EXPANDING CHOICE 💫 RETAIL BUYERS & MULTICULTURAL BRANDS

If a brand wants to be sold at a store it’s generally the buyer who can make it happen.

...as demographics of the customer base expand to become increasingly multicultural, more diverse perspectives need to be showcased in stores, and online, to keep the retailer viable, and relevant.

“Outside the confines of the retail sector, you don’t hear a lot about the merchant group - the buyers.  They are the mysterious gatekeepers.  They are the wizards behind the curtain that bring brands to the consumer.”

As a co-founder of an emerging brand, I am keenly aware of the inputs needed to bring your vision/product to market.  From concept to development to the overall market assessment young brands and designers do the work to ensure that the end product is differentiated, high quality and speaks to a market need.  That said, expanding the brand with relevant multi-store retail placement is an essential step that can seem both obscured and out of reach for many — particularly diverse brands and designers.

The need is mutual.  Diverse brands led by BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) entrepreneurs are underrepresented on the shelves and online for major retail outlets.  The brands are looking for retail outlets to expose their product to the most potential customers possible.  In turn, the retailer needs product that will delight its customer base and drive sales.  Based on numerous studies of the past few years, Nicole Shepard of Retail Experts concluded that  “The closer workforce diversity at a store matches the diversity of the customer base, the better the store performs. In fact, for each percentage point closer to a perfect match between the diversity of shoppers and store, a retailer can increase their sales by $67,000.”

The brand entrepreneur is by definition the one with the plan, but it’s the retail buyer that makes it happen. They are the retailers’ gatekeeper, the point of entry, the one we entrepreneurs need to convince.

To help make the match, bloggers, magazines and industry experts have gone above and beyond in recent months to identify emerging BIPOC brands and publishing lists — making it easier for retail buyers and customers to find them.  From Vogue to Refinery29 to CredoBeauty the influencers and the influential are sharing names of black-owned brands that all of us should try.  The lists are a step in the right direction providing exposure and visibility to amazing brands.  They also allow new customers, and retail buyers, to learn about brands that match their interests.  But, does it also masks an industry that has tended to relegate black and brown brands to the sidelines, while continuing to limit entry through the traditional front door − the buyers − impeding the ability to grow their brands as big as their ideas. 

WHY ARE BUYERS SO IMPORTANT?

Outside the confines of the retail sector, you don’t hear a lot about the merchant group - the buyers.  They are the mysterious gatekeepers.  They are the wizards behind the curtain that bring brands to the consumer.  They are essential in what a retailer buys, how much they buy when they buy, and most importantly to a diverse brand, “who” the retailer buys for their store.  In short, if a brand wants to be sold at a store it’s the buyer who makes that happen.

What’s even more eye-opening is that the buyers influence what brands and items move up the ladder in the final purchasing decision.  Buyers research, pitch, and present options for the season that are ultimately approved or disapproved.  They discuss pricing, merchandise mix, margins, customer base, and ultimately how much space is allocated for the product and/or brand.  Education helps to prepare the buyer for this essential task, as does market knowledge and perspective for their area of expertise. 

So how does an emerging black or brown brand gain the attention and support of the buyer, intern, assistant buyer,  or junior buyer in the merchant group?  That takes us back to the word perspective.

Who finds the emerging brands - typically, it's the buyers (from interns to assistant buyers to junior buyers to the lead buyer) with final decisions in some companies with a  lead buyer and merchandise manager.  There are many points of entry when it comes to buying for chains, but generally, most brands enter through assistant buyers. Retailers find brands based upon fashion and market trends, sourcing at trade shows, referrals, buying skills, and possibly a little bit of luck. Whatever the secret sauce of buying maybe, the one truth is that it’s hard for a BIPOC − or any other brand − to gain access to retailers without them.

Simply put, buyers are responsible for sourcing and identifying current and upcoming trends  in specific categories of product, be it apparel or non- apparel. They also decide the longevity of a product life cycle based on sales, margin, and performance. Every fashion category has a life cycle. The buyer and merchant group's influence and tell us what is hot, what we should wear and how we should wear it.

Buyers are tremendously important to a BIPOC brand’s desire to expand and grow its market - its customer base.  Placement with the right retailer, be it online or in a traditional store setting, allows brands to exponentially grow their business by exposing their products to a maximum number of potential customers.

THE PATH FORWARD

Diversity matters.  Representation matters.  Given the importance of the buyer to the long term success of a brand, their role is vital. We are coming to understand that as the demographics of the customer base expands to become increasingly multicultural, more diverse perspectives need to be showcased in stores and online to keep the retailer viable, and relevant. 

Retail is evolving. Customers are diverse, aware, worldly and crave options.  The merchant group may be the tastemakers but it’s the creative content − the products −  that make customers shop.  Let’s face it, designers have used “the people” as a muse for millennia. Increasing the diversity of buyers, and the merchant group in general, will help retailers identify trends and products that can grow their business.  BIPOC brands and retail buyers need each other - it’s a symbiotic relationship.

At the MAS Project, we are all about having conversations that create opportunities for sustainable growth.  Diverse brands are looking for access - opportunities to get their products and vision to the customer base.  Enhancing the voice of diverse buyers and brands is one way to get us there.  By providing ways to increase the retail exposure of BIPOC brands, entrepreneurs, and suppliers, retailers can make a measurable commitment to their shared success  — growing brands, revenue, and choice for the consumer.   Let’s showcase the full creative spectrum in retail and continue to cultivate BIPOC brands.  

About the author: Cofounder of the MAS Project, Brenda McKenzie loves building community and brands.  An explorer by nature, she revels in finding what’s unique and sharing it with the world. This life-long learner brings 25 years in sustainable community & economic development, retail entrepreneurship and global affairs to the mix.