2023 CES is just around the corner. I attended CES when I was doing my internship at KOTRA Los Angeles in 2011. Although CES was fascinating, I encountered a life-changing moment elsewhere next to CES, and that was the Adultcon.
Adultcon was an adult entertainment convention held in the corner of Las Vegas simultaneously with CES. Out of 20s young man’s sheer personal curiosity, I couldn’t help but attend there. I don’t remember exactly how much it was, but as an intern, it was quite an investment. When I was walking towards the entrance of Adultcon, I could feel my heart pounding. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for my expectations to turn into disappointment. Unlike CES, Adultcon was still too old-fashioned and dismal. Sexuality doesn’t need to be hidden in the shadow, but even in the ‘so called’ world no.1 porn star expo, I could hardly find innovation – just crude vibrators, lubes, and lingerie.
That was the time I first had a concept of establishing a company in sex and adult industry. I wanted to bring the sexuality from the shadows to the sun. I tried hard for two and a half years, but it didn’t work out. There were several reasons why it wasn’t successful, but now that I’m looking back, the biggest reason was that I didn’t have an in-depth knowledge of the industry. Although I had some retail and online experience in P&G, the sales channels and methods were completely different from what I used to do there.
This became a learning to establish ECOM-US. ECOM-US is a brand eCommerce enabler, and brand eCommerce is what I have been doing for most of my career. I will use all my knowledge and experience to help my brand partners with their online business.
[Image: CES & Adultcon websites]