Muhammad Al-Khodairy, owner of a men’s clothing shop in a mall in Jeddah told Arab News that weekends are ideal days for business.
“But the ban on single men’s entry during weekends inflicts big losses on many of us,” he said.
Al-Khodairy said most men’s clothing shops have been forced to shut down after they incurred huge losses.
“They were not in a position to afford high rates of rents, ranging between SR500 and SR3,500 per square meter. This was mainly because of a sharp decline in their business following the ban on single men’s entry during weekends,” he said.
Muhammad Ahmad, marketing official at a mobile sales company, said: “We have a large number of sales outlets especially at commercial malls. Preventing young men from entering these shops over the weekend has affected our sales badly. Therefore, the company is now mainly focusing on women, who constitute more than 60 percent of our customers,” he said, adding that the company is earmarking more than SR500,000 for paying rent of commercial shops alone in a year. “We can earn profit only if our products reach all sections of society, including young men and women.”
Some people noted that some of these young men come not for shopping purposes but for coffee in the company of their friends at the cafes in the malls and markets.
Tareq Al-Ghamdi, a security guard at Red Sea Mall, said most customers are coming not for shopping.
“What prompted these young men to keep away from these shops on working days? If they want to buy anything from these shops, they can come and buy them on any working day,” he said.
Muhammad Abdullah Sharif, an employee of a shop at Red Sea mall, said that most young men come to spend their free time at cafes. They prefer weekend holidays to visit these cafes, he said while urging authorities to lift the ban. “The authorities should find other ways to prevent young men from annoying women customers,” he added.
