There were lots of smiles and no embarrassment for female customers at the Kingdom's first all-women lingerie shop launched here Thursday. This shop is completely staffed and run by women, in compliance with a Ministry of Labor order issued earlier this year. Female customers did not have to deal with male salesmen to buy their intimate items. “We started serving female customers Thursday after receiving intensive customer-service and sales training,” Suzan Al-Ghamdi, 20, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. Al-Ghamdi is one of five young women, barely 20 years old, who started work in Makkah Thursday at the shop. One of the saleswomen said that many customers were happy that they were able to deal with women at the store and did not have to face the embarrassment of dealing with salesmen. She said that many husbands must also be happy with this new development. Saudi Gazette reported earlier this year that the Ministry of Labor requires shops that specialize in lingerie and cosmetics, to comply with regulations by Jan. 4, 2012. Other shops will be given until June 30, 2012 to comply with the Royal Decree that Saudi women must be employed at shops catering for women. The decision covers all shops whether they are independent or in a shopping mall or public market. Shops that do not comply with the decree will not have their licenses renewed. If the shop is exclusively for women, there must be at least three Saudi staff per shift and men will be totally banned from entering these shops. The shop must comply with special standards including tinted glass that is used for dressmaking shops and beauty salons. However, this is not necessary if the shop is already segregated for families. __
