Norwegian opening Arctic sex shop near Russian border

SANDNES, Norway, March 3 (UPI) -- A businessman opening a sex shop in an Arctic Norwegian village said he discovered a demand for adult goods while running a convenience store in the region.

Bjorn Lund, 48, said he is nearly finished converting a former hunting and fishing shop in Sandnes, a northeastern Norwegian village just a few miles from the Russian border in the Arctic, and he is planning to start selling sex toys, pornography and intimate apparel later this month, TheLocal.no reported Monday.

Lund said he was surprised at the demand for adult goods when he was running a convenience store in the region about a decade ago.

"When I sold these goods earlier, we had customers from all over the county," Lund told the Finnmarken newspaper. "But it was a little difficult to sell such items in the same place where people came to buy food. I thought, 'The community is small and there is a lot of talk. It might therefore easier to sell erotic articles in a separate shop.'"

Lund said his store will be part of the Erotikkland franchise, which is based in the southern city of Kristiansand.

"I've ordered a lot of items. I'll stock up and then see what customers want," Lund said. "The shop signs are on the way."

Lund said he is also planning to advertise in nearby Russian newspapers in the hopes of attracting customers from the other side of the border.