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Speaker 1: Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club Morning.

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Speaker 2: Everybody is j n V, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne, the gud

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Speaker 2: We are the Breakfast Club. Laura Rosa filling in for Jess.

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Speaker 2: We got some special guests with us this morning. We

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Speaker 2: have the founder and CEO of The lip Ball, Melissa Butler. Welcome,

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Speaker 2: and we also have co founders of Rucca Roots, doctor

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Speaker 2: Ellen Rucca Sellers and I own Rucca Jamison Welcome.

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Speaker 3: Good morning having us.

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Speaker 4: Thank you so much for having us.

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Speaker 1: No, we you know, the.

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Speaker 5: Reason we wanted you here to day is because this

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Speaker 5: is all this conversation about Target and should folks boycott

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Speaker 5: Target because they rolled back their DEI policies. But then

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Speaker 5: there are people who say we should be doing a

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Speaker 5: buyout and supporting all the black owned products in Target,

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Speaker 5: and you all have black owned products in Target.

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Speaker 1: So we wanted to hear from you all.

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Speaker 6: Well. Thank you absolutely, thank you.

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Speaker 7: Thank you for this opportunity, Thank you for this platform

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Speaker 7: talk to Thank you for this opportunity, Thank you for

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Speaker 7: this platform. You know, I think it's very important for

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Speaker 7: brand owners to have a voice in this because every

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Speaker 7: day we are in there grinding. We have worked so

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Speaker 7: hard to get on the shelf. The shelf space is

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Speaker 7: a covenant space, right, everybody didn't get the opportunity. And

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Speaker 7: and for a brand to get to shelf space, it

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Speaker 7: is a huge, like a process like it does.

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Speaker 6: It takes years, it really does. And to stay there,

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Speaker 6: it's so it's so hard too.

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Speaker 7: And so I'm so glad that you gave us this

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Speaker 7: platform because we need our community. We need our community

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Speaker 7: to you know, galvanize around these black brands because we're

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Speaker 7: fighting a good fight too, right, So.

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Speaker 1: Let's let's let's take it back. Let's go, Let's go

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Speaker 1: to the problem.

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Speaker 2: Let's start with since you're speaking, let's talk about Rocker Roots,

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Speaker 2: what rocker Roots is, and talk about the process of

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Speaker 2: selling your productcause most people don't know, they don't understand,

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Speaker 2: like you said, they automatically think you have a product,

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Speaker 2: you put it in Walmart in your good mind, they

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Speaker 2: understand that you know it goes from one store and

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Speaker 2: then the region and then from nucial store. So break

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Speaker 2: it down to what rucker Roots is, how it started,

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Speaker 2: and how you.

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Speaker 7: Self rugger Roots we're all natural haircare company. I own

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Speaker 7: it and I started it in twenty fifteen with the

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Speaker 7: goal of being a household brand, right, And so we

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Speaker 7: started it in professional salon, so we gave product to

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Speaker 7: you know, stylists and let them use the product.

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Speaker 6: We had a distributor.

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Speaker 7: Then we went to trade shows, which we met Melissa

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Speaker 7: at several trade shows, trying to get your product out there.

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Speaker 6: So you're in front of the consumer.

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Speaker 7: And once you get the notoriety or the once you

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Speaker 7: get enough recognition amongst some of these retailers, they come

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Speaker 7: to you and say, hey, you know, let's talk about

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Speaker 7: coming into retail. And so our first retailer was Sally's

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Speaker 7: Beauty and then Target.

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Speaker 6: And after you get one, you get more.

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Speaker 7: But you know, in order to stay in those retail stores,

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Speaker 7: you get audited. Basically every year you have a line review.

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Speaker 7: If you're not performing, guess what, your space is gone.

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Speaker 7: And so when we look at the boycott, I'm not

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Speaker 7: telling people not the boycott, like, that's not in my spirit,

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Speaker 7: That's not where I come from, you know. I mean,

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Speaker 7: boycotting is part of you know, our blood lot, right.

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Speaker 7: What I am telling people is you can't forget these

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Speaker 7: black friends that have worked so hard to get there,

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Speaker 7: because it's a long process.

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Speaker 5: And see That's why I think a buyout is good

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Speaker 5: because of what you said. If you know, these products

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Speaker 5: are sitting on the celf and Target and nobody goes

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Speaker 5: in there and buys them, then that gives them a

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Speaker 5: reason to say, you know what, get this stuff out

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Speaker 5: of here anyway.

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Speaker 7: And and honestly, isn't that the goal? Absolutely isn't that

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Speaker 7: the goal? And that's that's what we're working. I mean,

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Speaker 7: that's the goal for them, you know, to weed us out,

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Speaker 7: to discourage us to you know, bring trauma and drama

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Speaker 7: and all the things that you know, as black women

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Speaker 7: we have we have to deal with every single day

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Speaker 7: anyway with.

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Speaker 8: How okay Ellen, Ellen and I are sisters, and we're

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Speaker 8: from South Carolina, the cy Carolanian say Charlemagne, And we

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Speaker 8: come from a very big family and a very small

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Speaker 8: town where four out of ten people in our town

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Speaker 8: are unbaked or either under Bay, so they don't have

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Speaker 8: the debit cards to shop online. All they have is

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Speaker 8: to go into our local Walmart and get products off

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Speaker 8: the shells. So that's forty percent of our clientele that

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Speaker 8: can't shop online. Now, we're not telling you not to

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Speaker 8: shop online, because as we all know, we want you

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Speaker 8: to shop online. But you know, we come from a

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Speaker 8: small town where a lot of our clientele can't shop online.

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Speaker 1: We wid.

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Speaker 4: We can't even when COVID hit our hometown.

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Speaker 8: We couldn't even have remote schools because most of the

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Speaker 8: people don't have the enemy. Yeah, so we want our

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Speaker 8: people to be able to go to the Walmart and

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Speaker 8: pick up our products and shop, I think.

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Speaker 3: More than anything. So throughout this process, it's been really

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Speaker 3: disappointing to feel the wrath of our own community. Like

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Speaker 3: I started the lip Bar in twenty twelve, literally making

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Speaker 3: lipstick in my kitchen because I was frustrated with the

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Speaker 3: beauty industry, it's lack of diversity, its successive amounts of chemicals.

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Speaker 3: But I really wanted to center black women, and I've

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Speaker 3: been doing that for twelve years, Like twelve years, I've

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Speaker 3: been standing up for black women, saying, hey, you are enough. Hey,

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Speaker 3: I am creating products for you. Hey, I'm making sure

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Speaker 3: that I am building our self esteem collectively. And so

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Speaker 3: when this happens, I want our community to know that

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Speaker 3: we are disappointed too, Like we're upset with Target and

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Speaker 3: Walmart and Google and all of these companies that have

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Speaker 3: shut down their dei.

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Speaker 9: But to ask us to.

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Speaker 3: Remove our products from retail, it's unrealistic because what does

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Speaker 3: that look like for most black businesses. It looks like

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Speaker 3: a shutting down or actual businesses. So you ask, like,

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Speaker 3: how does it work to get into retail? Well, how

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Speaker 3: it works is we buy inventory upfront months in advance,

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Speaker 3: you almost a year, so when you think about retail,

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Speaker 3: when you think about retail, it's kind of a crazy thing,

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Speaker 3: like we buy products to sit on shelf just in

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Speaker 3: case you want it, which means that we are we

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Speaker 3: are having to outlay capital at the forefront for thousands,

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Speaker 3: hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of units so

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Speaker 3: that if you go into your local Target, Walmart, CBS,

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Speaker 3: it is available for you.

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Speaker 10: M amount of it.

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Speaker 11: Depends on it depends on how many doors. Some stores

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Speaker 11: do have that it's a large amount, and they don't

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Speaker 11: give you money.

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Speaker 3: To and they don't give you money to up it,

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Speaker 3: and so you have have to buy that inventory, but

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Speaker 3: you don't get paid on that inventory for sometimes eight months,

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Speaker 3: you know a year, depending on when you set and

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Speaker 3: then once they place the order, you can have terms

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Speaker 3: that are net sixty ninety, so like black owned brands

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Speaker 3: are waiting on their finances to come through. We can't

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Speaker 3: just pull our products from Target. Were wearing contracts with them.

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Speaker 3: We are for the most part dependent on retailers to

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Speaker 3: ensure that we have the visibility and to make sure

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Speaker 3: that we have the urns. Now, some people will say like, oh, well,

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Speaker 3: just you know, make sure they shop at your dot

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Speaker 3: com y'all. In twenty twenty, when black people when it

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Speaker 3: was a trend to shop black businesses, we all benefited. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: we all benefited.

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Speaker 9: It felt good.

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Speaker 3: We were living in the money. We hire more people,

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Speaker 3: we bought more inventory, and then guess what, it wasn't

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Speaker 3: in vogue to shop black anymore. So I want us

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Speaker 3: to remember the buying power of black businesses. Sure, if

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Speaker 3: you want a boycott, boycott, because there is so much

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Speaker 3: power in our dollars. But at the end of the day,

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Speaker 3: we have to be intentional about our shopping to make

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Speaker 3: sure that our dollars are going back to our communities.

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Speaker 9: Because guess what black people hire black people like.

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Speaker 3: My team is seventy five percent black, my team is

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Speaker 3: one hundred percent women.

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Speaker 9: I'm investing in my community.

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Speaker 3: I gave thirty five thousand dollars in grants to black

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Speaker 3: women last year.

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Speaker 9: So it's like, this is what black businesses are doing.

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Speaker 3: So the minute you decide that shopping black is a trend,

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Speaker 3: it negatively impacts us. The minute you decide that you

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Speaker 3: won't shop in the stores that carry our products, it

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Speaker 3: will impact us. Now, we're not here to say you

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Speaker 3: should shop and these retailers. If you feel disrespected, you

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Speaker 3: have the ability and the right to take your dollars

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Speaker 3: wherever you are most comfortable. But to your point, don't

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Speaker 3: forget about us. Please do, in fact, go to our

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Speaker 3: dot com exactly.

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Speaker 7: And honestly, if you think about the amount of money

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Speaker 7: that it's spent black people spend on beauty brands, it's

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Speaker 7: like nine point four billion dollars, right, and as a

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Speaker 7: brand founder, we get about a small percentage of that,

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Speaker 7: like two point five percent. It's spent with you know,

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Speaker 7: black brands. Think about our community and it's all that

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Speaker 7: nine point four billion dollars went to these black brands.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, then we we can do, and then we.

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Speaker 6: Could have our own targets.

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Speaker 7: And so that's the thing that you know, we need

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Speaker 7: to I think that we need to you know, I

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Speaker 7: know that there's a boycott not telling people not to boycott.

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Speaker 7: I understand that, but I think we have to switch

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Speaker 7: our mindset to, Hey, you know, we haven't been, you know,

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Speaker 7: shopping fully with these black brands all along.

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Speaker 9: How about you know.

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Speaker 7: We blood blood, their spaces blood, you know, stop stop.

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Speaker 6: Buying any other brand and just buy black.

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Speaker 5: The power in that, yeah, because the reality isn't you

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Speaker 5: know when all of this first started happening, I didn't

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Speaker 5: even know that Target had all of these black brands.

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Speaker 1: Oh to me, that's a.

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Speaker 5: Good thing to have the awareness, But now what do

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Speaker 5: we do with that awareness?

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Speaker 11: And women I feel like girls who follow beauty, like

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Speaker 11: I remember when you got into Target, and I remember

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Speaker 11: being like, oh my god, Like that's so lit. Now

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Speaker 11: I can I don't have to go and like scavenger

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Speaker 11: hunt for her. So it's unfortunate when I remember when

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Speaker 11: Tabitha Brown got into Target, like we kind of celebrated

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Speaker 11: because it is the platform. But at the same time,

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Speaker 11: there is some weird stuff because like I heard, I

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Speaker 11: saw a report that one of the brands said that

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Speaker 11: they found out when we found out that that the.

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Speaker 9: D all find out.

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Speaker 3: Nothing, nothing, And so now we're just on the front

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Speaker 3: lines fighting on social media, because people are are coming

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Speaker 3: at us as if we did it, as if we

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Speaker 3: created it. So no, we did not have a head up.

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Speaker 3: That was very unfortunate. But I will say, like myself,

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Speaker 3: people like Tabitha Brown, people like beef from honey Pot.

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Speaker 3: We have been having constant conversation with Target about the impacts,

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Speaker 3: about their responsibility in the matter, and frankly pushing them

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Speaker 3: on what they need to do next. And so just

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Speaker 3: know that just because like we are online and we're

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Speaker 3: still selling our products, that does not mean that in

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Speaker 3: the background we are not fighting the good fight within

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Speaker 3: the retailer. Because at the end of the day, like

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Speaker 3: I know people are upset with Target and Walmart, but

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Speaker 3: like we actually have skin in the game, Like yeah,

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Speaker 3: you need to find a new place to shop your

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Speaker 3: toilet paper, but we are actually in business with them,

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Speaker 3: so of course we're upset. We are more upset with

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Speaker 3: these retailers for blind siding us and for frankly not

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Speaker 3: being clear on what this actually means. Now that being said,

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Speaker 3: all of those brands, for the most part, shopped or

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Speaker 3: launched in Target before DEI was this three letter trend

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Speaker 3: word like going back to like dark and lovely. They've

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Speaker 3: been pushing and building small black owned businesses so far

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Speaker 3: as I know, they continue, they will continue to do that.

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Speaker 3: But the reality is we are we are witnessing an

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Speaker 3: attack of d I. We are witnessing an attack from

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Speaker 3: the government on de I. So like, how how are

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Speaker 3: we all supposed to manage that? Are we supposed to

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Speaker 3: shut down our gmails?

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Speaker 2: I ask the d get your products in there? Did

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Speaker 2: they give you the opportunity to get in there?

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Speaker 3: No?

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Speaker 4: No, no, no.

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Speaker 7: We got into retail because we were a strong brand.

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Speaker 7: Now do you know some of the buyers look like

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Speaker 7: us and they appreciate, you know, representation absolutely. You know,

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Speaker 7: some of the buyers that we have met with, you know,

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Speaker 7: with some of our retailers, they are African American buyers.

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Speaker 6: And that's so important.

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Speaker 7: Too to make sure that you know, we, you know,

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Speaker 7: have those people in those positions so that they can

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Speaker 7: bring in brands like us and understand the importance. But

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Speaker 7: if you look at how much African Americans spend, I mean.

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Speaker 8: The retailers are all in the money making business, right

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Speaker 8: they we spend money.

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Speaker 6: So yeah, it's a business.

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Speaker 8: We don't foresee are our brand's going in I mean,

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Speaker 8: you know, we don't. They want to make money, and

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Speaker 8: our consumers spend the most money.

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Speaker 4: That's just facts.

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Speaker 3: So I just really, black women spend nine times our

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Speaker 3: white counterparts on beauty products. And so obviously there's a

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Speaker 3: difference in a black woman's hair and a white woman's

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Speaker 3: hair in terms of makeup. Aside from color theory and

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Speaker 3: a brand caring enough to actually have a wide range

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Speaker 3: of colors, there's no there's no real difference. And so

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Speaker 3: my buying team is actually not women of color. They've

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Speaker 3: never been women of color, and so I think that

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Speaker 3: speaks to the idea that, like to your point, they're

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Speaker 3: in the money business. Like everybody here is trying to

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Speaker 3: fill a gap. Everyone is trying to figure out how

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Speaker 3: do I get more customers to shop our products. And

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Speaker 3: this is where you know, if you have a recer roots,

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Speaker 3: if you have a bar, and you understand that this

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Speaker 3: can bring a different customer, you have an advantage hit.

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Speaker 3: And so we all have strong businesses, we all have

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Speaker 3: strong brands, we have strong followings, and that's how we've

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Speaker 3: been able to stay in retail this long.

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Speaker 5: Yes, you know, last time I got hand on your products, Melissa,

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Speaker 5: we was at the DNC convention and Governor Gretchen with,

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Speaker 5: Oh my God, give me an Angela Rai and who

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Speaker 5: else was it? Tiffany Cross? Like this game was all

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Speaker 5: products at the table.

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Speaker 3: So I am from Detroit. Detroit is a big part

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Speaker 3: of my resilience and my grit, and like she has

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Speaker 3: stood up for Michigan in a big way.

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Speaker 9: And so she's one of.

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Speaker 3: Those people where it's like if she decided tomorrow that

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Speaker 3: she can't use the word de i anymore, I'm not

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Speaker 3: going to say, like, oh, you know, she she not

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Speaker 3: about the people, like she has shown me over the

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Speaker 3: years that she is showing up. But we love us

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Speaker 3: some big gritch.

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Speaker 5: I want to expound on that, right because somebody told me,

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Speaker 5: and I don't know if this is true, they said

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Speaker 5: Target didn't actually roll back there initiative, just changed your name.

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Speaker 1: Is that true.

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Speaker 7: I think that a lot of these corporations are scared

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Speaker 7: to get sued by the government, right.

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Speaker 6: I think that's what they are nervous about.

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Speaker 7: You know, this new administration coming in and making all

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Speaker 7: these changes and and the war on diversity, equity, inclusion,

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Speaker 7: and they're scared to get sued if they put it

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Speaker 7: out there and I know, you know, just this week,

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Speaker 7: we just we just shipped huge orders to you know,

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Speaker 7: one of our retailers.

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Speaker 6: Really yeah, we're yeah, we just.

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Speaker 7: But you know, that has been in the plan for

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Speaker 7: a long time, like Melissa.

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Speaker 6: Spoke to earlier. It's not like an overnight thing. But

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Speaker 6: of course they could have gone in and canceled those orders.

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Speaker 7: They could have not sent them to us, because that

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Speaker 7: is their prerogative too, to not send the purchase orders.

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Speaker 7: But we're in the process of shipping tons of inventory

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Speaker 7: to one of these major retailers that have come out

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Speaker 7: and said that they are against the diversity equity.

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Speaker 1: Oh so they doubled down on their send us stuff.

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Speaker 7: No, they are part of the they they have rollback

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Speaker 7: diversity equity.

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Speaker 6: But we are getting huge purchase orders.

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Speaker 1: The product is moving, but.

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Speaker 8: We need the people to go into the stores and

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Speaker 8: purchase the product.

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Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, and same same on the target front. So

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Speaker 3: like we've had conversations and we're like, what does this

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Speaker 3: mean for our brand, because like you know, it's it's

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Speaker 3: crazy to the idea of like being so outspoken on

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Speaker 3: this without going to target themselves, Like we want to

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Speaker 3: go straight to the source.

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Speaker 9: So we're like, Yo, what's up.

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Speaker 3: Brands, and they're like, it means nothing for exactly, we

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Speaker 3: will continue to invest in your brand. And we've seen

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Speaker 3: purchase orders you know that were that were larger than usual,

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Speaker 3: but not because like they feel bad, because the products

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Speaker 3: are moving, like we're known for our lip colors, Like

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Speaker 3: we've been doing this for twelve years and we continue

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Speaker 3: to grow year over year, and so that retailer is

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Speaker 3: going to see that and they're going to continue to

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Speaker 3: double down.

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Speaker 9: They're not.

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Speaker 3: They're not just kicking all the black brands out. I

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Speaker 3: just want to be clean.

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Speaker 5: But I wonder if that's because of the they're calling

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Speaker 5: it a bycot, because there's some people who are like, no,

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Speaker 5: I'm gonna go in these stores and I'm going to

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Speaker 5: buy all the black products. I may not buy anything else,

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Speaker 5: but I'm gonna buy a black.

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Speaker 7: Product, and we want you to do that, and we're

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Speaker 7: not telling I'm like, we're not here to tell you

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Speaker 7: where to shop.

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Speaker 6: We're here to tell, like, ask you to shop with us.

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Speaker 7: You know, we're not telling you oh blah, yeah, we're

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Speaker 7: not telling you not to go into Target.

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Speaker 4: Tell me the effects of what yes business exactly.

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Speaker 2: It was something because to making Mallory was here and

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Speaker 2: she was saying that, you know, when people go to

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Speaker 2: these stores sometimes they forget like you know, they'll.

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Speaker 5: Go to get might go get the lip bardy, might

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Speaker 5: go get rug exactly to people, that's the reason that

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Speaker 5: you do it.

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Speaker 2: But people don't, you know, understand the effects of people

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Speaker 2: who are you know, have businesses in Target or Walmart

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Speaker 2: or Sam's Clubs or Costco that it effects.

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Speaker 1: So what do you tell those people?

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Speaker 2: Like so you tell them, look, we understand the boycott,

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Speaker 2: but you gotta you gotta, you gotta understand that we're

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Speaker 2: supporting so many of our community and we got to

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Speaker 2: make this happen.

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Speaker 1: Got to make this work some house, some way.

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Speaker 7: I tell them, shop wherever you decide to shop, but

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Speaker 7: shot Black shop with us.

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Speaker 6: We you know, we want you to.

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Speaker 7: Buy the products wherever you feel comfortable buying them, wherever

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Speaker 7: you have access to buying them because so many people,

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Speaker 7: like our own was mentioning earlier, they only have certain

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Speaker 7: amount of stores that they can actually shop.

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Speaker 8: If you have the luxury of boycotting and you feel

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Speaker 8: the need to boycott, then go ahead and do that.

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Speaker 8: But some people don't have that luxury, like I said,

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Speaker 8: and we have. You know, we always talk about promoting

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Speaker 8: generational wealth, promoting you know, giving back. We have a

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Speaker 8: fun of Rugger Edu Scholarship Fund where it's going on

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Speaker 8: our twelfth year where we give back scholarships to students

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Speaker 8: from our hometown that our first generation scholarship students. So

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Speaker 8: we want to do more of that in our community.

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Speaker 8: We want to create more generational wealth. And to know

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Speaker 8: wanted to do that, you have to continue to support

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Speaker 8: our brands because we have done everything.

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Speaker 4: Like Melissa just said, we fronted.

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Speaker 8: We just fronted so much inventory and we want to

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Speaker 8: sell it through because we you know, if not then

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Speaker 8: we'll have these huge buybacks and that just chargebacks, and

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Speaker 8: that just really hurts our business and our brands.

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Speaker 10: You mentioned the thing about Target just changing the name.

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Speaker 10: They did both.

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Speaker 11: So they changed the name of their supplier Diversity team

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Speaker 11: to Supplier Engagement and then they also got rid of

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Speaker 11: their belonging at the Bullseye, which is a strategy to

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Speaker 11: include black employees, build meaningful careers and improve like experience

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Speaker 11: of black shoppers and promote black owned businesses.

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Speaker 10: So they did both of them.

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Speaker 6: And I know we're talking about Target, but for us

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Speaker 6: rugger Roots.

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Speaker 7: We're in several seven different retail stores, so there's so

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Speaker 7: many other options to show.

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Speaker 6: So we're in Target, We're in JC penny, We're.

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Speaker 7: In Belt, We're in Sally's, We're in Amazon, We're in Walmart, Walmart, Walmart.

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Speaker 7: And if you look at you know, jcpenny and Belt,

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Speaker 7: they have doubled down on their di they are you know,

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Speaker 7: they are adamant about keeping diversity, equity.

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Speaker 6: Inclusion with you know their companies.

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Speaker 7: And we're there too, so you know, we and our products,

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Speaker 7: you know, we're on shelf at all of those places.

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Speaker 7: And as a black owned business, if you're going to

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Speaker 7: boycott one.

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Speaker 6: Then flood flood the other.

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Speaker 7: Our website is, I mean, we have a warehouse in

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Speaker 7: Indian Land, South Carolina where.

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Speaker 6: We're shipping, packing, sending.

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Speaker 7: Orders out every day on our e commerce and a

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Speaker 7: lot of times I own and I are in there.

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Speaker 6: Like last week I posted on my social.

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Speaker 7: Media, I was like wrapping a past that was going

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Speaker 7: out to Walmart. Like we're still in there grinding every

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Speaker 7: single day. And so if you're gonna you know, say okay,

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Speaker 7: we're gonna not shop here, then shop elsewhere. Support the

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Speaker 7: brand elsewhere where, you feel comfortable.

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Speaker 3: I think one of the misconceptions is that if a

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Speaker 3: brand is in retail, they've already made it.

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Speaker 9: Yeah, they're already They're already huge.

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Speaker 3: And it's like, just because you know, we get pressed

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Speaker 3: or because we're on the breakfast clip, that does not

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Speaker 3: mean that the brand has actually gone the distance.

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Speaker 9: So I just want.

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Speaker 3: People to know that by by not shopping you know,

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Speaker 3: Black Owned, no matter what the channel is, know that

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Speaker 3: you are impacting how someone is feeding their fam absolutely,

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Speaker 3: like just because the lip bar, you know, press, press

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Speaker 3: and likes do not equal dollars, Like, let's not get

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Speaker 3: get fooled by the social media hil and so people

439
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Speaker 3: are people will say like, oh, they already got it.

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Speaker 3: It's fine that they can. They can miss the dollars. No,

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Speaker 3: because we got payroll every two weeks.

442
00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:05,760
Speaker 8: My boy, we got warehouse, we got warehouse rent, we

443
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,120
Speaker 8: got rent to pay all the things.

444
00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,240
Speaker 10: So oh, go ahead.

445
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:12,880
Speaker 11: I was gonna ask behind the scenes, though I don't

446
00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:14,600
Speaker 11: know how close a lot of you, like the Black

447
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:16,800
Speaker 11: Owned brands were in these major retailers with this Target

448
00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,719
Speaker 11: walmartor whatever. But I feel like now because y'all are

449
00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:21,919
Speaker 11: kind of going through this together, has it created a

450
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,240
Speaker 11: line of communication or system where you guys are figuring

451
00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:26,960
Speaker 11: out things amongst your own selves for the up and coming,

452
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,600
Speaker 11: like black owned brands that will hit retail like shops.

453
00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,920
Speaker 3: And Yeah, I had a call actually, like pretty much

454
00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:37,800
Speaker 3: immediately after it happened, renee blew it from she did that,

455
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:42,320
Speaker 3: she helped organize it, and my first thing was like,

456
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:44,680
Speaker 3: y'all need to reach out to your buyers because a

457
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:45,880
Speaker 3: lot of people are afraid.

458
00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:47,160
Speaker 9: A lot of people were.

459
00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,200
Speaker 3: Like, I don't think I have the leverage to even

460
00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:51,960
Speaker 3: reach out to Target and ask them what's going on.

461
00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:54,000
Speaker 10: Smaller brands and Target they're smaller.

462
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:57,639
Speaker 3: But meanwhile, it's like, we've been in Target for like

463
00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,160
Speaker 3: eight years, so I know that I can reach out out.

464
00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:04,760
Speaker 3: And I did reach out very aggressively actually, but I'm like, no,

465
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,800
Speaker 3: reach out to let them know that we are coming together.

466
00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:10,639
Speaker 3: Reach out to let them know that we are demanding

467
00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:13,840
Speaker 3: that y'all give us some responses and some meaning to

468
00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,119
Speaker 3: what this is. Reach out and let them know that, like,

469
00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,840
Speaker 3: we won't just stand for this. And so, like, I

470
00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:22,640
Speaker 3: do think that it is bridging the gap because typically

471
00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:24,720
Speaker 3: I think one of the issues in the black community

472
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:26,760
Speaker 3: is that we hold things to the chest and it's

473
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:30,200
Speaker 3: okay to be vulnerable because like, the more we are vulnerable,

474
00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,080
Speaker 3: the more information we get, and the more information we have,

475
00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:36,399
Speaker 3: then we can actually make better decisions. And so I

476
00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:40,359
Speaker 3: think it's absolutely happening, and I'm proud of the work

477
00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:42,280
Speaker 3: that a lot of the black owned businesses are doing

478
00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:42,680
Speaker 3: right now.

479
00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,840
Speaker 5: Can we talk more about you know, is it fair

480
00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:48,800
Speaker 5: for black owned products to receive backlash but still having

481
00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,399
Speaker 5: their products in Target or any of these stores that

482
00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:52,040
Speaker 5: are rolling back to.

483
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:53,440
Speaker 6: De No, that's no more.

484
00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:55,760
Speaker 9: No, it's not fair because here's the.

485
00:23:55,720 --> 00:24:01,320
Speaker 3: Thing, like people are complaining on Meta that is that

486
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:05,520
Speaker 3: has rolled back their DEI, people are using their Gmail

487
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,359
Speaker 3: that has rolled back their DEI, people saying that black

488
00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:13,719
Speaker 3: black owned businesses that are already small, that are already underfunded.

489
00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:17,119
Speaker 3: Black women receive less than one percent of all VC dollars,

490
00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,960
Speaker 3: and I actually think that the number went down post COVID,

491
00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:24,040
Speaker 3: Like we can't afford to do it. So what people

492
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:27,080
Speaker 3: are asking us to do is essentially like you know,

493
00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,959
Speaker 3: fill our houses, closed our doors, fire our entire teams.

494
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,280
Speaker 3: And it's like, are you doing that for the for

495
00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:36,199
Speaker 3: the community, Are you doing that for the struggle, like

496
00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:38,480
Speaker 3: are you quitting your job without a plan to feed

497
00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:41,520
Speaker 3: your family? Like until we are all like locked in

498
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,600
Speaker 3: arms that this is what we're doing for the culture.

499
00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,560
Speaker 3: It is. It is unfair. Now we're not over here

500
00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,440
Speaker 3: saying you need to keep shopping at Target or Walmart

501
00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:52,720
Speaker 3: or Amazon, any of these places because they have all

502
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:54,160
Speaker 3: decided to shut down.

503
00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:54,640
Speaker 10: DEI.

504
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,200
Speaker 3: What we have said is like, we got my website,

505
00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,280
Speaker 3: they have websites. I have a store in Detroit, Like

506
00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:02,720
Speaker 3: shop wherever you choose to shop.

507
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:04,440
Speaker 9: That is your privative.

508
00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:07,160
Speaker 8: Give us a little I can say that twenty five

509
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:11,600
Speaker 8: percent of our cells come from our internet, from our

510
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,360
Speaker 8: e commerce, from our website, so the other seventy five

511
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:18,000
Speaker 8: percent is from being on the shelves.

512
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:20,560
Speaker 4: So that's our livelihood.

513
00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,360
Speaker 8: So we need you guys, you know, we need to

514
00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:25,359
Speaker 8: stay on the shelves, and we need you guys to

515
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:28,480
Speaker 8: purchase from Walmart, Target.

516
00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:32,520
Speaker 7: Give the black brands more more than two point five

517
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:35,840
Speaker 7: percent of the nine point four billion dollars that it's

518
00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:38,920
Speaker 7: spent and on beauty.

519
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:40,960
Speaker 6: And it's easy, give us more percent.

520
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:45,040
Speaker 7: Give us a little bit more of that you know money, right,

521
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:49,880
Speaker 7: I mean, that's all we're asked because people people want

522
00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:51,040
Speaker 7: to buy people.

523
00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:52,440
Speaker 9: I want us to be honest.

524
00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:54,720
Speaker 3: Like, if you go into your makeup bag, if you

525
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,040
Speaker 3: go into your your linen closet, if you go into

526
00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:01,879
Speaker 3: your your actual closet, how many of those brands, Like

527
00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:03,840
Speaker 3: your fashions, how much of it is black owned?

528
00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:05,440
Speaker 9: How much of your makeup.

529
00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:11,320
Speaker 10: A point today different, but.

530
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,880
Speaker 3: Like your your pantry, like your fashions, your hair, your makeup,

531
00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:20,640
Speaker 3: like the lip bar is constantly begging people to shop

532
00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:24,240
Speaker 3: the lip Bar over elf or over n y X. Like,

533
00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:26,320
Speaker 3: and it's not just about the lip bar. There are

534
00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:28,119
Speaker 3: lots of black owned brands you can shop.

535
00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:29,040
Speaker 9: This is not just.

536
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,280
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's about our community, about our community.

537
00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:34,359
Speaker 8: We would love for you to go on our dot com,

538
00:26:34,359 --> 00:26:37,040
Speaker 8: but we know that only twenty five percent of our

539
00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:39,640
Speaker 8: sales come from there. I mean, we make more money

540
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:42,679
Speaker 8: when you shop on our website. Person, you know, our

541
00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:44,400
Speaker 8: personal business website.

542
00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:45,240
Speaker 10: So but.

543
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:48,400
Speaker 1: Anybody who talk you reached out at all?

544
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:51,200
Speaker 10: Yeah, I've talked to talk about for like two weeks.

545
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:52,760
Speaker 1: Okay, but what did they say? Like, what do they say?

546
00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:53,680
Speaker 3: Say? Nothing?

547
00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:58,160
Speaker 7: But you know, like our sales team with Walmart, We've

548
00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:02,159
Speaker 7: had several conversations with them, like really strong conversations and

549
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,000
Speaker 7: they say the same thing. We didn't bring you in

550
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,760
Speaker 7: because of diversity, equity inclusion. We brought you in because

551
00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:10,560
Speaker 7: you're a strong brand and where you know, we're going

552
00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:12,720
Speaker 7: to keep you there as long as you're performing.

553
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,000
Speaker 6: But that's the key. We have to perform.

554
00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:17,360
Speaker 11: But do they plan to, like say more to kind

555
00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:19,679
Speaker 11: of like protect y'all alone, not protect yall because 'all

556
00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:22,720
Speaker 11: don't need them to protect.

557
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:27,320
Speaker 10: Like they kind of like it aggravated things when it did.

558
00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:30,560
Speaker 11: Yeah, so they don't plan on like what's the remedy

559
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,680
Speaker 11: because if this was the Black Square era, that would

560
00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:35,439
Speaker 11: have been came out and I don't know, we're a

561
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:46,879
Speaker 11: cloth or something. So now they can be silent and

562
00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:49,320
Speaker 11: no one cares and it's like whatever, But like the plan.

563
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:51,920
Speaker 10: Because you guys don't seem like you're leaving anytime soon.

564
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:55,920
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, you can't.

565
00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:57,640
Speaker 10: I mean, so it's a partnership.

566
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:02,199
Speaker 3: I think that people have to continue to put pressure, honestly. So,

567
00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:06,720
Speaker 3: I mean, in my conversations with Target, they have been apologetic.

568
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:10,760
Speaker 3: They have been clear that they are continuously investing in

569
00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:14,119
Speaker 3: small black and brown brands, Like this is literally from

570
00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:15,840
Speaker 3: like their mouths over.

571
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:17,160
Speaker 9: The last two weeks.

572
00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:19,880
Speaker 3: But I'm like, listen, don't say it to me, say

573
00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:23,040
Speaker 3: it to the public, because it's the public who is upset.

574
00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:25,479
Speaker 3: It's the public who you owe something to, not just

575
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,439
Speaker 3: your vendors. And so I think we have to just

576
00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:32,880
Speaker 3: continue to tell our story and demand what we want

577
00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:33,280
Speaker 3: to see.

578
00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:35,560
Speaker 5: And you know, I wonder I haven't spoken, and this

579
00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,240
Speaker 5: is why it's so difficult, right because I love y'all,

580
00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,080
Speaker 5: But then I love Denina Turners, and I love you

581
00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:42,720
Speaker 5: to meet mallories, and I understand why you feel the

582
00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:44,479
Speaker 5: way y'all feel, and understand why they feel the way

583
00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:47,120
Speaker 5: they feel. But I wondered, was there any conversations amongst y'all,

584
00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,520
Speaker 5: did any of the people wanting to boycott calling you

585
00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:52,360
Speaker 5: the people who have brands.

586
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:52,440
Speaker 1: In the store.

587
00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:53,200
Speaker 9: No.

588
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:57,800
Speaker 3: I talked to Roland Martin, okay, okay, and he he

589
00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,200
Speaker 3: was like, we got a boycott, and I said, well, oh,

590
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:02,640
Speaker 3: we gotta do whatever we gotta do, but just make

591
00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,560
Speaker 3: sure that y'all are clear on having a plan to

592
00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:12,120
Speaker 3: continue to invest in and support black businesses, because it

593
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:14,720
Speaker 3: can't be this thing where it's it's trendy to shop

594
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,840
Speaker 3: black today and then two weeks later you know, we're

595
00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:19,800
Speaker 3: not in vogue anymore.

596
00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:23,360
Speaker 7: I mean I live with someone that's on the front line,

597
00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:27,160
Speaker 7: because yeah, my husband is on TV fighting the good

598
00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:31,800
Speaker 7: fight every single night, and we have these conversations at home,

599
00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:36,000
Speaker 7: and you know, he understands that I have a business

600
00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:37,200
Speaker 7: to promote.

601
00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,000
Speaker 6: He appreciates the boycott where you.

602
00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:44,280
Speaker 7: Know, boycott boycotting, and you know, civil rights movement is

603
00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:47,080
Speaker 7: part of our bloodline, like we're from the Deep South,

604
00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:53,320
Speaker 7: and in that I appreciate, you know, their movement because

605
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:58,400
Speaker 7: that's how things have changed in history. But like Melissa said,

606
00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:01,600
Speaker 7: you know, it can't just be a trend to forget

607
00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:04,480
Speaker 7: about these black brands. And so I think it just

608
00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:07,560
Speaker 7: has to be you know, people have to look at

609
00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:10,560
Speaker 7: it in a different lens. And that's why I think

610
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:13,800
Speaker 7: it's so important for black brands to have these conversations

611
00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:16,840
Speaker 7: with the public, like hey, you know, that's great. You

612
00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:20,000
Speaker 7: know we're If that's what you want to do, then

613
00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:22,040
Speaker 7: you know, vote with your dollar.

614
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:23,040
Speaker 6: That's fine.

615
00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:23,720
Speaker 3: What you say.

616
00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,600
Speaker 2: The thing is conversation, right, it's something that you said earlier.

617
00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:29,080
Speaker 2: Most time people when you see something in a store,

618
00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:30,959
Speaker 2: the automatically think you made it right.

619
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:34,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's successful. You guys are rich, you guys are filter.

620
00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:37,200
Speaker 2: You guys are billionaires because they don't understand what it takes.

621
00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:38,160
Speaker 1: So without having.

622
00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:40,000
Speaker 2: These conversations, people don't understand.

623
00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:41,040
Speaker 1: And not only that.

624
00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:43,920
Speaker 2: As a dad that goes into sallies, a lot of

625
00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:45,680
Speaker 2: times I don't know what's a black brand or what's

626
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,480
Speaker 2: a regular brand. My wife to get some shampoo or

627
00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:51,440
Speaker 2: we need a new shampoo for for whatever. So when

628
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:53,400
Speaker 2: I asked the lady at the front desk, who a

629
00:30:53,400 --> 00:31:07,320
Speaker 2: lot of times might not be black that I.

630
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:08,080
Speaker 1: Use just for men.

631
00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:14,720
Speaker 2: But but you need to have all these conversations where

632
00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:16,680
Speaker 2: people understand what it is because a lot of times

633
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:18,880
Speaker 2: I don't think people actually get it because the first

634
00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:20,240
Speaker 2: thing you think of is when you see a brand

635
00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:22,080
Speaker 2: of Target, is that you guys have made it, and

636
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:23,360
Speaker 2: it's not necessarily the truth.

637
00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:25,440
Speaker 5: And I believe, you know, there's guys like John Bryant

638
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,360
Speaker 5: who represented you know, uh, plans on what should happen.

639
00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:29,440
Speaker 1: I believe what he says.

640
00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:32,560
Speaker 5: He says we should redirect energy towards supporting companies that

641
00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:36,280
Speaker 5: double that double down on the I and he says

642
00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:39,520
Speaker 5: we should position diversity, equity and inclusion as a business

643
00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:41,560
Speaker 5: imperative not a political.

644
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:45,200
Speaker 3: Right, but is it realistic to do that when the

645
00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:48,320
Speaker 3: government has made it a political agenda?

646
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:49,880
Speaker 9: So some some.

647
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,880
Speaker 3: Of the companies right and target aside, like if the

648
00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:58,520
Speaker 3: government is like we're gonna cut your funding if you

649
00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:02,000
Speaker 3: if you uphold your d what is that that company's

650
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,040
Speaker 3: supposed to do? So maybe it doesn't impact costco because

651
00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:09,600
Speaker 3: maybe they're not receiving government subsidies. But for those companies

652
00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:13,200
Speaker 3: that that are, like, how how does that work? And

653
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:15,960
Speaker 3: I'm really I'm really asking because I feel like we

654
00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:20,520
Speaker 3: have to be clear that it's not just the companies

655
00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,959
Speaker 3: that are doing this DEI pull back, it's also Trump.

656
00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:27,280
Speaker 6: If you just don't be absolutely.

657
00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:27,440
Speaker 1: I mean it's it's because of Trump.

658
00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:29,760
Speaker 5: But I guess you know, John O'Brien is saying that

659
00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:33,240
Speaker 5: you should reframe the narrative around diversity, equity and inclusion

660
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:38,160
Speaker 5: as critical for economic competitiveness, innovation, and market growth, like

661
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:40,320
Speaker 5: it impacts your bottom line, Like that's what we should

662
00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:41,400
Speaker 5: be telling these companies.

663
00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:42,400
Speaker 10: They know that though.

664
00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:45,760
Speaker 11: What first thing you learn in if you have a

665
00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,800
Speaker 11: retail background or seller's background at all, is market study.

666
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,640
Speaker 11: In numbers retail stores are placed, they choose clothing that

667
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:55,040
Speaker 11: goes into norsetrums based off who lives around that norsetrum.

668
00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:57,440
Speaker 10: They know what people look like, how they shore, They

669
00:32:57,480 --> 00:32:59,120
Speaker 10: know all of that. It's just do they have to

670
00:32:59,240 --> 00:32:59,920
Speaker 10: care kind?

671
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:00,960
Speaker 1: And that's what I said.

672
00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:02,920
Speaker 5: That's why when when I when I said do there,

673
00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,720
Speaker 5: it's like, why would they even put out a press release?

674
00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:07,200
Speaker 1: Like why would they just put this they did?

675
00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:13,040
Speaker 3: I think they from the target perspective, they didn't put

676
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:18,280
Speaker 3: out a press and that's why, like they still haven't

677
00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:20,320
Speaker 3: said anything because they're like, we didn't say anything.

678
00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:23,480
Speaker 1: I haven't seen Walmart.

679
00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:27,440
Speaker 3: Walmart absolutely put out they said. But but they did

680
00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:29,600
Speaker 3: say what they're going to continue to do. And I

681
00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:32,040
Speaker 3: think that that is what is o to the to

682
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:35,719
Speaker 3: the people, like instead of just saying like, okay, we're

683
00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:39,040
Speaker 3: we're killing de I be clear on what that means.

684
00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,800
Speaker 3: Be clear on what that means for not only your customers,

685
00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:44,200
Speaker 3: but the people who work there.

686
00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:48,800
Speaker 7: Or if you're if they're concerned about Trump and the administration,

687
00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:52,520
Speaker 7: you know, giving them, you know, lawsuits or whatever. If

688
00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:56,960
Speaker 7: they continue change the name, like do emerging brands like,

689
00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:01,320
Speaker 7: you know, change change the name, but don't eliminate you know,

690
00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:05,480
Speaker 7: these these you know these brand owners and these companies

691
00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:08,520
Speaker 7: that work so hard to get to the place that.

692
00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:10,399
Speaker 5: You know, you say you're just getting rid of the DEI.

693
00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:12,800
Speaker 5: Anythink that you just don't care about black people.

694
00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:15,360
Speaker 1: Don't care about black people.

695
00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:19,759
Speaker 3: Get First of all, black people are not the biggest beneficiaries.

696
00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:19,440
Speaker 8: Of de I.

697
00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:23,160
Speaker 3: It's white women, it's white women, it's veterans, and it

698
00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:27,400
Speaker 3: goes so much further than just black people. It's d

699
00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:31,200
Speaker 3: I is the pumping rooms that women have when when

700
00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:35,720
Speaker 3: they're pregnant. D I is the accessible ramps for disabled people.

701
00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,600
Speaker 3: But I know Black people, because we are so unfortunately

702
00:34:39,680 --> 00:34:42,680
Speaker 3: used to being oppressed in this country, we immediately are

703
00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:47,520
Speaker 3: like they hate black people, and rightfully so. Right so

704
00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:49,719
Speaker 3: it's like, okay, well tell tell us.

705
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:50,120
Speaker 9: That you don't.

706
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,640
Speaker 3: And I think that's what we're all waiting for from

707
00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:53,680
Speaker 3: all of these companies.

708
00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:55,680
Speaker 5: Have this question, and I know that y'all have answered

709
00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:57,239
Speaker 5: it in different ways throughout the interview, but I just

710
00:34:57,280 --> 00:34:58,880
Speaker 5: want to be clear, what do you think is the

711
00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:02,359
Speaker 5: appropriate strategy to let these companies know that we don't

712
00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:04,959
Speaker 5: like how they drop DEI without affecting y'all's.

713
00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:09,759
Speaker 7: Bottom line, the companies or our community both m hm.

714
00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:11,400
Speaker 9: I think we have to keep being vocal.

715
00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:14,960
Speaker 3: I don't think there's anything wrong with putting a bullseye

716
00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:18,960
Speaker 3: on Target and saying we won't accept this. But I

717
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,279
Speaker 3: also think that in the same vein, we have to

718
00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:27,600
Speaker 3: be intentional shoppers to ensure that we are actually voting

719
00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:30,080
Speaker 3: with our dollar. But like, keep keep putting the pressure

720
00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:30,480
Speaker 3: on Target.

721
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:32,680
Speaker 2: Why not, We'll let bulls eye affect your business, though

722
00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:34,200
Speaker 2: what they look back and be like, you know what,

723
00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:36,799
Speaker 2: this is being too difficult with this damn bulls eye.

724
00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:47,120
Speaker 3: Not if ourselves are impacted. So like they speak green first.

725
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:51,239
Speaker 7: Yes, exactly, Yeah, so you're performing and if you're if

726
00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:54,239
Speaker 7: you're if your products aren't just sitting there, and if

727
00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:57,040
Speaker 7: they're making money and all the things, and they're going

728
00:35:57,080 --> 00:35:59,240
Speaker 7: to keep you there, then less I can say whatever

729
00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:02,920
Speaker 7: she wants every five because all they care about is

730
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:03,360
Speaker 7: the money.

731
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, company and Target.

732
00:36:06,719 --> 00:36:11,279
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, And we've been in Target since twenty seventeen,

733
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:15,719
Speaker 3: twenty eighteen, and we've grown a year over year, and like,

734
00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:19,319
Speaker 3: of course we're disappointed, but we're not gonna pull our

735
00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:23,680
Speaker 3: products from Target in this moment because it doesn't make

736
00:36:23,719 --> 00:36:26,600
Speaker 3: financial sense for us. But we will continue to put

737
00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:30,040
Speaker 3: pressure on Target and say yo, like this is not okay,

738
00:36:30,239 --> 00:36:31,719
Speaker 3: right go.

739
00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:33,520
Speaker 10: Ahead, No, go ahead, you can go.

740
00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:38,279
Speaker 8: I don't even know what I was going to ask this.

741
00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:41,160
Speaker 11: This whole thing brings up a conversation of like how

742
00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:44,800
Speaker 11: people feel when, especially the black beauty brands begin to

743
00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:47,920
Speaker 11: like if they're bought out by non black people stuff

744
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:48,080
Speaker 11: like that.

745
00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:50,560
Speaker 10: I remember, I think, what was it Courtney's brand or

746
00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:50,879
Speaker 10: was it.

747
00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:52,920
Speaker 11: It was one of those brands that something like that

748
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:56,120
Speaker 11: happened with and they got dragged for it. And when

749
00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:58,360
Speaker 11: this happened, I remember there was a thread that I

750
00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:00,680
Speaker 11: read and they were basically saying this is why we

751
00:37:00,719 --> 00:37:03,120
Speaker 11: should only sell through US, And I was like, but

752
00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:04,200
Speaker 11: what does that look like?

753
00:37:04,239 --> 00:37:04,960
Speaker 10: How do you do that?

754
00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:06,840
Speaker 11: I guess it's like owning your own store and detreat

755
00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:09,600
Speaker 11: versus and doing more of that versus being in the target.

756
00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:11,880
Speaker 11: How do you guys feel about that conversation of like,

757
00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:15,319
Speaker 11: you know, like even in I don't know, investors or

758
00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:18,359
Speaker 11: kind of the capitalism conversation, I.

759
00:37:18,280 --> 00:37:21,719
Speaker 7: Think that it's important for us to remember that when

760
00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:25,960
Speaker 7: you're growing a brand and and you get to a

761
00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:29,759
Speaker 7: certain level, there's only so much that you can do,

762
00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:31,960
Speaker 7: and you have to bring in investors, and you have

763
00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:36,520
Speaker 7: to bring in different, you know, amounts of money to

764
00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:40,240
Speaker 7: scale to that global and to hit that global brand.

765
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,719
Speaker 7: And when companies decide to sell, you know, I know

766
00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:47,160
Speaker 7: a lot of companies have stuff, but they they also

767
00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:50,200
Speaker 7: bring that money back to the community. They give so

768
00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:53,719
Speaker 7: much money. They funnel all that you know, so much,

769
00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:58,080
Speaker 7: so many scholarships and so many you know, grants.

770
00:37:57,640 --> 00:37:59,240
Speaker 6: And everything back into the community.

771
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:02,880
Speaker 7: I think it's kind of unfair to put that amount

772
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:06,399
Speaker 7: of pressure on black brands, because aren't you growing your

773
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:11,760
Speaker 7: brand for a legacy, for economic growth in your community.

774
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:14,160
Speaker 7: Aren't you growing your brand so that you can make

775
00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:18,000
Speaker 7: a difference, that you can leave something behind greater than

776
00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:21,080
Speaker 7: you and not the purpose.

777
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:22,960
Speaker 1: A billion dollars.

778
00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:24,640
Speaker 6: But that's what I'm saying.

779
00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:28,640
Speaker 7: Like, and so in other communities, people don't give them

780
00:38:28,719 --> 00:38:33,239
Speaker 7: hell for selling their products. They get celebrated, They get celebrated,

781
00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:37,480
Speaker 7: and I think that's so unfair and and it's unfortunate.

782
00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:39,480
Speaker 6: I don't I don't like.

783
00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:43,319
Speaker 3: It when Rich Dennis so shame moisture. He started the

784
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:48,040
Speaker 3: New Voices Fund to invest in black women, and some

785
00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:53,400
Speaker 3: of your favorite entrepreneurs were beneficiaries of him selling shame moisture.

786
00:38:53,440 --> 00:38:56,320
Speaker 3: So he invested in lip Bar, he invested in Sloaty Vegan,

787
00:38:56,440 --> 00:38:59,520
Speaker 3: he invested in honey Pot, he invested in Mao Organics,

788
00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:03,200
Speaker 3: invested in Natural Club. Like, literally, almost a lot of

789
00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:06,640
Speaker 3: the pop in black owned businesses right now came as

790
00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:10,520
Speaker 3: a result of that sale. So to your point, it's

791
00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:13,359
Speaker 3: really about what people do with the money when they sell.

792
00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:17,000
Speaker 3: And then I totally understand people being upset like, oh,

793
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:19,040
Speaker 3: we can't have nothing, because I feel like that's how

794
00:39:19,080 --> 00:39:20,280
Speaker 3: the community feels.

795
00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:21,800
Speaker 9: Like, you know, as soon.

796
00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:24,120
Speaker 3: As a brand grows and we support it, they sell

797
00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:27,480
Speaker 3: to a white company or a white person. And my

798
00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:30,680
Speaker 3: question to you is like, well, who do we sell

799
00:39:30,719 --> 00:39:34,840
Speaker 3: it to? Unfortunately there are no black Procter and Gambles

800
00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:38,680
Speaker 3: or Unilevers because why because we only spend two and

801
00:39:38,719 --> 00:39:41,800
Speaker 3: a half percent of a another point four billion dollars

802
00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:45,200
Speaker 3: with black brands. And so if we were to pull

803
00:39:45,360 --> 00:39:48,560
Speaker 3: our dollars and even if we just only focused on

804
00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:50,920
Speaker 3: beauty and say, you know what, I can commit to

805
00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:54,239
Speaker 3: only shopping black beauty. Clothing might be.

806
00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:55,640
Speaker 9: Harder, shoes might be harder.

807
00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:58,480
Speaker 3: You know, your pantry might be harder, but beauty is

808
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:01,880
Speaker 3: not that hard. There are undreds of black owned beauty brands,

809
00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:06,759
Speaker 3: but we are still fighting with multinational corporations. People are

810
00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:10,600
Speaker 3: absolutely still buying the Lorels and Mabelings instead of the

811
00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:14,719
Speaker 3: lip Bars and the Dnessa Myricks, and so we would

812
00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:18,440
Speaker 3: love to shop or sell to black people. It's just

813
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:21,440
Speaker 3: that that's not an option. So what do we do?

814
00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:25,720
Speaker 3: Do we not realize our generational wealth because most Black people,

815
00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:28,879
Speaker 3: our wealth is actually tied in our equity, which means

816
00:40:28,880 --> 00:40:31,080
Speaker 3: that we have to have a liquidation event.

817
00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:32,000
Speaker 9: That's what it's called.

818
00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:36,520
Speaker 3: Liquidation event, is when you sell some of your equity

819
00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:39,279
Speaker 3: so that you can get some of the money. Yeah,

820
00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:42,760
Speaker 3: Melissa Butler of the lip Bar is a millionaire on paper,

821
00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:46,640
Speaker 3: baby on paper, which means that I need to do

822
00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:51,640
Speaker 3: something you actually get liquid So I just I want

823
00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:56,040
Speaker 3: y'all to understand how business works, especially when you fundraise.

824
00:40:56,120 --> 00:40:57,880
Speaker 5: But that's the most difficult thing, right, You're trying to

825
00:40:57,920 --> 00:41:01,719
Speaker 5: explain business to people who don't have no business. So

826
00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:11,120
Speaker 5: I remember when they got mad at Beatrice when she

827
00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:13,480
Speaker 5: sold for what was it three eighty or something like that,

828
00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:16,320
Speaker 5: and she kept the minority stake and was still CEO.

829
00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:21,880
Speaker 5: And I'm just like, I was happy for her, and

830
00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:22,920
Speaker 5: it's like who she don't sell it.

831
00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:27,160
Speaker 7: To until we get to the point where we have

832
00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:32,719
Speaker 7: you know, these people that have grown brands like you know,

833
00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:37,120
Speaker 7: Rich Dennis that can actually help invest in and buy

834
00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:40,479
Speaker 7: you know, companies and all those things. Until we grow

835
00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:44,879
Speaker 7: more of those people, until we have that status, then

836
00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:47,720
Speaker 7: we don't have you know, happen.

837
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:50,200
Speaker 2: We'll go out and support these ladies.

838
00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:52,239
Speaker 1: Please tell them how How did they support Rucker Routes?

839
00:41:52,239 --> 00:41:55,120
Speaker 7: How do they support the live www dot Rucker Routes

840
00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:58,960
Speaker 7: dot com. You can find us in seven different retailers

841
00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:05,719
Speaker 7: you know, shoes wear, but just support us.

842
00:42:03,480 --> 00:42:05,840
Speaker 9: The lipbar dot com.

843
00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:08,759
Speaker 3: If you're in Detroit, we have our own store, but

844
00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:14,680
Speaker 3: we're also Amazon, Walmart, Target, CBS, and you can follow

845
00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:17,239
Speaker 3: us on all social platforms at the lip bar.

846
00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:22,200
Speaker 5: Any final just messages for the community because y' I

847
00:42:22,200 --> 00:42:23,759
Speaker 5: don't want you, I don't want see y'll tweeting after

848
00:42:23,760 --> 00:42:25,879
Speaker 5: this interview at people just what you need to say.

849
00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:30,400
Speaker 6: No, we love y'all, you know we need you.

850
00:42:30,760 --> 00:42:31,400
Speaker 10: We love you.

851
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:35,960
Speaker 6: We are here for the fight. We're in it. We

852
00:42:36,239 --> 00:42:39,560
Speaker 6: you know, for us. We're not telling you not forcott,

853
00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:43,840
Speaker 6: but we're telling you to you know, support these brands support.

854
00:42:44,040 --> 00:42:47,279
Speaker 8: We're going on ten year anniversary and we couldn't have

855
00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:51,279
Speaker 8: done it without our consumers and our loyal.

856
00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:52,920
Speaker 4: Customers, So thank you.

857
00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:56,279
Speaker 8: Continue to support Ruckle Routes, follow us on all platforms

858
00:42:56,320 --> 00:42:59,239
Speaker 8: at Rucker Routes and of course Ellen said online rucker

859
00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:00,240
Speaker 8: Routes dot com.

860
00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:06,160
Speaker 7: And we're Amazon, Walmart, Targets, Sally's Belt, JC, Penny Yeah,

861
00:43:06,280 --> 00:43:07,200
Speaker 7: and our website.

862
00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:09,799
Speaker 3: I would just say the lip Bar has always been

863
00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:13,319
Speaker 3: a community based business. It's the community that has got

864
00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:16,040
Speaker 3: us this far. And please know that we will continue

865
00:43:16,040 --> 00:43:18,799
Speaker 3: to invest in the community like we will never turn

866
00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:23,640
Speaker 3: our back. Like I am from the blackest city in America, Detroit, Michigan,

867
00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:26,960
Speaker 3: so just know that I am always putting us first.

868
00:43:27,520 --> 00:43:29,359
Speaker 1: There you have it and try It's the Breakfast Club.

869
00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:32,200
Speaker 1: Good morning, wake that ass up in the morning. The

870
00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:33,240
Speaker 1: Breakfast Club