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Story of Hotlips

Personal

It was the economically bleak early 1990s, and our founder, Timo Majuri, was pondering where to invest the capital he had earned from his traffic light maintenance work in Helsinki. The idea of starting his own sex shop had been simmering under his bangs for a while, and now, if ever, was the right time to establish his own sex shop in Helsinki.

The first business space was found in Katajanokka, and it was about 40-50 square meters in size. It quickly became apparent that the space was hopelessly too small, and a move to larger premises in Itäkeskus was necessary. Little did Timo know then that the store would still be operating in the same location today.

Initially, the business space was twice the size of the first one in Katajanokka, and it quickly filled up with one hot VHS sex film after another. Customers found the store surprisingly quickly, and the sales growth was very favorable from the early stages. Soon, it became clear that it was time to break through the walls to the empty adjacent spaces.

Soon enough, the store reached its current size of over 400 square meters, and additional help was needed quickly. A friend introduced Samuli Katainen, who had just been discharged from the army in the spring. He quickly took over the daily operations of the store, allowing Timo time to develop the business further. In the 1990s, the business was almost entirely based on the sale and rental of sex films and magazines. These were sourced in large quantities from Sweden and various wholesalers in Europe. Our customers eagerly sought new releases every week, and we delivered!

Direct importing from producers and wholesalers kept prices very competitive, which was noticed by our thousands upon thousands of satisfied customers. New releases arrived on the rental shelves every single week, and business was brisk. But soon, some dark clouds began to gather on the horizon of the sex business...

At that time, Finland had a completely absurd and inconsistent law, nicknamed Lex Paasilinna after its initiator. In short, the law required that every video sold in Finland had to be inspected by the state's film inspection office at a fresh price of 5 marks per minute.

That wasn't the worst of it; the law stipulated that the highest possible age rating was restricted to those under 16. This meant that no adult film would pass inspection, even if it were submitted for review. However, importing and wholesale distribution were completely legal, and the state was happy to collect customs duties and taxes from this activity. Additionally, entrepreneurs from neighboring countries could sell recordings to Finland through mail order without any fear of police or other authorities intervening.

Naturally, this led to a sort of rebellious spirit, and films were sold to adults without bothering with inspections. This resulted in a couple of massive adult film seizures, involving over 10 police officers at their peak. The number of seized recordings rose to over 12,000, presenting the police with massive logistical and storage challenges.

When the matter finally reached the courts, the courts invariably ruled that the seized property had to be returned. And so it was. It wasn't surprising since the content was entirely legal for adults. At best, two police patrols spent days driving the films back to our store. Not an ideal situation for the police either.

Annoyed by this, Samuli thought that this couldn't go on. There was no sense in it, and everyone was losing. Thus, Samuli began his diligent work to change this absurd law. It required hundreds of letters to our decision-makers, including the president, and this effort was eventually noticed. Samuli was invited to the parliament to be heard as an expert during the drafting of the new law. The new, more sensible law came into effect immediately in January 2001. The content of the law was, in essence, just as Samuli had outlined in his numerous suggestions to the decision-makers. Unfortunately, it took several unnecessary years to achieve this.

With the law finally changed, we could fully focus on developing the business. Samuli tirelessly attended trade shows and built increasingly better relationships with suppliers, leading to excellent deals with them. Everyone won and was satisfied. Our customers were thrilled with the quantity and quality of new and affordable films. Numerous exclusive agreements with various studios allowed us to offer very affordable prices to our customers.

The first version of our online store was launched in 1996, using ISDN and modem connections, and later the more expensive and faster ADSL connections. Since then, our online store has developed into one of Finland's most popular stores for those who enjoy life.

Soon, various digital formats began to emerge on the market. First came CD-Rom discs with a massive amount of images, followed by Video CDs with films. Naturally, we had a comprehensive selection of these, and early adopters picked their favorites. DVDs made their way onto the market in the early 2000s, but initially, their high prices were a barrier to sales.

A new release could cost nearly 400 marks, which is equivalent to a substantial amount in euros today. Prices quickly dropped once DVD production got fully underway. It was economically challenging because each film had to be purchased in two different formats. But it was clear that the era of the large VHS cassette was nearing its end. DVDs were gaining ground until their popularity began to wane with the advent of online streaming services. Even today, DVDs are still sold to some extent, which is why we continue to stock them on our shelves.

Simultaneously, our company acquired a warehouse where our central warehouse is still located today. From our warehouse, all online store orders and orders from our business customers are shipped daily. The warehouse became absolutely essential, as our retail space, despite its 400 square meters, was becoming too small for our online store and wholesale business. Separating these into their own unit was a very sensible move. This ensured that everything operated at the highest level, meeting our criteria for excellence.

As a result, the development of sex toys took giant leaps. In the 1990s and 2000s, there were about as few sex toys as there are physical sex films today. The quantity was really small.

However, the number of sex toy manufacturers quickly grew, and their development picked up real momentum. Topco Sales and California Exotics arrived from the USA. The packaging of American companies was in a league of its own compared to other operators in the market. We sourced these delights directly from the factories, and our customers thanked us for our efforts by filling their shopping carts with the new pleasure-bringers.

This was the starting point for massive product development, which continues to this day. No other industry comes up with new products at the same pace as the sex toy industry. New and increasingly innovative products hit the market in impressive quantities every week. Fortunately, our professional buyers know how to select only the best and highest quality products from this stream for the enjoyment of you and our other loyal customers.

Our company remains in the same reliable hands it has been in over the years. This ensures the best possible service level for you and secures our operations while creating jobs and well-being in our homeland. Hot Lips is a 100% Finnish company!

This was a brief, condensed history and story of our background and the journey of our company so far. It’s worth revisiting occasionally, as we add stories to it as they come to mind over the years!