Who ever dreamed that a chilly northern town, off the beaten path and far from North America’s most trendy cities, would turn out to be the ideal birthplace for an adult business? Kim Patterson did, 20 years ago, back when she was an aspiring retail owner with the simple ambition of running her own store.
Patterson is the poster child for anyone who naysays the potential for adult store success in the so-called “boonies.” Fargo, North Dakota, where Patterson was born and raised, is better known for spawning fictional crime dramas than pleasure boutiques — but that didn’t deter her from opening Enchantasys there in 2003. As it turned out, the Fargo community was in need of a safe, comfortable shop for women and couples to browse pleasure products, and that original retail location would turn out to be merely the first in what would become a successful nine-store chain.
I am proud to say that we can come together and work together to help each other out, even if we’re competitors.
Had that not been the case, Patterson says, she might have ended up in a totally different retail sector. Luckily for her and her beloved staff — not to mention the loyal customers of Enchantasys stores in North Dakota, Minnesota, Arkansas, Iowa, Alabama and Texas — that niche needed filling. Two decades later, Patterson is grateful to have led the way.
This month’s edition of WIA’s Woman of the Month highlights the inspiring story of Kim Patterson’s perseverance.
XBIZ: What initially inspired the Enchantasys brand? Was this your first involvement in the pleasure industry?
Kim Patterson: People always ask how I got into adult retail. I’m guessing it’s not the typical way! I was in the process of buying a floral shop, when the lady that I was buying it from changed her mind at the last minute. She decided she wasn’t ready to retire. I was ready to go, had my funding lined up and didn’t know what to do. I thought to myself, “What does Fargo need that it doesn’t have?” What I came up with was a female-friendly store that sold lingerie and adult toys — somewhere a female could go by herself, even at night, and have it be a safe space.
Looking back, if the adult bookstores around at the time had been clean and didn’t allow male customers to harass the female customers, I never would have done this. That was 20 years ago, and there weren’t a lot of boutique adult stores back then. They were still mostly adult bookstores, arcades or theaters with sticky floors and limited product selection.
I had a lot of retail background, but nothing in the adult industry. It was definitely a learning curve for the first couple of years. I probably made every mistake that I could, but I also got a lot of things right and learned fast what customers wanted.
XBIZ: What stood out to you the most after first joining the industry?
Patterson: We opened in March 2003 and we had only been open a few weeks when we were invited to go to the ILS show. It was, I believe, the first and only time it was held in Florida. We met so many nice and down-to-earth people. I think that’s what surprised me the most about the industry. Coming in, you have a preconceived notion of how people are going to be and that was not true at all. Almost everyone we encountered were nice, regular people. They were just more open-minded and accepting than others. I met people at that show that I still consider family after all these years.
XBIZ: How has your role at Enchantasys changed over the years?
Patterson: I went from being a sales clerk, buyer, merchandiser, HR and basically doing it all, to now, where I mostly oversee people. I’m more focused on the big picture instead of all the small details. There are definitely some days I miss the hands-on interactions with customers that I used to have. I still have a hard time comprehending that we have nine stores and that we are making a difference in a lot of people’s lives. In my head we’re still one small store in Fargo, North Dakota.
XBIZ: Who are your retail customers and how have their needs shaped Enchantasys?
Patterson: Things have changed a lot since our first store opened in 2003. We were focused on females and couples, providing a safe place for them to explore their sexuality and ask questions. Now we are a safe place for everyone. I don’t think we have a niche or can describe our customer in just a few words, because our customers are literally everybody of all ages, all pronouns, all preferences, and all walks of life. We have a lot of sex educators on the staff and we do classes in-store and at different venues. I think our staff training is one of the best in the industry. Any customer should be able to walk into any of my stores and have someone be able to answer whatever questions they have.
XBIZ: How has Enchantasys evolved since bouncing back from COVID?
Patterson: Post-COVID for us is returning to the basics. During COVID, everything was constantly changing, sometimes multiple times a day, and you had to react fast. Now it seems like we’re going back to things we were doing before the pandemic. For example, we started classes again and we’re doing more in-store events.
XBIZ: What do you love about being a “woman in adult” today? What keeps you feeling proud to be in our industry?
Patterson: As a woman in adult, I’m most proud of the impact we have in our customers’ lives. We’re normalizing sex, letting people know that they are normal, that it’s OK to be curious and try new things. There’s nothing wrong with them and they deserve love and pleasure just like everyone else. I’m proud to be a part of this industry family because that’s what it feels like. We have relationships with our customers, with our vendors and with other retail stores. I am proud to say that we can come together and work together to help each other out, even if we’re competitors. You don’t see that in other industries. There’s a loyalty that runs through this industry. We’re loyal to each other, we’re loyal to our customers and we’re loyal to ourselves.
Each month, XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
