Hooters in China

Modern Brewery Age, Oct 25, 2004

The final triumph of capitalism over world communism was reported this week, as an outlet of America's Hooters restaurant chain opened its first outlet in the People's Republic of China. The new Shanghai outlet adds to the more than 375 stores now operated by the chain famed for its busty waitresses clad in clingy low-cut tank tops and high-cut shorts--an image the company promotes as "delightfully tacky, yet unrefined."

Analysts said Hooters' arrival marks another milestone in Shanghai's rise as China's commercial hub, while underscoring how China's economic vitality is challenging conservative views about sexuality derived from male-dominated traditional society and prudish communist morality.

Shanghai now boasts hundreds of massage parlours and sex shops, so Hooters may prove relatively tame in comparison.