Priape

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Priape
Industrysex shop
Founded1974
FounderRobert Duchaîne and Claude Leblanc

Priape (meaning

sex toys
, and other products that appeal to the gay consumer.

The company was founded in

Rue Sainte-Catherine East in 1975, and then to 1311 rue Sainte-Catherine in 1987.[1] Additional Priape stores opened in Toronto, Ontario, in 1998, Calgary, Alberta, in 2004, and Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2005.[2] In 2001, the chain's then-owner, Bernard Rousseau, purchased Montreal's Librairie L'Androgyne bookstore,[3] although he closed that store within a year due to declining sales.[4]

In 2011, the store briefly became an international news story when Greg Davis, the then-mayor of Southaven, Mississippi, came out as gay after a forensic audit of his expense claims revealed that he had made a purchase at the store during a business trip to Toronto.[5]

The company also operated ManWear, which designed and sold

tank tops, jeans, and accessories. Priape was also a minority investor in Maleflixxx Television
, a Canadian subscription cable channel offering gay porn programming.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection on 27 June 2013.

Quebec Superior Court hearing approved a purchase offer by former general manager Denis Leblanc and theatre producer Stephen Pevner;[6] under its new ownership, the flagship store in Montreal and the website, Priape.com, have reopened while the Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary stores remain closed;[6]
however, other stores in those cities carry selections of Priape-branded merchandise.

References

  1. ^ a b "Restructuration et rationalisation en vue pour la chaîne de commerce de détail". Fugues, 25 July 2013.
  2. ^
    Xtra!
    , 21 October 2013.
  3. Montreal Gazette
    , 3 August 2001.
  4. Montreal Gazette
    , 20 July 2002.
  5. ^ Kirsten Boyd Johnson, Mississippi Mayor Outed After Visiting Gay Sex Shop With City Credit Card. Wonkette, 16 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  6. ^
    Xtra!
    , 30 October 2013.

External links

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