More and more retailers are joining the movement to help end racial injustice and discrimination. In June 2020, Sephora became the first major beauty retailer to take Aurora James’ 15% pledge, which calls on retailers to commit to a minimum of 15% of their shelf to Black-owned businesses. Some of the Black-owned brands already carried by Sephora are Fenty Beauty, Pat McGrath Labs, Briogeo, Adwoa Beauty, Golde, KNC Beauty, and Shani Darden Skin Care. The retailer also recently revamped its Accelerate incubator to specifically focus on assisting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) founders. Later in November 2020, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury also came on board to support this initiative.
We’ve seen many other retailers making their own commitments: Target created an online badge to identify Black-owned or Black-founded brands on its site. Brands carrying the badge include The Honey Pot (intimate care, femcare, body), SheaMoisture, Art of Sport (men’s), Alaffia, Alikay Naturals (hair), and The Lip Bar (makeup).
Ulta created a dedicated landing page to celebrate Black-owned brands like Pattern, UOMA, Flora & Curl, Mixed Chicks, and Juvia’s Place. Others like Lush and BBW show their support for BLM and racial justice by posting statements of action on their sites. Clean retailer The Detox Market has made commitments to carrying at least 20% BIPOC-owned/founded brands moving forward. Credo is also supporting BIPOC with brands like Ellis Brooklyn (fragrance), Axiology (makeup), and Nuele (hair).
Meanwhile, Glossier has committed to allocating $500K in the form of grants to Black-owned beauty businesses. There was an application process that allowed Black beauty entrepreneurs based in the United States to apply for grants ranging from $10k-$50k depending on the stage of their business. Growth-stage business winners included Melanj Hair, Hanahana Beauty, and Golde. Early-stage business winners included Redoux, Flaunt Body, Kanti, and Luna Magic, while pre-launch business winners included Eadem, PoundCake, and Wavy Blue.
For an inside expert look into the vibrant and ever-changing retailing scene, refer to Kline’s Beauty Retailing USA report, tracking all U.S. purchase channels and sub-channels. The report also features key retailer snapshots, including sales and door count, beauty initiatives, marketing and loyalty programs, and outlook and opportunities.
