By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Even from a distance or among throngs of people, a Yakult sales lady is noticeable with her trademark yellow outfit, bonnet and pushcart, but the foodstuff company redesigned the long-familiar uniform for the first time in 35 years.
The reason? To step up its business competitiveness, they say.
``Because the uniform is worn by thousands of employees, it inevitably becomes the face of our company,'' Korea Yakult spokesman Park Seung-ho said. ``And it's more important for us because the Yakult ``ajummas'' (middle-aged women) get so much public exposure out on the streets, in the stores, or through home-delivery.''
There are currently about 13,500 sales women nationwide.
The new uniform was designed to maintain its bright and friendly image, said Park, adding that it was made to reflect a more professional image, rather than a simple delivery-person look.
``Most of our women employees are in their 30s to 40s, so we particularly focused on providing comfort, while showing off a slim bodyline,'' he said.
While Yakult most recently completed its wardrobe update, many other companies have widely recognized the importance of its employees' uniforms.
``Those in uniforms are usually the folks that customers interact with first and most, meaning they have to get across an ideal image,'' said Park Jung-eun, a spokeswoman of Woongjin Coway, the nation's No. 1 market leader in water purifier and air cleaner.