Swiss store chain rapped for selling vibrators

The cooperative chain last week introduced a vibrator made by Durex called Play Pure Fantasy in 30 of its Coop City stores and it intends to expand its line of such products in the coming months, according to a report.

Coop says it is meeting the robust and growing demand for condoms, lubricants and naughty toys, according to the Schweiz am Sonntag weekly newspaper.

Urs Meier, a spokesman for Switzerland’s number two retailer, told the paper that Coop had been selling a vibrating ring for men for several years.

But Patrick Stöckli, head of the Erotikmarkt chain of stores, is taking a dim view of the general merchandiser selling gadgets that should in his view be left to specialists.

“A vibrator does not belong on the shelves of Coop,” Stöckli told Schweiz am Sonntag.


“There is not the right atmosphere in these stores — they lack the erotic touch.”

But Stöckli is also put out from a business point of view.

He claimed that because it can order products in huge quantities Coop can sell the vibrators at 25 percent less than through the producer Durex’s official website.

However, he said over the long term he expected the diversification of products sold by Coop would not have a lasting impact on sales at his own stores, which specialize in vibrators and other sex toys.

Globus, another Swiss department store chain, briefly introduced sex toys on its shelves in 2007 before management changed its mind, determining they were not appropriate.

Migros, the major competitor to Coop, also considered selling vibrators several years ago before abandoning the idea.