Tech • AI • Robotics
In France, We Know How to Make an Airbus, But Not a Sex Toy” - Passage du Désir
3/10TL;DR
Passage du Désir, founded nearly 19 years ago by Patrick Pruvot, built a mainstream retail business around intimate wellness by distancing itself from the traditional sex-shop model, overcoming banking and distribution barriers, and growing to about €35 million in revenue.
KEY POINTS
A brand built against the old sex-shop model
Passage du Désir was created to separate intimate wellness from the mix of pornography and erotic retail long associated with traditional sex shops in France. The concept focused on products framed as relationship, wellness and self-care items, with stores designed to feel accessible and non-intimidating. The commercial bet was that these products could be sold like any other lifestyle category if presented in a mainstream setting.
An accidental origin turned entrepreneurial pivot
Founder Patrick Pruvot, a former advertising executive, said the business emerged from a chain of personal and practical circumstances rather than a long-held plan to become an entrepreneur. After a divorce, he moved to Rue Saint-Denis in Paris, above a sex shop, and concluded that the market was failing to reach women and couples. A later move near the Passage du Désir led him to secure the brand name and launch the company.
Prime retail locations were central to the strategy
From the start, the company aimed for high-traffic, mainstream shopping areas near chains such as Zara and H&M, arguing that normalization depends on visibility. The logic was simple: a higher rent in a busy district was preferable to a cheaper site with low footfall. Being placed next to mass-market fashion retailers helped make the category feel ordinary and accessible rather than hidden or taboo.
Banks and landlords initially resisted the business
The early years were marked by strong institutional reluctance. Banks, landlords and some investors often refused to engage, either for reputational reasons or because the concept had few clear market comparables. Pruvot said that once a business in this sector passes roughly €10 million in annual revenue, resistance largely disappears and financial institutions become far more willing to work with it.
A department-store foothold unlocked credibility
One of the first major breakthroughs came through a stand at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann. That presence gave the brand mainstream legitimacy and helped ease skepticism from partners and financiers. It also validated the core thesis that intimate-wellness products could be sold in prestigious retail environments rather than confined to specialist outlets.
Growth accelerated sharply during and after Covid
For roughly its first decade, the company expanded at a measured pace, opening about one store a year. During the Covid period, online sales surged by about 300%, and e-commerce overtook physical retail. Unlike many pandemic winners that later cooled, the company said growth remained strong afterward, supported by repeat purchases and broader acceptance of intimate-wellness products.
The business now spans stores, e-commerce and private label
Passage du Désir now operates around 25 stores in France and is preparing its first foreign opening in Brussels. Annual revenue stands near €35 million. About 50% of sales come from its own products, a response to a market historically dominated by Dutch and German suppliers and a lack of French manufacturing capacity for many of the category’s higher-tech items.
France still lacks industrial capacity for many products
The company manufactures largely in China, despite attempts to build French-made alternatives. Pruvot argued that France does not currently have the industrial base or technology needed for many intimate devices, summarizing the gap bluntly: the country can build an Airbus, but not these products. The comment reflects a broader issue of missing specialized production infrastructure.
Couples are the core market, not solo use
The company’s messaging centers on couples and relationship maintenance rather than solitary pleasure. Internal research cited by the business found that 74% of sex-toy use happens within couples, while about 80% of French people describe themselves as being in a relationship. That positioning also helps the brand navigate advertising restrictions on platforms that often censor explicit vocabulary and imagery.
Men’s products remain harder to sell
The company has launched a men’s range called Hector, but Pruvot said male customers remain more reluctant than women to buy intimate products. He argued that women are more comfortable exploring their bodies, while men often associate such purchases with stigma or social failure. Even so, some products aimed at men and mixed use have sold well, including a Donald Trump themed plug and other novelty items.
CONCLUSION
Passage du Désir has grown by turning a stigmatized retail niche into a mainstream wellness category, using branding, store placement and product curation to widen the market. Its trajectory suggests that social barriers in intimate commerce can soften quickly once commercial scale and retail legitimacy are established.
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