Clonezone

Clonezone, UK's prominent gay adult retail and distribution chain, has gone into court receivership, according to a newspaper report that cited the company’s insurmountable financial difficulty. Clonezone operates 10 brick-and-mortar locations around England, as well as a distribution business, retail website and mail order catalog.

After the recent hemorrhaging of money that the high street has seen with casualties including British staples Woolworths and MFI [furniture outlets] going bust it was only a matter of time before more niche and specialist retailers such as Clonezone were also hit, Pink News said.

Clonezone, which will continue operations without being liquidated, has been a highly visible member of the European gay adult entertainment community for more than 25 years.

Nice ‘n’ Naughty, the award winning UK adult shop chain has today announced the acquisition of a further 5 stores. This will increase the number of Nice ‘n’ Naughty stores from 11 to 16 and extend coverage nationwide, with branches in England, Scotland & Wales.

The new stores are located in Brighton, Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow and previously formed part of the Clonezone chain which has recently gone into administration. Nice ‘n’ Naughty takes over the stores on the 1st of February. All 5 will then be refitted, restocked and reopened within 8 weeks in order to minimize the interruption of service to customers whilst the rebranding to Nice ‘n’ Naughty takes place.

Philip Price, currently Nice ‘n’ Naughty’s Regional Manager for Lancashire and West Cheshire, will become Area Manager for the 5 new stores. Philip, a former manager with Clonezone, has over 7 years’ experience within the gay retail market plus 3 years with Nice ‘n’ Naughty. He plans to use this invaluable expertise within the gay sector, as well as his passion for the retail industry, to ensure that the 5 new stores cater for everybody. As well as ensuring existing customers find what they’re looking for, new product lines will also be introduced to attract a wider customer base to experience Nice ‘n’ Naughty’s distinctive retail approach.

Philip, a well known personality in Manchester, is also committed to supporting local businesses and charities within each area. Phillip commented, Since moving to Manchester 11 years ago, I have been actively involved on a personal level to help raise funds for local charities and organisations such as the LGF and George House Trust. Nice ‘n’ Naughty has also sponsored numerous events in the community, helping to raise funds and awareness, which is something we are passionate about continuing. The support that was given locally by Clonezone prior to their closure will continue through Nice ‘n’ Naughty. In fact, we have already been contacted to sponsor the 4th Annual Camp Awards in Newcastle, which we will be happy to do.

Simon Prescott, Director of Nice ‘n’ Naughty, continued, We have every intention to pick up where Clonezone left off, and will support the local communities 110% in the 5 cities and towns.

Nice ‘n’ Naughty has achieved Investors In People status and won many awards for excellence including ETO Best Adult retailer for 4 consecutive years and Best Retail Chain in Europe 2008 at the eLine Adult Awards. Nice ‘n’ Naughty’s stores cater for people of all sexual orientations: straight/gay/lesbian/bisexual/TV/TS. Knowledgeable, well trained staff are always on hand to offer customers help and advice.

I visited what used to be Clonezone on St James' Street, Brighton and it is now Nice 'n' Naughty.

I was greeted by a really nice girl (think she was the naughty one LOL). Something that was a surprise in the shop, as normally when I nip in to a gay store, you normally get ignored by the staff!

It had some really nice bits, and seemed to cater for us gay boys and girls really well. I ended up getting a couple of dvds on a multi buy offer, and to my surprise was actually given some customer service!

They had a suggestion box on the counter, and the boy and girl there were really sweet and helpful.

So going to wish the new guys n gals there a lot of luck for the future, nice to see a shop that looks after its customers and willing to get them what they want in a shop.