Saudi males sell bras to females
  • 12 years ago
Despite being threatened with closure, lingerie stores in Saudi Arabia are still being staffed by male sales clerks. Earlier this month the Ministry of Labor threatened to close stores who failed to replace male staff with females within six months. While many store owners say they have not been instructed by management to make the changes, shops that hire female staffers are required to pay training costs and are obligated to cover displays in windows and hire a male security guard during work hours whose job is to prevent males from entering. One of Saudi Arabia's leading lingerie brands Nayomi made the switch after the first government decree in 2004, staffing their 45 stores with female clerks only to revert to male employees a year later. The management said the stores encountered alot of problems, and lost alot of money causing them to reverse the decision and hire males. Sales dropped due to a lack of male customers and the high cost of security guards, and many of the women were not willing to work late shifts. The management also noted the inability to lure customers into the stores because of the lack of window displays of the merchandise. 
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