• The rise of Beate Uhse, German sex shop chain founder

    Sex shop pioneer

    Beate Uhse broke with taboos, speaking openly about sex and pleasure. In prudish post-war Germany, her name became a brand that stood for a new, open approach to sex and eroticism. Her name, indelibly linked to her sex shops of the same name, was recognized nationwide. Beate Uhse, who died in 2001, was born 100 years ago, on October 25, 1919.

  • The rise of Beate Uhse, German sex shop chain founder

    Up in the air

    Born in East Prussia, the athletic young woman finished high school, spent a year as an au pair in England and trained as a pilot. She married her flight instructor Hans-Jürgen Uhse. Initially a commercial pilot, Beate Uhse next qualified as a Luftwaffe pilot. She was widowed during the war and captured by the British. After her release, she moved to northern Germany with her young son.

  • The rise of Beate Uhse, German sex shop chain founder

    Good business sense

    Early on, Beate Uhse had the right instinct. Right after the war, she made the startup capital she needed for her company by selling pamphlets with advice on sex and contraception. Sexual liberation in the late 1960s gave her business a major boost. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the doors to her West Berlin sex shop were wide open.

  • The rise of Beate Uhse, German sex shop chain founder

    Open attitude

    The secret to Beate Uhse's success: the courage to turn sex into a business, as well as her personality. She did not mince words, addressing eroticism in a very straightforward way from her personal point of view as a woman. She skillfully created the Beate Uhse brand, a name soon found on products, magazines and shops.

  • The rise of Beate Uhse, German sex shop chain founder

    All about marital hygiene

    Sex shops and erotic mail order catalogs catapulted Beate Uhse to the top of the business sector in Germany. Though considered prudish at the time, the Germans flocked to buy books, magazines, sexual enhancers, sexy lingerie and condoms. Religious and political authorities were aghast, warning that Beate Uhse encouraged decadence.

  • The rise of Beate Uhse, German sex shop chain founder

    Finding acceptance

    At the beginning many people shunned the erotic pioneer — even her local tennis club did not want her to become a member. But the times changed, and in 1989, she was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for her contribution to sexual self-determination.

  • The rise of Beate Uhse, German sex shop chain founder

    Media darling

    Eloquent, cheeky — Beate Uhse never minced words and loved to provoke people. She talked about sex with ease, often wondering why there was no end to convincing women of being self-confident about their sexuality. She was a sought-after guest on TV shows. According to surveys, 90% of Germans in the 1990s knew who Beate Uhse was.

  • The rise of Beate Uhse, German sex shop chain founder

    Good years

    No more taboos: In the 1970s, moral laws were relaxed and pornography was legalized. In 1999, Beate Uhse went public. Shares started at €7.20 ($8) and sold for €28.20 three days later. The brand was always Beate Uhse, while the entrepreneur herself had remarried back in 1949 and taken her husband's last name, Rotermund.

  • The rise of Beate Uhse, German sex shop chain founder

    Free fall

    The sex retailer's success on the stock exchange was short-lived. Share prices slumped, and in 2018, they were worth less than a euro cent. The company that was once active in seven countries, employed about 1,400 people and generated sales of €270 million went bankrupt. Beate Uhse never witnessed the decline of her empire: She died in 2001.

    Author: Stefan Dege, Nadine Wojcik (db)