Latest innovations for adult retailers on display at AVN

Inside the AVN Adult Novelty Expo, exhibitors are showing retail buyers and distributors the latest innovations available to adult retailers.

And it's all in the name of pleasure.

Jim McCreary, owner of Henderson-based Sexi Chairs, said his oversized product is receiving a "phenomenal" reception at the show.

"People love the chair for a couple of real good reasons," he said.

The primary reason could be that it has no fabric or seams, so it's completely smooth and won't catch any items that might end up on the chair.

Retail cost is $1,000-$1,500, and it's designed to last for 20 years. The steel-and-Fiberglas chairs also have no movable pieces.

Designed for sex, the chair won't move when you do - it can withstand about 600 pounds of pressure.

The chair also features handles and foot grooves.

"Novelty-wise, you're definitely seeing a lot of luxury products coming out from the high-end packaging to the actual toys to the technology," said Steve Javors, managing editor of AVN. "Sex toys are definitely getting a lot more sophisticated."

This year, AVN created a specific hall just for the luxury products, which included Las Vegas' own AL Enterprises, a manufacturer of male chastity devices.

"Certain brands, the luxury brands, are actually making more money than they have previously. I think luxury holds a certain cache," Javors said.

In its 15th year, the 2013 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo and Novelty Expo attracted about 30,000 attendees to the Hard Rock Hotel this week.

The show is expected to have a $38.2 million nongaming economic impact on Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

"It's going really well and it's a lot smoother than last year. It's the adult entertainment industry, and everyone who's a fan wants to meet their favorite girls and check out their favorite sex toys," Javors said.

In case you're interested, tickets to the AVN 30th anniversary Awards Show this evening are still available online.

Back inside novelty paradise, Michael Guilfoyle, president and CEO of Masque, was showing off his orally dissolvable strip that one places on the tongue prior to oral sex.

"It's similar to a Listerine strip in composition and look, but it's created to conceal certain flavor profiles from your tongue," Guilfoyle said.

The product is available online, carried in about 400 U.S. stores, and the company is in the process of obtaining regulatory approval to be sold in 23 new countries.

Retail cost for a single strip is $4, and a three-pack costs $9.95.

"AVN as an entity has been really, really great for us. None of us are from the adult world so we had no contacts," Guilfoyle said. "AVN has been able to help us vet potential partners."

Kevin Stranen, head chemist for Nature Labs, agreed.

"This show has been great for us," he said.

The brand makes 42 different lubricant products that contain royal jelly, among other ingredients. Flavors include papaya and mango, s'mores and tiramisu.

"We have really exotic flavors because we're all tired of the 1970s cherry that tastes like cough medicine," Stranen said.

With a background in food flavorings, it might be Stranen's glow-in-the-dark lube that's most unique. The products are available online and in a number of retailers.

Contact reporter Laura Carroll at lcarroll@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Follow @lscvegas on Twitter.