Many Retail Chains Now Embrace Black Designers

Ozohu Adoh founded her skin-care brand, Epara, in 2017. (Epara means to cocoon oneself in the Nigerian dialect of Ebira.) She focused on selling to luxury department stores, first launching in Harrod’s, and in 1918 was the first Black beauty business founder to sell in Barneys.

Since that time Net-a-Porter, Saks Fifth Avenue, and 10 other retailers which include Macy’s
M
, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom
JWN
, Revolve, and Sephora are selling Epara. That is quite an achievement during the pandemic caused by COVID-19.

Certainly the ‘15% pledge’, which has been signed by over 100 retailers, helped. The pledge is based on efforts by Aurora James, founder of the accessories brand Brother Vellies, to have retailers sign up Black manufacturers. Her manifesto states: “Black people in the U.S. make up nearly 15% of the population. So, we are calling on major retailers to commit a minimum of 15% of their shelf to Black owned businesses.” Aurora’s untiring work has convinced many notable businesses to sign the pledge. Companies not yet mentioned include Rent the Runway, Roe Walker, Heyday, Crate & Barrel, CB2, Madewell, The Gap, Banana Republic, Steve Madden, Tapestry (which includes Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman), Med Men, In Style, Vogue, Yelp, West Elm, Indigo, and more.

Here are some examples of what these companies are doing to support this pledge:

Nordstrom: Chris Wanlass, general manager of Nordstrom’s New York City flagship store, said “We’ve long believed that we are all made better by the diversity that exists within our communities. We are committed to improve the diversity of the vendors we partner with across all parts of our business, which will help us better serve the needs of our customers”. Nordstrom decided to showcase a curation of Black-owned and founded brands at his store. The brands are on display at Center Stage, which gives products the highest degree of exposure in the store. The collection will be there until March 28. Each label was selected by Nordstrom for the cultural and aesthetic resonance of its product range and the power of its story according, to the Sourcing Journal.

Gap Brands: The Gap’s management also committed to showcase diverse talent in its brands that includes The Gap, Old Navy, Athleta, Banana Republic, and Intermix. After taking the 15% pledge, they announced the expansion of True Hues, a line of foundational apparel. True Hues now offers a more inclusive range of colors to complement skin tones. Gap corporate management has also committed to a deeper relationship with Harlem’s Fashion Row, which discovers and showcases emerging talent. These are just a few of the efforts that emphasize the Gap’s effort to create opportunities.

Tapestry: The Black Alliance is an employee resource group inside Tapestry that is hosting and sourcing fairs in partnership with seven Black colleges and universities. In addition, Tapestry launched a “Coach Dream It Real Scholarship Program” with the Thurgood Marshall College.

There are many companies that have woken up and realize that diversity is the American way of life. Their efforts will give the opportunity to many young entrepreneurs to show their creativity and build successful new businesses into the future. I believe this support will be a win for their bottom line and benefit their customers as well.

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