In Dongguan, Guangdong Province, the factory building of more than 3,000 square meters is a bit sultry, workers are busy producing a large-scale rubber made adult product- sex doll.
In the factory warehouse, more than 50 dolls have been packed in boxes, and they will be sent to Europe and America in a week. During the coronavirus, the export volume of adult products increased by nearly 50% over the same period last year, and the export of sex doll increased by more than 100%. Recently, the reporter came to the sex doll factory in Dongguan, Guangdong Province. The person in charge of the factory said that the overseas export volume of dolls is now getting more and more. The usual export volume is about 3,000 per month, but this year has more than doubled. At the same time, with the rise of the new mode of offline experience stores, the domestic market has gradually been opened up.
Produce 4,000 sex dolls per month, 90% of which are exported
Yan Sixue, the founder of the adult product brand “Youou”, told reporters, Since the coronavirus this year, the company’s overseas orders for sex dolls have increased significantly, especially orders from Europe, Spain, Italy, Germany. Data from the AliExpress also confirms the trend, according to the statistics of AliExpress, the export volume of adult products have increased by nearly 50% over the last year and sex dolls have double increased. Since March, the sales of sex dolls in Italy have increased five times over the last year.
In July, a reporter from The Paper visited Yan Sixue’s sex doll manufacturing factory in Dongguan, Guangdong Province. The charge of the factory Chen Qing told the reporter “At present, the monthly output of our factory is 3,000 to 4,000 dolls, most of which are exported to overseas markets such as Europe, America and Japan. Last year, our export proportion was 90%. This year, as the domestic market began to rise, the exports accounted for about 80%.”
Chen Qing said that since a few years ago, the overseas market demand for sex dolls has increased year by year. During the coronavirus, the company’s export volume has increased by more than 100%. “Orders from Germany have risen the most. The only impact of the coronavirus on us is that the freight fees has increased, and many lines have been shut down and we are forced to ship by sea.”
Life-like, customizable and even walk in the future
“Many people’s impressions of sex dolls may still remain at the stage of inflatable dolls. In fact, the materials have been updated many times.” Yan Sixue introduced.
Eight years ago, TPE material has been used to make dolls. In recent years, the latest material is silicone. Because of its high plasticity, the degree of simulation can be better. But the silicone is more expensive, many companies currently only use silicone to make the head of the doll.
Most of the sex dolls produced in Yan Sixue’s factory are for export, so reporters can see different skin tones in yellow, white, and black and various body types being manufactured in the factory. After pouring rubber into a mold equipped with an alloy skeleton, a doll with a height of 1.65 meters and a weight of about 35 kg was born.
“At the beginning, we will ask the designers to design some facial shapes based on the aesthetics of different countries, and then initiate an online survey to ask the locals whether they like it or not. After the final decision, we will start manufacturing molds. Now we offer more than 160 face shapes for users to choose from. ” Chen Qing said, “In terms of body shape, we completely replicate the body shape of a female model, even the joints are exactly the same.”
The reporter saw in the factory that some workers poured rubber into molds, some workers were trimming the edges of the doll, and some workers were installing eyeballs and make-up for the doll.
“Now, our high-end dolls are all implanted with human hair and eyebrows. And we’ve been able to make even the subcutaneous veins, which is quite different from the inflatable doll in our impression. ” Chen Qing said.
The high degree of simulation also brings increase of the price. According to reports, a basic doll made of all-rubber material is priced at around $300, while a high-simulation doll with a silicone head and human hair costs more than $1,000. With the addition of functions such as heating and voice, the price can reach $2,000. Chen Qing also introduced that the factory can even customize dolls for customers. “We have not done this kind of business for domestic users, but we have done it for overseas users. A widowed old man provides a few photos of his wife, and we can make a doll that copy his wife’s appearance. The function of a doll is not only Limited to meeting sexual needs, companionship is actually a very important aspect.” Acccording to the survey of the company’s brand leader Fang Jie, the current interaction of dolls with voice functions is too simple and not smart enough, which is a shortcoming pointed out by many users. In the next step, the company will strengthen R&D and cooperation to enhance the voice function of dolls, and AI functions may be implanted in the future. At the same time, allowing the doll to have a walking function is also the company’s next development direction.
Domestic experience stores began to rise
Fang Jie said that according to their survey, Chinese users who buy the company’s doll are mainly middle and high income men aged 30 to 35. “The high-end tpe dolls still have a certain limit in terms of price. We have a customer who is on a business trip all the year round. He bought a high-end doll and took it with him every time he went on business. It costs more than $800 a year on the doll. Sailors are also an important customer group for their company because they are sailing all year round.” Fang Jie said.
Recently, offline experience stores for sex dolls began to appear in Shenzhen and Dongguan. This is a relatively novel service mode. The dolls that costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars can be “experienced” for an hour here for only 30 dollars.
Chen Qing introduced that the China’s first offline experience store appeared in Shenzhen, and they offered part of sex doll for the store. “In the domestic market, we used to sell mainly on online platforms such as Alibaba. At the end of last year, the offline experience stores appeared. It provides an opportunity for people to know more about dolls offline. If you feel satisfied, you can buy one directly from the store and take it home. “
“At present, the ratio of men and women in China is seriously imbalanced. There are more than 30 million male who are bachelors. I think the potential market demand for sex dolls is still very large.” Chen Qing said.
The most worrying thing about the sex doll offline experience store is undoubtedly the health problem. Fang Jie said that at present, the company’s experience store is no problem in terms of supervision. As for the most concerned health issues, the products used in the experience store have unique “removable vagina” design, which can be replaced at any time to avoid cross-infection. “At the same time, we also stipulate that guests must use their ID card to register when entering the store. This is to prohibit minors from entering, and on the other hand, it is convenient to investigate if there is any problem.” Fang Jie said.
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