Lovehoney Checks in on 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Phenomenon

BATH, England—Two years after Fifty Shades of Grey was published and a year before the Hollywood adaptation is due to be released, adult distributor Lovehoney is taking a close look at consumer interest in the BDSM trilogy is tracking. The adult distributor pointed out that sales have topped more than 100 million copies worldwide. Fifty Shades of Grey has now spent more than 100 weeks on the New York Times' paperback best-sellers list and has been translated into more than 51 languages. Some 45 million copies of the trilogy have been sold in the United States alone, with 27 million copies in the United Kingdom and about 1 million copies each in Germany, France, Spain, Brazil and The Netherlands. According to Anne Messitte, publisher of Vintage/Anchor Books in the U.S., "We see new readers coming to the books every day. And the sales, two years after our initial publication, remain strong and steady.” The sales figures are good news for Lovehoney, which has the exclusive worldwide license to manufacture and distribute official Fifty Shades of Grey sex toys, bondage, lubricant and massage products. “It’s fantastic for the industry that Fifty Shades of Grey is still introducing new readers to the erotic world of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele,” said Lovehoney co-founder Richard Longhurst. “Everyone who reads Fifty Shades of Grey wants to get the same experience as the characters in the book, and buying products from the Official Fifty Shades of Grey product range is the best way to do it.” Lovehoney recently launched the new Fifty Shades of Grey Sensual Care Collection at Expomark in Cancun. The range of 11 personal lubricants and massage products will be available starting in April in the United States. The range complements the existing Fifty Shades of Grey Pleasure Collection of sex toys and bondage items. With the movie adaption to be released in February 2015, industry experts say many more book, bondage and sex toy sales are likely. The movie is being directed by Sam Taylor-Wood and stars former Calvin Klein model Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele. For more information on the product range, go to LovehoneyGroup.com.