Mass merchants no longer see the world as black or white.
More than 30 years ago, drug and discount stores started to tailor merchandising assortments for the growing number of black shoppers looking for specific hair care and cosmetics in their stores. The rule of thumb was that if a store had at least 10 percent black customer traffic, products were stocked. Hot hairstyles, such as the then-popular Jheri-Curl or color cosmetics without titanium dioxide, which makes black skin ashy, brought shoppers into stores.
That was all well and good until the color lines blurred. “Thirty-seven percent of the population [according to Milani Cosmetics’ research] is multicultural, on the way to 50 percent,” said Mona Monaghan, chief sales and marketing manager of Milani. The company was way ahead of the curve, pitching 12 years ago its color cosmetics as being devised for multicultural shoppers. “We just met with 120 models, and only two were not a blend. That’s where America is headed.”
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While America has been changing, retail shelves stayed stagnant until two years ago. Greater use of point-of-sale data and consultation with suppliers has chains “adding more layers to customization,” explained Wendy Liebmann, the founder of WSL Strategic Retail. “The goal is to fit the needs of America’s melting pot that have specific requirements, particularly for textured hair or color-cosmetics proclivities,” she added. “Retailers don’t want to lose a trip or decrease the value of the basket.”
Target was a pioneer in developing a multicultural strategy, installing as much as 36 feet of lines such as Carol’s Daughter, Mixed Chicks, Moco de Gorila, Shea Moisture, Iman, Camille Rose, Grisi and Tio Nacho. “Target aims to be a destination where guests of all ethnicities can find their favorite beauty and personal care brands,” said Christina Hennington, senior vice president of health and beauty merchandising at Target. The major categories in which shoppers expect specific products are hair care, hair color, cosmetics, skin care and men’s grooming, she noted.
“Over the past several years, we have significantly increased our assortment of credible, high-quality brands that meet the unique needs of our broad range of guests,” Hennington said. The efforts have resulted in strong sales and gains in market share, the company said. Endemic to those efforts has been outreach to niche brands. “Just because we are a large company does not mean we don’t partner with many smaller, entrepreneurial brands. We welcome the opportunity to build brands together, to solve the unique needs of our evolving guests and grow together,” Hennington said. The Beauty Concierge program helps direct shoppers to products for multicultural needs, she added.
Sephora, CVS and Rite Aid are other merchants making multicultural inroads. Sephora has just put in a multicultural hair-care department that includes Briogeo, a line created by Nancy Twine based on family recipes. “There really weren’t many natural choices for [differently] textured hair,” said Twine, who left a Wall Street job out of her passion to create the line. She put her products through rigorous focus groups and testing before launching the final product, which she hopes will fill a gap in the market. “I was shocked at how many consumers were not satisfied with what is available.”
In particular, she zeroed in on the needs of women with curly or frizzy hair, including African-American women like her who are always looking for products suited to their hair.
CVS divides its stores into groups — high income, rural pharmacy, emerging metro and core — and has special sets for each. Walgreens has cluster stores and specific sets for each demographic. Rite Aid, according to Bill Bergin, group vice president of health and beauty, has different demographic profiles and adapts stores. “We’re very conscious of the [segment] growth of Hispanic consumers and are working hard to address their needs.”
Vendors also are looking to expand offerings to appeal to the growing black, Hispanic, Asian and mixed-ethnicity populations.
“One of the key elements of our Alberto Culver acquisition was the strong multicultural portfolio of brands that allowed us to speak specifically to women with textured-hair concerns,” said Gina Boswell, executive vice president for personal care at Unilever. “However, while these types of products may have traditionally appealed to a certain type of consumer, we are seeing that consumers are evolving so quickly that [the products] appeal across a wide spectrum of demographics, from Hispanic to African-American to Caucasian women. The most interesting thing about this space is that the beauty consumer profile is evolving rapidly, which means that our innovation and technology has to be cutting edge and multifunctional to address a wide spectrum of needs.”
Boswell termed it a “pivotal time” for addressing changing consumer needs. Unilever sponsored an FIT Capstone that delved into the “Changing Face of the Beauty Consumer,” which indicated the largest projected ethnic group in the U.S. will be “other.” “What that means for us as marketers is that we will need to work harder to connect with individual consumers and continue to create rich, meaningful brand stories that appeal to consumers across a wide spectrum of demographics, some of which may not even exist yet,” said Boswell.
With the challenge of not alienating the traditional consumer base, Unilever strives to create brands that speak across demographic spectrums. “This is one of the reasons that brands rooted in real consumer insight are boundless. The additional magic comes down to execution and how we reach individual consumers with the right message, tailored for them,” Boswell said.
Dr. Miracle’s, maker of products for textured hair, also is addressing changes in multicultural shoppers’ needs. “The need for versatility is a new reality for retailers. Dominant style movements — like the natural trend, where product cocktailing is necessary to achieve specific styles — have essentially made the ethnic shelf a thing of the past,” said Rich Lombardi, chief executive officer of Dr. Miracle’s owner, DRM-JPC Brands. Milani’s Monaghan says there has been progress, but much more needs to be done. Too often, only 10 percent of store space is aimed at 37 percent of the customer base. “It is a new era, and we need to dedicate space to the fastest-growing [segment of the] population,” she advised.
The power of social media has put small and large companies on an even playing field in targeting those who check “other” on the census. According to Liebmann, marketers can target specific groups and customize the conversation. “Just make sure you are authentic,” she warned, since consumers know the brands that really address their needs.