consistent best-sellers since the rise of "Fifty Shades," are meant to strengthen the pelvic floor and are unlikely to elicit the irrepressible arousal at a dinner party that the book's heroine enjoyed, she said.
While she is skeptical that the movie will bump sales as much as the book did, since the novelty has worn off, she expects more men will be sitting in the audience.
"I'm hoping we will see more couples coming in making decisions together," she said.
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