Uniforms

When Terry Collette acquired a Northridge restaurant called the Forest, he eliminated the dress-as-you-like policy and established a uniform requirement for waitresses and hostesses.

At Circuit City stores, uniforms also come with the job.

Restaurants have traditionally required employees to wear uniforms. On the other hand, consumer goods retailers generally haven’t had uniform policies.

The uniform industry is expanding on the strength of sales to businesses such as the Forest and Circuit City, according to trade associations and industry observers. Sales to industries that are traditional and non-traditional uniform-users are rising because more managers and entrepreneurs are beginning to realize that company dress boosts an enterprise’s public image, according to Jacqueline Rosselli, a spokeswoman for the National Assn. of Uniform Manufacturers & Distributors, a New York-based trade group.

The public’s attitude was the subject of a recent independent study commissioned by the trade group. The consultant’s report included a survey indicating that 95% of the public has positive feelings about uniformed employees. According to the report, 73% of the respondents felt uniformed employees were “more professional;” 68.8% considered them “neater;” 58.2% believed them “better trained” and 97.4% found them “easier to recognize.”