DVDEmpire.com
Encyclopedia
Electronic commerce
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, eCommerce or e-comm, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, the term may refer to more than just buying and selling products online...
company based near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. The DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
retailer began in the mid 1990s, a time when the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
was just becoming a viable alternative to brick and mortar storefronts.
DVDEmpire.com offers a complete line of Mainstream and Adult entertainment products via its family of websites which include AdultDVDEmpire.com, GayDVDEmpire.com, BedroomAdvisor.com & UsedDVDEmpire.com. DVDEmpire.com also owns StripClubDatabase.com and PornstarEmpire.com.
The Early Days
DVDEmpire.com was created by Jeff Rix and John-Michael D’Arcangelo, two computer programmers. At the time they were both working on eCommerce projects for an industrial safety distributor. D’Arcangelo approached Rix, telling him about the new DVD format, pitching the idea of selling online.On August 18, 1997, DVDEmpire.com website was launched. It was incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
on September 17, 1997 as Right Ascension, Inc.
With $6,000 in start-up funds, the company became a full-time occupation for the two partners. They both strongly believed that simplicity was the key to successful eCommerce
Electronic commerce
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, eCommerce or e-comm, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, the term may refer to more than just buying and selling products online...
. By avoiding gimmicks ("bells and whistles"), they instead focused on creating a smooth-running, efficient website for customers to locate desired products. They pioneered the ability to let customers edit every aspect of their orders prior to shipment and were the first to offer pre-ordering of DVDs.
DVDEmpire.com's first facility was near Mars
Mars, Pennsylvania
Mars is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 1,746 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mars is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all of it land....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in early 1998. After outgrowing that location, operations were moved to its current facility in Warrendale
Warrendale, Pennsylvania
Warrendale is a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located in the northwestern corner of Allegheny County. It is the home to the corporate headquarters of Rue 21 and Joy Mining Machinery, as well as the United States Postal Service Pittsburgh Network Distribution Center, one of 21...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in August 2000.
DVDEmpire.com vs. Other Retailers
During the 1990s, Internet companies were investing large amounts of their budgets in advertisingAdvertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, an approach that was the then-"standard practice" in e-commerce
Electronic commerce
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, eCommerce or e-comm, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, the term may refer to more than just buying and selling products online...
. DVDEmpire.com instead chose to focus on building a closer relationship with existing customers. Efforts concentrated on customer service
Customer service
Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...
, website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
simplicity, and effective order fulfillment.
The transformation from startup to retail company wasn’t without difficulty. In 2000, as most other DVD retailers on the Internet were slashing prices (to the point where products were being sold at a loss), DVDEmpire.com remained one of the higher priced DVD retailers; cutting prices was simply a move they were unwilling to make. By continuing to follow the original business plan
Business plan
A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals....
of customer service and order fulfillment, DVDEmpire.com weathered the price wars and the dotcom collapses
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
in 2000, and emerged with a still-viable company.
In late 2000, that strategy paid off when their two largest competitors (Reel.com and DVDExpress.com) sold their assets and closed their doors.
Future Expansion
As certain niches developed on the Internet, especially in the world of Adult filmsPornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
, DVDEmpire.com always moved quickly into new territory. This stated "first in the door" policy has given the company great success.
The most noteworthy expansion came in late 1997, when DVDEmpire.com launched AdultDVDEmpire.com and began selling Adult DVDs. This move coincided with the first ever Adult DVD release, Bobby Sox by Vivid Studios
Vivid Entertainment
Vivid Entertainment Group is an adult video producer, featuring a catalog of VHS and DVD titles and internet content. In 2006 it was described by Reuters as one of the handful of studios that dominate the U.S. porn industry....
. By retailing Mainstream and Adult products, DVDEmpire.com was able to further succeed.
Since the company’s beginning in 1997, DVDEmpire.com has witnessed growth during each year of business. The company now employs nearly 100 full- and part-time employees, with its websites handling up to 2.5 million unique visitors each month. Its facility ships over 500,000 domestic and international packages each year.
DVDEmpire.com has expanded its adult sites' offerings, now presenting subscription and a la carte DVD Rentals, streaming and downloadable Video on Demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
, and sex toy
Sex toy
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure. The most popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals and may be vibrating or non-vibrating...
s.
In December 2006, Adult DVD Empire became the first adult retailer to start selling hi-definition titles, with the release of Wicked Pictures' Camp Cuddly Pines Powertool Massacre
Camp Cuddly Pines Powertool Massacre
Camp Cuddly Pines Powertool Massacre is an adult comedy-horror film released by Wicked Pictures. The film, originally released in 2005, is the first adult film to be released on the HD DVD format....
on HD DVD. In March 2007, Adult DVD Empire became the first adult retailer to offer Blu-ray titles, starting with Vivid's Debbie Does Dallas ... Again
Debbie Does Dallas ... Again
Debbie Does Dallas ... Again is a 2007 Vivid Entertainment sequel to Debbie Does Dallas featuring Monique Alexander, Savanna Samson, Hillary Scott, Stefani Morgan, and Sunny Leone...
.
In June 2007, Adult DVD Empire became the first online retailer to offer adult content for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, partnering with Digital Playground
Digital Playground
thumb|right|250px|Digital Playground's 2010 Contract Girls at the [[AVN Adult Entertainment Expo]] at the [[Sands Expo]], [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] on January 7, 2010...
to offer complete hard-core scenes.
Games Division Closes
In 2007, at the beginning of February, DVDEmpire.com announced that it would be closing its video game division. This announcement came in the form of a very candid open letter to the industry, posted on their website, which included such statements as "Video Game Industry Does Not Care" and "80% of Games Suck". The letter cited preferential treatment for larger sellers, lack of price protection, and overall inferior game quality as the main contributors to the division's demise. (Note: The original letter on DVDEmpire.com is gone. However, the site referenced replicates it exactly).The letter caught the attention of the gaming community, and many on-line news sources picked up the story.
Message board reactions on these sites were split.
Two weeks later, on Monday, February 12, DVDEmpire.com officially closed their games section and, according to another memo posted on their site, donated the remaining games to the Mars Home for Youth.
Industry Accolades
AdultDVDEmpire.com has won Adult Video NewsAVN (magazine)
Adult Video News is an American trade journal that covers the adult video industry. The New York Times notes that AVN is to pornographic films what Billboard is to records...
’ Best Retail Website Award
AVN Awards
The AVN Awards are movie awards sponsored and presented by the American adult video industry trade magazine AVN to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of the creation and marketing of American pornographic movies. They are called the "Oscars of porn"...
in 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010. In addition to these awards, Jeff Rix and John-Michael D'Arcangelo were featured in the July 2007 issue of AVN, in an article entitled "50 Under 40: The Most Influential People In Porn". DVDEmpire.com was one of only 4 featured online retailers, along with Good Vibrations
Good Vibrations (business)
Good Vibrations is a sex toy business based in San Francisco. It operates five retail stores ; a mail-order business; an e-commerce website; a wholesale arm; and an erotic-video production company, . Formerly, it also operated three publishing companies: Down There Press, Passion Press and...
, Sportsheets International, Inc.
Sportsheets International, Inc.
Sportsheets International, Inc., nicknamed Sportsheets , is an international sex toy manufacturer headquartered in Huntington Beach, California, United States.. The company was founded in 1993. Sportsheets manufactures and sells bondage and sex products with a product line with over 300 specialty...
, and WantedList
WantedList
WantedList was established in 1999 as an adult DVD-by-mail service, offering flat-rate subscription-based rentals by mail to customers in the United States. It is based in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California with an additional distribution center in New Jersey....
.
Further reading
- Adult DVD AVN Press Release, 16 November 2004
- "Online Retailers See Jolly Holidays in Software Sales", Video Business Online, 6 December 1999 (PDF file)