Ann Summers party organisers

Ann Summers party organisers

Good news for lovers everywhere: if Valentine's Day doesn't quite meet your expectations, don't worry. Ann Summers, the purveyor of female sex accessories, insists it's still possible to get that 'Valentine's Day Buzz'. They sell it at £22.95 (batteries not included), and it's available from your local party organiser.

Your local what? Think Tupperware ladies turned naughty.

The organiser's job is to invite a group of girls over to see, try and buy something a little daring. The hostess lays on wine and nibbles, runs spicy party games and then demonstrate anything from a peek-a-boo bra and a 'waterproof love sheet' to fur-trimmed handcuffs.

And what do the organisers get in return? There's no basic pay, but the firm pays around 23 percent commission on every sale, and demonstrators who continually reach very high sales targets eventually qualify for a company car.

Those who do even better are in the running for other incentives, such as an overseas holiday. Organisers may work as many hours as they want and can, in theory, earn as much as they like.

Joining Ann Summers is easy. You fill in an online application form, press send and wait to be assigned a mentor. She takes you to two parties so you pick up the tricks of the trade.

If you're still up for it, you pay a nominal weekly rent for a starter pack, which Ann Summers values at £375. Your mentor takes you through its contents piece by piece, from the printed.....continued below

Advertisement starts

---

---

Advertisement ends

stationery and the breaking-the-ice-activities to the various items of lingerie and a selection of sex toys.

After a final pep talk, you are ready to go out in to the world as one of the 7,500 Anne Summers party organisers who hold 4,000 parties a week in the UK and Ireland.

Men need not apply. Ann Summers is for women only.

The brains behind all this is Jacqueline Gold, who effectively launched the company in 1981 and insists that any woman who knows how to have fun can 'soon be climbing the ladder of success at Ann Summers'.

But does it really work out this way for everyone?

Income

A few make good money working part-time, but most earn only pin money, organising two parties a fortnight.

Officially they get an average of between £40 and £60 a time, but from this they must pay their costs, including food, drink and the starter-pack rental.

Advantages

The hours are flexible, the start-up costs are low and a good living and great bonuses are possible.

And 'it can be enormously enjoyable', says one organiser. 'You really do have a laugh.' Oh, and you get 30 per cent off anything you buy from Ann Summers.

Disadvantages

A recent BBC documentary found that some women struggled to make a worthwhile profit.

Other critics say the Ann Summers format requires women to exploit their social networks for the promise of gain. There are suggestions, too, that organisers now have to compete for business with the shops the firm has opened around the country.

Future

Tupperware sacked its UK party organisers recently after rivals firms took over their market. Will a similar fate befall Ann Summers?