Dutch tie sales up as crisis takes toll
AMSTERDAM (Reuters Life!) - Dutch tie sales are up as the financial crisis takes its toll and even the finance minister, usually an open-collar politician, has taken to wearing ties to unveil government steps to deal with the crisis.
"We are talking about a 150 percent increase in sales, an increase of a couple of thousands. It is not that usual for this time of the year because of the school holidays. The only explanation I can give is the credit crunch," said Rashad Ajoeb, owner of online tie retailer www.dassenonline.nl, which caters especially to lawyers and business people. "Some people have been laid off and they are looking for new jobs and so they wear a suit with a new tie. Other people have a favorite tie and if they think it doesn't have any power anymore, then they buy another one for good luck," said Ajoeb, a broker before he went into the tie business four years ago.
Finance Minister and Labor party leader Wouter Bos ditched his well-known open collar style in recent weeks as he unveiled government measures to help financial institutions hurt by the credit crisis. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende is almost always seen wearing a tie.
"Lately, we are selling more skinny ties, with mostly younger people buying them. Usually they are not our customers. It's a trend," said Jurate Sivite, manager of Tie Rack Holland.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Paul Casciato)
