Franchise Talk

Hooters to open in SKorea, but waitresses will cover up

December 22nd, 2006 | Author: Jack

US restaurant chain Hooters will make its debut in conservative South Korea next month but its trademark sexy waitresses will dress in a less revealing way, the company said.

The country’s first Hooters will open in the posh Apgujeong district in southern Seoul, making South Korea the fourth Asian destination for the Atlanta-based franchise after China, Singapore and Taiwan.

The “Hooters Girls” wear tight orange shorts and white tank tops or T-shirts.

“The girls here will wear the same uniform as in the United States. But in light of the different attitude toward bare skin, their way of wearing the uniform will be different,” Hooters of Korea spokeswoman Rose Hong said late Wednesday.

Translation: they will show less cleavage than their US counterparts.

Hong said Hooters did not expect its South Korean operation to spark controversy.

“Hooters is not a bar but a family restaurant where the ambience is bright and cheerful rather than dark and lurid as in a sexy bar,” she said.

The restaurant will display a notice on every table warning customers against fondling the waitresses.

Hooters registered its brand with local authorities more than 10 years ago. It has been waiting for the right moment to launch a business here while carefully studying cultural differences, Hong said.

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