black owned vs black targeted
why it matters
i know this may be a touchy subject, but as we enter our sixth month on this journey in building our capsule wardrobes together, we must discuss…
in the last few years, with the burgeoning of new black business
many led by black women
many of us girls, guys, and non-binary folk have started to examine where our precious dollars are spent
never will i make judgments on where any of you spend the dollars you acquire
what i will do is educate and inform
for those who would like to spend their dollars with primarily black businesses
we must do our research
why?
because far too many companies are claiming to be black owned
when in fact
they are black targeted
i am not going to give you a list and “expose” these bad actors
it’s just not my ministry
however, i do want you to keep an eye out for perpetrators
simply stated
it all comes down to capital
and who the majority of the profits go to
when i became a business owner myself in 2021, my view on what black ownership shifted
i always assumed black owned meant small business where all of your goods are made and distributed by the owners
however, there are several types
some, the traditional type, where goods are homemade or local factory made and distributed directly
others, owned by one party, but made and distributed by another party
and lastly, the growing reseller market who purchase product wholesale, and distribute in a boutique
foolishly, i thought too narrowly
quite disrespectful, in fact, to business owners who operate in the two non-traditional models
if the majority of the profits are acquired by a black business owner
then
in fact
it is black-owned and should be supported as such
one of the most important aspects of this
that i have discovered
is that black-owned does not necessarily mean your product must service only
or even primarily
the global majority, non mainstream customers
you don't even need to target those customers in marketing or advertising
your profit, however, should
whether personally, within your community, or institutionally
serve the black community
that being said
what is the difference between black-owned and black-targeted?
well a black targeted business is any business without black ownership
or any business where the profits, whether personally, within community, or institutionally
DO NOT serve the global majority, the non-white community
many larger businesses are jumping on the wave of “black owned” or “black founded” bandwagon
some are “collaborating” with black owned businesses to attract customers
others are purchasing and reselling products made by black owned businesses
so when you look at where your dollars are spent
if you want to support black business
we must find out firstly where profits are actually going prior to purchase
if you can, buy directly and not thru a third party
that is really important
if you can
avoid mass distributors
order directly from the company
as you know, mass distributors, purchase at a discount from companies so they can make a profit
while charging you the same
or
they charge the customer a premium (a higher price)
so the original business receives the full retail price for the product
all in all
not a win win for the business or the customer
then
there are the truly dubious businesses
black targeted businesses, but who will NOT confess that they are not black owned unless asked
and often
they will claim they are
until they are called out or exposed
unfortunately, you have to research on your own and dig a bit to uncover the truth
let’s take coach for example
i’m a huge fan of this leatherware brand and always have been
when coach mens came under some controversy
perhaps not enough
for their collection commemorating jean-michel basquiat
they straddled a very fine line
fortunately, they paid for very very positive press which helped them tremendously
coach is urban targeted, perhaps not black targeted but…
the marketing, the celebrities chosen in marketing, definitely targets black and brown communities
basquiat’s art is directly in contrast to a brand like coach
being a primarily white owned and operated brand
and a luxury corporation at that
although the pieces are quite beautiful
are they truly commemorating this afro-caribbean artist?
or are they riding the wave of “black-owned” brands by making black targeted product?
far too many questions
or guess
who sadly thought that telfar was such a little known brand
that they could knockoff their signature design
creating this black targeted style
directly targeting customers that wanted a telfar bag
but unable to obtain one
sadly, it failed
miserably
customers would rather not have a telfar bag at all than to purchase a telfar knock-off from guess
these are black targeted brands that are feeling a bit of the heat from a more educated consumer
which you now are
further, you should be aware of grey areas
and there are a few
if the brand is partially black-owned/operated
is this better than black targeted?
in my opinion they are
you may disagree
so it is really up to you to show discernment and purchase according to your comfort level
if profit is going into the hands of a black owner or operator
even if partial
then it does benefit us
even partially
more than a full non-black business that benefit our communities far less
so that's something
it does mean something
fenty is one of those grey area brands
yes, savage x fenty and fenty beauty
brands that i love and adore
i am a such a huge fan of these brands
even abandoning many mainstream intimate and beauty brands for fenty, as many of you have
but is fenty black owned or black targeted?
fenty is black targeted and partially black owned
how so?
like you, i believed that fenty was owned by rihanna, as the brand bares her name
no?
no
all fenty brands are owned by lvmh – louis vuitton moet hennesy
rihanna does own many of the patents and trademarks of fenty beauty and savage x fenty
therefore she does receive a hefty amount of your coins when you purchase your goods
although, the majority are going to… lvmh
does this mean we abandon fenty for victoria’s secret and morphe?
for me, the answer would be… absolutely not
rihanna is receiving a portion of those coins and her intellectual property is embedded in the brand
is that enough for you?
perhaps or perhaps not
i’m far to invested
lol
i can’t give them up now
that's a choice for you to make
another grey area
as you may recall, a few years back, two black owned hair care brands came under fire
when it was announced that they were both selling to mainstream companies
they were going from black-owned to non-black owned for a hefty profit
carol’s daughter’s owner lisa price sold her company to l’oreal
she remains a lead executive at the company she founded, but is not the owner
this, however, has always been the goal of this brand
it is the goal of many brands
lisa didn’t want to run carol's daughter all of her life
she wanted to move onto supporting others to build their brands
that was her plan
that was her goal
shea moisture is another
shea moisture was acquired by unilever, a mega-brand
it was a huge deal
let me tell you
this company was a darling of many naturalistas
and they, meaning i, was UPSET
that was until i found out where the riches from the sale were being invested
the newly founded “new voices fund” for entrepreneurs invested into brands like
honey pot co (black-owned plant based feminine hygiene products), a fantastic brand i use personally
mcbride sisters collection (black-owned wine), so delish
naturall club (black-owned haircare), another brand i use personally
and the biggest investment, Essence Magazine, now 100% black owned
most importantly ESSENCE FESTIVAL
was it worth it?
that’s debatable
but from that sale, created and supported multiple black-owned businesses
and created generational wealth from the previous owners of shea moisture
we don’t always agree with business moves
i certainly don’t
however disclosure is extremely important
both of these companies never hid these sales to l’oreal and unilever
and that matters
other companies are very black and white
companies heavily coveted by fashionistas like fashionnova and shein are not black owned
not hiding it one bit
they are almost exclusively black targeted
so what do we do?
find black-owned boutiques maybe?
there are many alternatives
some are resellers, some are manufacturers
all black owned and so so cute
here are a few
lilly’s kloset - https://www.lillyskloset.net/
sorella boutique - https://www.sosorella.com/
nichole lynel - https://shopnicholelynel.com/
girl next door - https://shopgnd.com/
little miss adore - https://www.littlemissadore.com/
kloset envy - https://www.klosetenvy.com/
cee cee’s closet - https://www.ceeceesclosetnyc.com/
mind of kye - http://www.themindofkye.com/
spoiled boutique - https://thespoiledboutique.com/
and countless others
the marketing alone will sell you on these boutiques
go get cute!
support black owned
many owned by women
two brands, the grace made (https://www.thegracemade.com/)
and jibri online (https://www.jibrionline.com/)
remind me of COS
great alternatives to that brand
fksp (https://shopfksp.com/) is so sweet, soft, and femme in the best possible way
so is whitney mero (https://www.whitneymero.com/)
show off all of those post-quarantine curves
if you are a fan of classic feminine shapes al la kate spade, try hope for flowers (https://hopeforflowers.com/) by tracy reese
yes, that tracy reese
one of the first big time black owned brands from back in the day
hanifa (https://hanifa.co/) and par bronte laurent (https://www.parbrontelaurent.com/)
give me club monaco/zara vibes
souk + sepia (https://soukandsepia.com) has an amazing curated collection of beautiful finds…
it gives anthropologie, but black
simisienna (https://simisienna.com/) is athletic and athleisure wear, giving lululemon but far more chic…
down to the footwear and wrist weights
i admit
there may not be a black-owned alternative to every mainstream brand that you currently patronize
but doing a bit of detective work is worth it
if we want these brands to grow into the next billion do
llar entity
patronage is necessary
