beingofserenity
Well-Known Member
What is so bad about them wanting to expand their customer base?
Sheamoisture: Break The Walls; Integrating Black Products Into The General Beauty Aisle
- Thread starter theprototype
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MilkChocolateOne
Well-Known Member
Nothing but don't create a false campaign to advance your company
Napp
Ms. Nobody
For me at least, I don't see anything wrong with wanting to expand. It's just the way are doing it. They are trying to look like saviours of black women, their original target audience. While in reality they just want to pander to "other" people's coins. It seems disingenuous
CoveredGirl
Well-Known Member
Absolutely nothing. As a business owner I get wanting to branch out and expand your customer base. It's this 'breaking the walls' strategy that has me like
... Highly doubt they would dole out what they are in marketing and campaigning to petition for our "inclusion rights" if there wasn't a bigger return in it for them.Bottomline, if you want to re-brand and expand- do just that. And if you don't want to be excluded from the majority, do not launch and then market a line of products that excludes the majority. You'll end up confusing then loosing your consumer. Out of curiosity, how are there products even placed in that section if that's not where they (at least initially) wanted to be?
SoopremeBeing
Well-Known Member
Not trying to dump water on the thread or the Shea Moisture line, but I can find a tub of raw shea butter, olive oil, and coconut oil for the price of ONE of their products.
Saludable84
Better Late Than Ugly
A while back, they posted on their IG pictures of yt women using their products. A bit of people went in an uproar because people thought that SM catered to BW and the pictures said otherwise. SM stated their products were for everyone but no one was buying it. I lost respect for the company. I understand you want to build your customer base, and there is nothing wrong with that, but they completely turned it around like the people who were questioning them were in the wrong. As if it was wrong to assume that products that were originally marketed towards us are now "for everybody".
Now we are breaking the walls. Honestly, I only go in the ethnic aisle because I know where to find my stuff. I like knowing my stuff is in small batches and doesn't contain junk. I like using items that were formulated with my hair type in mind, and not generic fluff.
And as a PP stated, I've seen SM products that you will not see in the ethnic aisle, they are in the regla hair aisle in target. Pretty pink bottles. It is nothing like the real stuff.
Now we are breaking the walls. Honestly, I only go in the ethnic aisle because I know where to find my stuff. I like knowing my stuff is in small batches and doesn't contain junk. I like using items that were formulated with my hair type in mind, and not generic fluff.
And as a PP stated, I've seen SM products that you will not see in the ethnic aisle, they are in the regla hair aisle in target. Pretty pink bottles. It is nothing like the real stuff.
Kinky4Agirl
Well-Known Member
I like our own section too. And why put products like hair grease in between white people stuff when they never ever use it...
Choose your battles people!
Choose your battles people!
CodeRed
Well-Known Member
Kinky4Agirl
Well-Known Member
Tell em girl!Absolutely nothing. As a business owner I get wanting to branch out and expand your customer base. It's this 'breaking the walls' strategy that has me like
Bottomline, if you want to re-brand and expand- do just that. And if you don't want to be excluded from the majority, do not launch and then market a line of products that excludes the majority. You'll end up confusing then loosing your consumer. Out of curiosity, how are there products even placed in that section if that's not where they (at least initially) wanted to be?
MsSanz92
Well-Known Member
I didn't know people were so upset about "the aisle". To be honest, historically I've bought most of my hair products from the BSS, in which most instances 90% of the products are targeted towards Black/ethnic hair. Even now most of the products I use can only be found in the BSS, or from an online BSS. BSS have their own set of issues, but I won't get into that in this thread. With gentrification in NYC, I also do get a chuckle now when I see White people in the BSS. Only recently have big chain retailers like Target, Walgreens, Duane Reade, etc had extensive selections of products for Black/ethnic hair, and even that varies depending on location. A Duane Reade in the Bronx or Harlem isn't gonna have the same selection of hair products as one in Greenpoint or the Upper East Side.
As far as what it entails if a company like Shea Moisture chooses to integrate their products into the mainstream aisles, I've never really had much faith in Shea Moisture even when they clearly were marketed towards Black/ethnic hair, because their products are overrated, so I can't even really be mad that they're doing this. I do see the point that if they get rid of the aisle, it will increase competition for all hair companies, and ones marketed towards Black/ethnic hair will be on the losing end, however if you're selling your products in Target/Walgreens, you've already sold out on some level. I do prefer the aisle, because it makes things easier to find, just like I know if I walk into a BSS, I know I can find something that'll work for my hair. Granted, as Black people in this capitalist society, we will always be at some disadvantage, so at this point, it's a battle of choosing the lesser of two evils.
As far as what it entails if a company like Shea Moisture chooses to integrate their products into the mainstream aisles, I've never really had much faith in Shea Moisture even when they clearly were marketed towards Black/ethnic hair, because their products are overrated, so I can't even really be mad that they're doing this. I do see the point that if they get rid of the aisle, it will increase competition for all hair companies, and ones marketed towards Black/ethnic hair will be on the losing end, however if you're selling your products in Target/Walgreens, you've already sold out on some level. I do prefer the aisle, because it makes things easier to find, just like I know if I walk into a BSS, I know I can find something that'll work for my hair. Granted, as Black people in this capitalist society, we will always be at some disadvantage, so at this point, it's a battle of choosing the lesser of two evils.
Smiley79
Well-Known Member
a little off topic but when you have a good product, i dont care what aisle you place it in because I'm just grateful that it's available on the ground and I don't have to pay shipping costs. In my eyes you're winning for making it into Target, Sally's, Walmart etc, so the aisle issue isn't a big deal to me either way..as a previous poster said, pick your battles. Controversies like this make me want to take a long winters nap. Just keep making a good product and believe I will look for you no matter what aisle they decide to put you on.
beingofserenity
Well-Known Member
I don't care if they post pictures of white girls using their products. I know white girls who used their products.
Taliah Waajid has videos of her using her products on white women.
Taliah Waajid has videos of her using her products on white women.
southerncitygirl
Well-Known Member
This will play out just like Carols Daughter and other brands.... let black consumers build you up when your brand should have had universal appeal from the gate. Then once whites start to notice ditch your loyal black customer base and diminish the quality of your products and flood the market with 50 million new product lines for bi-racial, multi-ethnic and white chicks, sigh. Then lastly instead of thinking of legacy and generational wealth sell to the highest white bidder. I am a business owner and though I am black I am not marketing my products soley for black people. In fact with my price point, ingredient, etc. whites will be more likely to purchase. The ingredients will be from exotic locales like places on the African continent and in the Amazon basin.
DarkJoy
Bent. Not Broken.
Agree on every point.
The separate AA aisle was never a problem with anyone.
Its just a (not so) clever marketing and advertising campaign to get black AND WHITE women to pay attention to their brand.
Much ado about nothing but their sales numbers.
Eta. Ive also noticed a large number of white youtubers reviewing the free products SM sends (and probably pays) them for. So this is a huge campaign to get it more commercialized on many fronts. Make fake buzz about the separate aisles and have white women advertising it for practically nothing
ParagonTresses
Well-Known Member
So if the company wants to "break down the wall" will they remove their products from "our" beauty supply stores? That's also "segregating" their line, is it not?
Brwnbeauti
Well-Known Member
The ethnic aisle in my target has disappeared. There's probably 1/4 of the products that were on that aisle in the entire store now. Unintended consequence Im sure.
larry3344
Well-Known Member
Very valid point you made here. I fear the momentum of the natural hair movement by black women is being overshadowed by white/"mixed curls". It is very unfortunate!!!
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MilkChocolateOne
Well-Known Member
NSFW she curses a little but it's not offensive imo. I agree with everything she's saying.
IDareT'sHair
PJ Rehabilitation Center
I Agree. It is total oversaturation of the line which actually cheapens it as far as ingredients etc...
I'm doubtful the original owners (grandma &'nem) really got that much say anymore how the Brand will be marketed and to whom.
They probably saw that Commercial for the first time when we did.
....
Investors are now probably calling the shots primarily for the most part. And we, and our needs in a product, has fallen by the wayside.
That's what happens when you sell out for the Almight Dollar.
The main questions in business are: ownership & control.
Who actually has the control? Doesn't matter who owns it. The control of the company and it's direction and decisions outweigh all else.
I'm doubtful the original owners (grandma &'nem) really got that much say anymore how the Brand will be marketed and to whom.
They probably saw that Commercial for the first time when we did.
....Investors are now probably calling the shots primarily for the most part. And we, and our needs in a product, has fallen by the wayside.
That's what happens when you sell out for the Almight Dollar.
The main questions in business are: ownership & control. Who actually has the control? Doesn't matter who owns it. The control of the company and it's direction and decisions outweigh all else.
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