grandmodesty [2338209] —
Original article
One year after their upgrade, many Lingerie Stores are being put up for sale. Former Lingerie director Grandmodesty explores why, and reveals what it takes to run these companies properly.
It's nearly one year since Lingerie Stores were overhauled, with a huge increase to income potential applied alongside a complete revamp of the job specials. The publication of these panty-dropping perk changes in Patch List #193 saw both employees and directors flock to the land of lace, but with the anniversary of the Lingerie update having only just passed, it is time to ask whether these changes have helped, or if the naughty fantasy has burned out.
One Year On
Back in May 2021, Sugarvalves' article announcing the Lingerie Store changes revealed that there were just 99 people employed in this industry at the time, with these employees spread across 39 Lingerie Stores, only 14 of which were active. Six of the 14 active stores were at 10-star level, with three 9-stars, and one company each on 8, 7, 4, 3, and 1-star level.
So how does that compare to today? Well, there are now 787 people working in Lingerie Stores (not including inactives), and these employees are spread across a massive 210 companies - this is now the ninth-most popular company type in Torn City. 42 Lingerie Stores are currently at the max 10-star level, with 176 companies at 5-stars or more.
The 61.7% increase in gross income potential has also had a huge impact on the profitability of Lingerie Stores, with income per employee value rising from $98k to $623k. Most of this extra profit hasn't been passed onto the employees, however, with median pay only rising by $10k from $50k to $60k - perhaps that will change after this article.
Special Measures
The Lingerie Store specials were undeniably improved by this update, as while the originals were a mishmash of fillers and armorless build perks, the new specials turned this company into a highly profitable place to work for anyone at a 7-star company or above.
Simp, the 7-star perk, provides free upkeep and staff costs, with this potentially worth up to $352,500 per day for those with a fully-upgraded Private Island. This huge saving explains why the median pay at Lingerie Stores remains relatively low compared to their profitability, with the value of this special more than the median pay at all but five of Torn's companies.
But if Simp is the foreplay, the 10-star Sex Appeal special is the climax, as this perk provides free business class travel. When combined with the 3-star concealment perk that adds two to travel capacity, the ability to reduce flight times by 70% is a dream for item runners, who now chase targets abroad so fast the air hurts their bare cheeks.
Pictured: A Lingerie Store employee landing abroad.
The other specials are useful too, with 1-star providing endurance work stats in exchange for job points, and 5-star giving unarmored players a 50% boost to speed and dexterity. But let's be honest, nobody is joining a Lingerie Store to run around naked all day. This company's free upgrade and flight perks make it a bona fide employee magnet, especially for new players with low work stats who can't afford the WLT stock.
Economic Impact
As is often the case in Torn City, some elements of the community like to prophesize that any new changes will be the death of something, be it the economy, a playstyle, or Torn City itself. One of the most common complaints at the time was that the popularity of the Lingerie Store would see Toy and Flower Shops run out of business and that Cruise companies would also see less interest from employees. So how did that work out?
Back in 2019, long before the Lingerie Store were revamped, there were 1,265 employees working in Flower Shops. By 2022, this number had increased to 1,493, and a similar trend was seen at the Toy Shop, whose employee numbers rose from 313 to 548. Cruise Lines admittedly did take a small hit, with their total employees dropping from 914 to 844, but a small fall like this is expected and indeed desirable when company revamps are introduced.
Another common concern was that the a** would fall out of the plushie and flower market now that free travel was possible. One player even went so far as to calculate that if someone with 31 travel capacity used a 10-star Lingerie to fly 5 times a day every day for a month, and they bought only Lion Plushies, they could make a total profit of over $318 million per month. And all you'd have to do is spend your entire day flying, every day, for a month.
Pictured: And here, sir, is where you'll be spending the rest of your god damn life.
This is often the problem with such predictions, as they only ever take into account extreme scenarios, which are then used to judge the situation as a whole. The truth is that both flower and plushie prices remained stable after Lingerie Stores were upgraded, with their values now higher or roughly the same as they were in May 2021, despite the fact we've just endured the post-Museum Day lull.
The City Stats page shows us that there has been no change in travel or travel item trends since the Lingerie update. Additionally, the price of a Business Class Ticket saw no effect from the 10* perk addition, with their value currently $8.7 million compared to $6.5 million at the time of the Lingerie Store overhaul.
Pictured: Travel data for the entirety of Torn over the past year - look at that lovely UK color.
Pictured: Business Class Ticket Prices over the past year.
Lingerie Stores have undoubtedly made a lot of people a great deal of money, and there appears to be little evidence of them having a negative effect on Torn's economy, or indeed any particular playstyles. But are these companies still worth purchasing? Or have potential investors missed the boat?
Rising To The Occasion
As soon as the changes were announced back in 2021, the prices that directors demanded for Lingerie Stores skyrocketed overnight. The limited availability of 10-star firms drove this desperation, as there were just six in existence at the time - two years prior, there were only two.
Rather shamelessly, my co-investor Eichiy and I paid $1b for a 6-star Lingerie not long after they were revamped, such was our desire to get into the industry early. You might think that this was a gamble, but we were but two of many throwing around huge sums for a company that used to sell for just $200m to $400m back in 2020.
As it happens, we grabbed ourselves a bargain at the time, as we've seen some 10-star Lingerie Stores sell for $3b recently. Personally, I wouldn't recommend buying a 10-star Lingerie Store at such a high price, as it's a huge risk given you stand to lose over $1b in investment if you mismanage the firm and drop a star.
Pictured: Agent Provocateur it ain't!
Because of these high prices and the associated risk, many investors are trying their hand at getting 8 and 9-star companies over the hurdle to 10-stars. But this isn't as easy as you might think, hence why some directors turn to paid advisors in a desperate attempt to maintain their company's star status.
Employee Demand
In the early days of the Lingerie Store changes, it was not uncommon for me or any other top director to receive upwards of 10-20 daily requests for employment. But in recent months, we've noticed a small drop in the number of people working in the Lingerie Stores, with the total employees in the sexy suspenders sector falling by around 40 since March.
One of the likely reasons for this is that the industry no longer caters to players with less than 10k endurance and intelligence. Whereas every position bar the HR officer has a minimum primary and secondary under 10,000, the stats required to make these companies efficient - particularly at 10-stars - is much, much higher.
Pictured: Minimums can be deceiving. Larger Link
Moreover, even those who do meet the new minimums for max efficiency are finding life in a top Lingerie Store hard, as with greater competition now prevalent in the industry, the margins for error are paper thin. This means that some directors are cracking down hard on those with a drug habit, and this has a knock-on effect of dissuading heavy trainers from staying in the industry long term.
When it comes to employee setups, the top 25 seem to be split between two different approaches. All of them employ at least 1 Store Manager and 1 Lingerie Model, but 16 of the top 25 Lingerie Stores employ 8 salespeople, whereas the rest prefer 7 salespeople and an HR officer. What's interesting is that while the 8 salesperson approach is most common, five of the top six companies have opted for the 7 salesperson approach.
This salesperson-heavy setup means that those with relatively low work stats still have a place here, just not the ultra n00bs of years gone by. If money is your only goal at the moment, the Lingerie Store is a safe bet for those looking for a job. But for employees who want to get strong, there are much better places to work.
Fine Margins
Now that we've explored the changing requirements and fortunes of Lingerie Stores, it's time to find out why so many are being sold right now. One reason could be that the initial popularity of the Lingerie Store attracted many inexperienced directors who found themselves in a race to the top alongside industry veterans. Sure, some of them may have found great success, but I imagine others have since realized that taking a firm to 10-stars and keeping it there is no easy task.
Things have calmed down since the initial excitement, but at the start it was like the wild west, with employee poaching rampant, insider information traded like candy, and every director willing to try anything and everything just to remain at the top of this golden mountain. Only those with the sharpest elbows and the greatest experience will have survived this period, especially if there is any truth to the rumors that secret director age criteria prevents you from reaching certain star levels.
Pictured: Historically accurate depiction of Lingerie Stores rushing to reach 10*
And the reward for all that hard work reaching the top? More hard work. Those whose employees fit the bill of 150+ efficiency have found themselves having to tax their wages to offset the large operating costs caused by ballooned advertising budgets. Others have made us of the free flight perks to travel grind their company out of the red. For some, like myself, a place in the Travel Hall of Fame was quickly attained, but at the cost of 8-minute phone checks flying to and from Mexico.
For employers, the shine of Lingerie Stores has definitely been replaced with the grind, with the margin for error low and the cost of failure high. Many are stuck ordering stock on a daily basis to maintain the maximum sale amount, while simultaneously reworking their advertising and pricing. For some, this is too much, and in recent times, I've seen over half a dozen 10-star Lingerie Stores being put up for sale.
Time To Strip Off?
Personally, having reached my goals by entering the Travel Hall of Fame and rising to the #1 Lingerie Shop for a time, I decided to sell off my share in the business back in September 2021. My 50% stake in ownership was bought out for $1b, with Eichiy since having sold the entire company for $3b in March. While I would definitely return to the industry at some point, I share many of the feelings of burnout that other directors have expressed.
Talking to other 10-star directors who have or are looking to sell, many cited the intense time commitments required to keep up the company as their main reason for doing so. “Bloom is definitely off the rose” said Eichiy regarding the change in favorability. The other factor mentioned was the constant temptation to travel - arguably one of the most boring ways to make money in Torn - with many burnt-out directors opting to search for more exciting perks elsewhere, particularly those that provide passive rewards.
Pictured: Still, there are some perks you'll never find elsewhere.
It should be noted that not every director is running for the hills, however. Some directors, such as Illuminaughty owner Rhyno7, are content with the fruits of the labor. Rhyno stated that while he has had to fight back from dropping to 9-stars due to employee inactivity, he doesn't think that running such a company is particularly overwhelming.
A Kinky Conclusion
So, did the Lingerie revamp consist of nothing more than putting a negligee on a pig? Or was this update a welcome change to rekindle the flame? While many were quick to laud the overhaul as overpowered and an easy way to get rich, others have since decided that the work required to maintain these profits is daunting, and not worth the effort. As with everything in Torn, the value of any given outcome depends on one’s playstyle, goals, and activity level.
For what it's worth, in my opinion running a Lingerie Store with taxes and paid-for trains is a smart move, as it does seem to offer quite a bit of coin on top of the travel income. But this is only the case if you're willing to put in a lot of work to achieve your position at the top, and then continue working to maintain it indefinitely, with an exit strategy in place for when you burn out.
Overall, the Lingerie Store now provides great reward for great effort. And that's precisely how it should be.
Grandmodesty's Frisky Five Tips for Running a Lingerie Store
One Year On
Back in May 2021, Sugarvalves' article announcing the Lingerie Store changes revealed that there were just 99 people employed in this industry at the time, with these employees spread across 39 Lingerie Stores, only 14 of which were active. Six of the 14 active stores were at 10-star level, with three 9-stars, and one company each on 8, 7, 4, 3, and 1-star level.
So how does that compare to today? Well, there are now 787 people working in Lingerie Stores (not including inactives), and these employees are spread across a massive 210 companies - this is now the ninth-most popular company type in Torn City. 42 Lingerie Stores are currently at the max 10-star level, with 176 companies at 5-stars or more.
The 61.7% increase in gross income potential has also had a huge impact on the profitability of Lingerie Stores, with income per employee value rising from $98k to $623k. Most of this extra profit hasn't been passed onto the employees, however, with median pay only rising by $10k from $50k to $60k - perhaps that will change after this article.
Special Measures
The Lingerie Store specials were undeniably improved by this update, as while the originals were a mishmash of fillers and armorless build perks, the new specials turned this company into a highly profitable place to work for anyone at a 7-star company or above.
Simp, the 7-star perk, provides free upkeep and staff costs, with this potentially worth up to $352,500 per day for those with a fully-upgraded Private Island. This huge saving explains why the median pay at Lingerie Stores remains relatively low compared to their profitability, with the value of this special more than the median pay at all but five of Torn's companies.
But if Simp is the foreplay, the 10-star Sex Appeal special is the climax, as this perk provides free business class travel. When combined with the 3-star concealment perk that adds two to travel capacity, the ability to reduce flight times by 70% is a dream for item runners, who now chase targets abroad so fast the air hurts their bare cheeks.
Pictured: A Lingerie Store employee landing abroad.
The other specials are useful too, with 1-star providing endurance work stats in exchange for job points, and 5-star giving unarmored players a 50% boost to speed and dexterity. But let's be honest, nobody is joining a Lingerie Store to run around naked all day. This company's free upgrade and flight perks make it a bona fide employee magnet, especially for new players with low work stats who can't afford the WLT stock.
Economic Impact
As is often the case in Torn City, some elements of the community like to prophesize that any new changes will be the death of something, be it the economy, a playstyle, or Torn City itself. One of the most common complaints at the time was that the popularity of the Lingerie Store would see Toy and Flower Shops run out of business and that Cruise companies would also see less interest from employees. So how did that work out?
Back in 2019, long before the Lingerie Store were revamped, there were 1,265 employees working in Flower Shops. By 2022, this number had increased to 1,493, and a similar trend was seen at the Toy Shop, whose employee numbers rose from 313 to 548. Cruise Lines admittedly did take a small hit, with their total employees dropping from 914 to 844, but a small fall like this is expected and indeed desirable when company revamps are introduced.
Another common concern was that the a** would fall out of the plushie and flower market now that free travel was possible. One player even went so far as to calculate that if someone with 31 travel capacity used a 10-star Lingerie to fly 5 times a day every day for a month, and they bought only Lion Plushies, they could make a total profit of over $318 million per month. And all you'd have to do is spend your entire day flying, every day, for a month.
Pictured: And here, sir, is where you'll be spending the rest of your god damn life.
This is often the problem with such predictions, as they only ever take into account extreme scenarios, which are then used to judge the situation as a whole. The truth is that both flower and plushie prices remained stable after Lingerie Stores were upgraded, with their values now higher or roughly the same as they were in May 2021, despite the fact we've just endured the post-Museum Day lull.
The City Stats page shows us that there has been no change in travel or travel item trends since the Lingerie update. Additionally, the price of a Business Class Ticket saw no effect from the 10* perk addition, with their value currently $8.7 million compared to $6.5 million at the time of the Lingerie Store overhaul.
Pictured: Travel data for the entirety of Torn over the past year - look at that lovely UK color.
Pictured: Business Class Ticket Prices over the past year.
Lingerie Stores have undoubtedly made a lot of people a great deal of money, and there appears to be little evidence of them having a negative effect on Torn's economy, or indeed any particular playstyles. But are these companies still worth purchasing? Or have potential investors missed the boat?
Rising To The Occasion
As soon as the changes were announced back in 2021, the prices that directors demanded for Lingerie Stores skyrocketed overnight. The limited availability of 10-star firms drove this desperation, as there were just six in existence at the time - two years prior, there were only two.
Rather shamelessly, my co-investor Eichiy and I paid $1b for a 6-star Lingerie not long after they were revamped, such was our desire to get into the industry early. You might think that this was a gamble, but we were but two of many throwing around huge sums for a company that used to sell for just $200m to $400m back in 2020.
As it happens, we grabbed ourselves a bargain at the time, as we've seen some 10-star Lingerie Stores sell for $3b recently. Personally, I wouldn't recommend buying a 10-star Lingerie Store at such a high price, as it's a huge risk given you stand to lose over $1b in investment if you mismanage the firm and drop a star.
Pictured: Agent Provocateur it ain't!
Because of these high prices and the associated risk, many investors are trying their hand at getting 8 and 9-star companies over the hurdle to 10-stars. But this isn't as easy as you might think, hence why some directors turn to paid advisors in a desperate attempt to maintain their company's star status.
Employee Demand
In the early days of the Lingerie Store changes, it was not uncommon for me or any other top director to receive upwards of 10-20 daily requests for employment. But in recent months, we've noticed a small drop in the number of people working in the Lingerie Stores, with the total employees in the sexy suspenders sector falling by around 40 since March.
One of the likely reasons for this is that the industry no longer caters to players with less than 10k endurance and intelligence. Whereas every position bar the HR officer has a minimum primary and secondary under 10,000, the stats required to make these companies efficient - particularly at 10-stars - is much, much higher.
Pictured: Minimums can be deceiving. Larger Link
Moreover, even those who do meet the new minimums for max efficiency are finding life in a top Lingerie Store hard, as with greater competition now prevalent in the industry, the margins for error are paper thin. This means that some directors are cracking down hard on those with a drug habit, and this has a knock-on effect of dissuading heavy trainers from staying in the industry long term.
When it comes to employee setups, the top 25 seem to be split between two different approaches. All of them employ at least 1 Store Manager and 1 Lingerie Model, but 16 of the top 25 Lingerie Stores employ 8 salespeople, whereas the rest prefer 7 salespeople and an HR officer. What's interesting is that while the 8 salesperson approach is most common, five of the top six companies have opted for the 7 salesperson approach.
This salesperson-heavy setup means that those with relatively low work stats still have a place here, just not the ultra n00bs of years gone by. If money is your only goal at the moment, the Lingerie Store is a safe bet for those looking for a job. But for employees who want to get strong, there are much better places to work.
Fine Margins
Now that we've explored the changing requirements and fortunes of Lingerie Stores, it's time to find out why so many are being sold right now. One reason could be that the initial popularity of the Lingerie Store attracted many inexperienced directors who found themselves in a race to the top alongside industry veterans. Sure, some of them may have found great success, but I imagine others have since realized that taking a firm to 10-stars and keeping it there is no easy task.
Things have calmed down since the initial excitement, but at the start it was like the wild west, with employee poaching rampant, insider information traded like candy, and every director willing to try anything and everything just to remain at the top of this golden mountain. Only those with the sharpest elbows and the greatest experience will have survived this period, especially if there is any truth to the rumors that secret director age criteria prevents you from reaching certain star levels.
Pictured: Historically accurate depiction of Lingerie Stores rushing to reach 10*
And the reward for all that hard work reaching the top? More hard work. Those whose employees fit the bill of 150+ efficiency have found themselves having to tax their wages to offset the large operating costs caused by ballooned advertising budgets. Others have made us of the free flight perks to travel grind their company out of the red. For some, like myself, a place in the Travel Hall of Fame was quickly attained, but at the cost of 8-minute phone checks flying to and from Mexico.
For employers, the shine of Lingerie Stores has definitely been replaced with the grind, with the margin for error low and the cost of failure high. Many are stuck ordering stock on a daily basis to maintain the maximum sale amount, while simultaneously reworking their advertising and pricing. For some, this is too much, and in recent times, I've seen over half a dozen 10-star Lingerie Stores being put up for sale.
Time To Strip Off?
Personally, having reached my goals by entering the Travel Hall of Fame and rising to the #1 Lingerie Shop for a time, I decided to sell off my share in the business back in September 2021. My 50% stake in ownership was bought out for $1b, with Eichiy since having sold the entire company for $3b in March. While I would definitely return to the industry at some point, I share many of the feelings of burnout that other directors have expressed.
Talking to other 10-star directors who have or are looking to sell, many cited the intense time commitments required to keep up the company as their main reason for doing so. “Bloom is definitely off the rose” said Eichiy regarding the change in favorability. The other factor mentioned was the constant temptation to travel - arguably one of the most boring ways to make money in Torn - with many burnt-out directors opting to search for more exciting perks elsewhere, particularly those that provide passive rewards.
Pictured: Still, there are some perks you'll never find elsewhere.
It should be noted that not every director is running for the hills, however. Some directors, such as Illuminaughty owner Rhyno7, are content with the fruits of the labor. Rhyno stated that while he has had to fight back from dropping to 9-stars due to employee inactivity, he doesn't think that running such a company is particularly overwhelming.
A Kinky Conclusion
So, did the Lingerie revamp consist of nothing more than putting a negligee on a pig? Or was this update a welcome change to rekindle the flame? While many were quick to laud the overhaul as overpowered and an easy way to get rich, others have since decided that the work required to maintain these profits is daunting, and not worth the effort. As with everything in Torn, the value of any given outcome depends on one’s playstyle, goals, and activity level.
For what it's worth, in my opinion running a Lingerie Store with taxes and paid-for trains is a smart move, as it does seem to offer quite a bit of coin on top of the travel income. But this is only the case if you're willing to put in a lot of work to achieve your position at the top, and then continue working to maintain it indefinitely, with an exit strategy in place for when you burn out.
Overall, the Lingerie Store now provides great reward for great effort. And that's precisely how it should be.
Grandmodesty's Frisky Five Tips for Running a Lingerie Store
1. Watch your pricing/inventory. Maximizing income is the name of the game, so find the best balance between pricing and stock levels. Running out or holding too much inventory will keep you from rising to the top!
2. Be prepared to fight for potential employees. 10*s have all the benefit of wonderful perks, you will have to entice potential employees with money, free trains, etc. - or just convince your friends to join you!
3. Keep an eye on the competition. While no one advocates for poaching employees or stealing company info, keeping an eye on your competition’s income levels and who they employ can give you a better understanding of what you’re up against!
4. Manage Employee Addiction. Many highly competitive industries look at hiring drug-free employees or requiring xanax-munchers to rehab often. Not maintaining a high efficiency level company-wide will lose you stars. This also goes for inactivity.
5. As with all companies: Do all related education courses and purchase the necessary stock blocks, without them your growth will be capped!
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