Source: Radio New Zealand
Ian Turner reckons his unique pink-door shop, nestled in a small village on SH1 between Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay, “puts Eketāhuna on the map”.
“People who live here, they all tell their friends, ‘oh, I live in the town with the sex shop’, and even if they don’t come in, I think they like it being notorious.”
He reckons Tabu is one of the most remote adult shops in the country.
Ian Turner is the owner of adult store Tabu.
RNZ
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“I knew adult stores. I knew the sex toy world. So that’s what inspired me to do this.”
Some customers come all the way from Masterton and Palmerston North, and stock up to “make it worth the journey”, he says. He estimates about half of his customers are regulars.
“[They come here] so they’re not doing it in their back garden, or the backyard, so to speak. You know, people who know them aren’t going to be passing by because some people are a bit nervous about being seen entering a sex shop,” Turner says.
“There aren’t many sex shops around, and the ones that are are a little bit old-fashioned – magazines and DVDs – that sort of thing. Not the sort of thing that would interest women, mainly. So they will travel to come to a nice place…
Risqué and Rural Country Life
“People are becoming more open. Instead of bottling up a problem or a desire, they’ll come and solve it.”
Turner says they do their best to make sure the environment is “as clean and bright and inviting as possible”.
He says he’s not had backlash because he runs the place with a “bit of discretion and a bit of understanding”, and no peeking from the windows outside.
“Travelling up and down the country, this is going to catch most [people’s attention] and there’s nowhere for like 20km one way and 40km the other way. So most people will stop for a coffee and stretch their legs, and I get at least 20 people a day poking their head around the door going, ‘oh this is a surprise to see you here’.”
With the cost of living crisis front of mind for many, he’s noticed “a slight dip” in business.
“But at the end of the day, if you’re selling alcohol or sex toys or cigarettes and people want them, they’re going to buy them. Maybe it’s not such a luxury, it’s a necessity for some people.”
He’s also there to lend a sympathetic ear to anyone needing a chat.
“Someone might start telling you about their wife that passed away and well I’m very sympathetic. I’ll be an ear if you want to talk to me about that.”
At the end of the day, “a small town isn’t a dead end necessarily”.
“It can give you an option to grow. It’s good practice for building up, saving up some money and then maybe moving to a city and you’ll be better prepared to deal with all the problems.
“If you can succeed in a small town, you can succeed anywhere.”
Risqué and Rural Country Life
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
