Girls don't like being served by men in women's stores unless they're gay, according to a consensus of Wellington retailers. The retailers were responding to questions from the Dominion Post about whether a new trend in Japan of hiring 20-30 year old “hunks” to man counters at women's stores to attract customers would work in New Zealand. All stores spoken to by the newspaper said that it wouldn't – unless the men were gay. Honesty, an unthreatening manner, fashion sense and a modicum of bitchiness were attributes most women sought in a sales assistant. "And gay men have those," said Nicola Vinten from designer store Andrea Moore. "I don't think women trust men as much as they do other women. A gay man, maybe, but definitely not a straight one,” said Emma Rogers at Nicholas Blanchet. Boutique staff at Ricochet were aghast at the thought of a young man offering style tips – "unless he's gay" – and were doubtful that customers would feel comfortable, given the "hands-on" nature of the work.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Saturday, 10th January 2004 - 12:00pm