Korean BSS Topic Agains: Black-owned Entrepreneur Interviews
- Thread starter Guitarhero
- Start date
with it!
SmilingElephant
Well-Known Member
Okay...so i just tweeted StrawberriCurls about our idea on twitter...she usually does the natural hair chats on there every Sunday...i hope she sees this thread
so between now and next sunday....we need to have our message together, facts, statistics even
...as well as a hashtag for Twitter...i like #StoptheBss tho...that's real! And we need a page for FaceBook...i don't have a FB.
We need to tell people what is going on, what we need to do about it, and how to cope with the change (etc. find alternatives).
so between now and next sunday....we need to have our message together, facts, statistics even...as well as a hashtag for Twitter...i like #StoptheBss tho...that's real! And we need a page for FaceBook...i don't have a FB.We need to tell people what is going on, what we need to do about it, and how to cope with the change (etc. find alternatives).
ellebelle88
Well-Known Member
I think we need to figure out what would alternatives be if we start boycotting. If not, our "protests" will die off and people will go right back to buying from these stores simply because they have no other options.
ellebelle88
Well-Known Member
I do think we need to form an alliance with other people though...We need to get the few black BSS store owners involved as well as informed bloggers and people who are active on these hair care forums/websites.
AltheaGarden
New Member
I want to know.....besides weave....what is it that you HAVE to get from the Asian BSS??
I guess Dominican Products?
Honestly i only run into a BSS for things like nite caps, beanies, cheap accessories and things like that.
What is it that Black owned BSS's need to offer that Asian BSS's don't? I'm trying to stop thinking as just a natural head...help me out here ladies!
I haven't purchased anything from a Asian BSS in several years, but from what I remember, the ones in my area only carry weaves, wigs, relaxers, shampoos/conditioners, etc. Most of these products are for achieving and maintaining straight hair. Maybe a Black owned BSS could also stock products specifically for naturals (non straight look) as well, then maybe that could be the difference? I live in a wacky part of the country so I don't know what an actual Black BSS looks like. Never seen one
Honestly, it's a real pain in the butt to always have to order natural hair products online. I really wish there was a way for natural entrepreneurs to get their products in Black BSS.
I like the boycott idea. To be honest though, as already mentioned on this thread, I will be difficult to get Black women that rely heavily on Asian BSS to end their patronage. They won't be just changing their buying practices, many of them will need to educate themselves on alternatives and certain economic and other factors may prevent some women from buying products online or traveling to a non-Asian BSS outside of their neighborhood.
I really do hope that persistence will eventually pay off. I am Pro Everyone, but that fact that there are mechanisms set forth by other groups of people to prevent Blacks from catering to their own population is extremely disturbing.
SmilingElephant
Well-Known Member
I haven't purchased anything from a Asian BSS in several years, but from what I remember, the ones in my area only carry weaves, wigs, relaxers, shampoos/conditioners, etc. Most of these products are for achieving and maintaining straight hair. Maybe a Black owned BSS could also stock products specifically for naturals (non straight look) as well, then maybe that could be the difference? I live in a wacky part of the country so I don't know what an actual Black BSS looks like. Never seen one
Honestly, it's a real pain in the butt to always have to order natural hair products online. I really wish there was a way for natural entrepreneurs to get their products in Black BSS.
I like the boycott idea. To be honest though, as already mentioned on this thread, I will be difficult to get Black women that rely heavily on Asian BSS to end their patronage. They won't be just changing their buying practices, many of them will need to educate themselves on alternatives and certain economic and other factors may prevent some women from buying products online or traveling to a non-Asian BSS outside of their neighborhood.
I really do hope that persistence will eventually pay off. I am Pro Everyone, but that fact that there are mechanisms set forth by other groups of people to prevent Blacks from catering to their own population is extremely disturbing.
This is what i'm saying...exactly. THIS HAS to be part of the message or ppl won't respond. Black ppl are TIRED of being looked down upon! I know i am!
SmilingElephant
Well-Known Member
TRUE!
It would also be helpful to contact Black owned companies like Kinky-Curly, Bee Mine, etc...and let them in on the discussion as well.We need to contact BSS's, distributors and manufacturers.
Heck...we may need to even contact the Law!
AltheaGarden
New Member
Yupppppp... One reason why I went natural and "green" in general. I am tired of handing my money over to big corporations, only to be back-stabbed and looked down upon in return. I support all types of heads (relaxed, natural, weaves, etc.), and I am tired of seeing our people getting essentially robbed and exploited. This needs to end, enough is enough <<starts looking for combat boots>>
tiffers
Whisper "bleep boop" to yourself when you're sad.
Okay girls, I'm going to write the interviewee and owner of BeeTee Beauty Supply, Tim.
What do you all want me to say?
I'm pretty sure texasbeautysupply.com is black owned as well and I think they have a brick and mortar store in TX. Can anyone verify this?
What do you all want me to say?
I'm pretty sure texasbeautysupply.com is black owned as well and I think they have a brick and mortar store in TX. Can anyone verify this?
SmilingElephant
Well-Known Member
Tiff...let them know that they have a whole community of folks on their side
...let them know we are about to start a boycott and our aim is to help them out as well as our own communitySee if you can get them to tell you about the black distributors...if possible.
naturalmanenyc
Well-Known Member
I beg to differ. Every BSS store I've visited in from NYC to Chicago to Virginia to Miami have been Korean owned and they were not in low income areas.
wednesday
Well-Known Member
I notice that a lot of Asian owned BSS hire blacks to work up front to give the guise that the place is black owned.
Honey Bee
Well-Known Member
I haven't purchased anything from a Asian BSS in several years, but from what I remember, the ones in my area only carry weaves, wigs, relaxers, shampoos/conditioners, etc. Most of these products are for achieving and maintaining straight hair. Maybe a Black owned BSS could also stock products specifically for naturals (non straight look) as well, then maybe that could be the difference? I live in a wacky part of the country so I don't know what an actual Black BSS looks like. Never seen one
I agree with the rest of your post but this kinda stood out to me. We should be very careful about our language. Many naturals ps with weaves and wigs. I'm sure that there are a lot of naturals who aren't on the hairboards and I bet they get their shampoo and conditioner from a bss.
This shouldn't be 'naturals against Korean-owned bss,' this should be 'the black community against blatantly discriminatory practices.' Once we get into who uses what and whose 'fault' it is, we start splitting hairs and discouraging mass participation in the boycott.
WhippedButterCreme
New Member
I agree. Their discrimination is against race. So let's not make it a natural vs relaxed issue, or else relaxed ladies or whomever will be put off.
Also, most ladies I know go to these owned shops just because they have good weaves, thank God I use synthetic hair for braid extensions, you can find that ish in any beauty shop!
I'm really interested in this movement. I'm watch you ladies bounce ideas around, but yep, a planned twitter and a facebook page sounds great!
JeterCrazed
New Member
I can walk to that BSS in East Orange. The Black beauty supply stores don't survive for several reasons. The customer service is AWFUL, they don't know about a lot of products ("never heard of it"), debit machine not working after an hour of you shopping and no sign at the door.... I can go on and on. I also know a very successful beauty supply store owner in Newark who has full shelves daily. What they're saying is true. Koreans do corner the market, especially hair. The biggest problem with product is that they want to buy in small quantities and want to carry a narrow spectrum of products. The first thing they say is, "aint nobody buyin that, so I don't buy it." They don't want to do research. The Korean BSS in Maplewood carries jbco, mixed chicks, biolage, phytospecific... They can ALWAYS order from bigger distributors. They want to order small. That's the problem. The black store owner of Clinton Hill Beauty Supply is making his own natural hair care product.
I live in the neighborhood and I hate shopping at black owned BSS stores. It's turrrble.
I live in the neighborhood and I hate shopping at black owned BSS stores. It's turrrble.
Tamster
New Member
well sounds like the same issues many of us have with salons. i still dont want to give my $ to the koreans.
SmilingElephant
Well-Known Member
I agree...this shouldn't be just naturals against the Korean BSS....but that's the only hair community i know of for right now on Twitter that actually gets together and talks about hair issues....now if ppl know of other helpful ways to get the word out there...that would be appreciated.
But for the other means of communication yes its for ALL Black women...Black people altogether really.
But for the other means of communication yes its for ALL Black women...Black people altogether really.
empressri
Well-Known Member
I bet if YouTubers like Elle (denimpixie), empressri, westNDNbeauty....and a boat load of others....i mean even She Who Must Not Be Named (sp?)...got the word out about avoiding Asian BSS's...it would trickle down....look at how this Natural hair thing took off! And now its EVERYWHERE! True women were already Natural b4 it took off....and true women will still relax their hair...but i just think back to when i didnt even know i had an option to go "natural"....i had NO knowledge about Natural hair...even when i started here i thought i HAD to have a relaxer....but not only bc of this hair board...but bc i started seeing more and more women BC'ing IRL...bc of what trickled from the internet....you know what i mean?
It can work
Here's my thing...we can barely come together on issues that go beyond hair. Hell we have Hasidic Jewish folks taking over our neighborhoods trying to push us out and make us conform to THEIR beliefs.....
Hell I remember trying to speak on this and everyone suddenly got deaf. I thought about making a video about avoiding Asian owned BSS stores but how the hell do they get into our neighborhoods in the first place?? Did we ever come around to see who was buying up what property?? And then did we decide SCREW THAT not in our neighborhood let's come together and have our own black owned something or another....
NO.
Don't get me started, this is one area that pisses me off to no extent and to get to the root of it all seems to be a special process.
We have a long....LONG ways to go...
But hell if we're all going to be gung ho about this dammit come strong or don't come at all.
SmilingElephant
Well-Known Member
Okay...i have a question....for those of you that know how businesses and corporations work....now...a lot of us have said that we buy our hair care products from stores like CVS, Target, Walgreens....
Now...do the Black owned companies like Shea Moisture and Kinky-Curly who sell there stuff in stores like, say, Target...do they really make a good profit as they would if we opted to order online? Would anyone know? Like is it equal? (i hope im making sense with this question)
Now...do the Black owned companies like Shea Moisture and Kinky-Curly who sell there stuff in stores like, say, Target...do they really make a good profit as they would if we opted to order online? Would anyone know? Like is it equal? (i hope im making sense with this question)
JeterCrazed
New Member
The Koreans only get about $70 from me a year for relaxers and such. I order on Amazon.
Sent from my HTC Inspire™
ms-gg
Aka frostoppa
LOL!! Line up at the Asian owned beauty supply store like "We are the 99%" Un-occupy the Beauty Stores
I've heard about the unethical practices of the beauty supply business from the takeovers in the 1980's by big corporations, them asians began to dominate the market. I think it is a doggone shame that WE as a people, use a product that only we use and we aren't owning that market.
I have a dream just because of this shadiness for a while now to open up my own store. It ain't about color, but it is definitely about principle. No reason why we shouldn't be more discriminate about where we shop and with whom we do business with. You can't be trying to save a dollar all the time. If you can pay $200 for a weave, you can pay an extra dollar at a black owned business. Real talk.
I wish there were some around here...
I've heard about the unethical practices of the beauty supply business from the takeovers in the 1980's by big corporations, them asians began to dominate the market. I think it is a doggone shame that WE as a people, use a product that only we use and we aren't owning that market.
I have a dream just because of this shadiness for a while now to open up my own store. It ain't about color, but it is definitely about principle. No reason why we shouldn't be more discriminate about where we shop and with whom we do business with. You can't be trying to save a dollar all the time. If you can pay $200 for a weave, you can pay an extra dollar at a black owned business. Real talk.
I wish there were some around here...
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SmilingElephant
Well-Known Member
I feel ya Ri....but i never saw your video
....i just started first reading stuff about how these businesses were run like a few months ago...i saw like one article.erplexed...and i stopped buying from Asian BSS.ETA: I just re-read your post...you didn't make a video.
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empressri
Well-Known Member
It was something I posted somewhere along the same lines.
It was disheartening to see that only ONE person out of over 50 got my point, I was like damn are we really this blind to what's going on??
As for your last question knowing some independent sellers I will ask away!!
It was disheartening to see that only ONE person out of over 50 got my point, I was like damn are we really this blind to what's going on??
As for your last question knowing some independent sellers I will ask away!!
ms-gg
Aka frostoppa
I agree. We as black people have a hard time taking a stand against anything. Truth be told, I am suprised Obama even got into the white house because I thought black folks wouldn't show out. But I will say that when an issue hits home to us, we will stand up, and I admire us when we do that. We just need to do it more often.
No one is going to look out for you except for you. With unemployment in the high teens in the African American communities, all of these asian owned bss that mostly do not hire other non-asians, it is disgusting that we have not gotten together to take a stand against it before.
If you or anyone else is interested in how the asians dominated the market, you need to read a book called "Hair Story." It is the most informative book I have ever read about black hair. It broke down exactly how we lost control of the black hair care market. Disgusting.
That is why I am so happy to see companies like Oyin, Afroveda, Qhemet and others trying to take over the market again. THAT is how we are going to regain control of our market. They won't let us gain access to their distribution channels? Screw them! We will make our own products, sell them in our own stores. We don't need your products!
Most of the products that they sell are crap anyway. We can have control again if we continue to be innovative and create new opportunities for ourselves.
And I am not going to say that ALL asian owned beauty supply stores are bad. I know some owners who are nice and care about their customers. It is a shame though that overall that they believe that they can "build it and we will come." Sorry but the 21st century consumer is not dependent on your store when there are so many different options out there with the internet.
SmilingElephant
Well-Known Member
Well i was asking that question bc i wonder why haven't some of the companies we order from online...why haven't they started selling their stuff in stores like Target? What is the process? Bc thats the kind of stuff we need!...that would help THOSE Black owned companies bc ppl would be able to go to the store and buy them more frequently and not always worry about shipping....i know i've started to buy my products mostly on the ground lately.
And also how can we get our hands on some weave?? If that's the big difference between Asian BSS and Black Owned BSS....there has GOT to be a loophole there.
They cain't just have ev-uh-ry-thang!!!(Kat Williams voice:giggle)
And also how can we get our hands on some weave?? If that's the big difference between Asian BSS and Black Owned BSS....there has GOT to be a loophole there.
They cain't just have ev-uh-ry-thang!!!(Kat Williams voice:giggle)
JeterCrazed
New Member
Razac is black family owned out of Newark.
Dudleys, of course...
Organic Root Stimulator WAS black owned by Gary Gardner, son of the founder of Softsheen Carson. Sold to Dabur, the amla oil folks.
Now you know...Indians don't know NOTHIN' bout no perm. Black people had/have the opportunity to dominate the market, but we keep selling out!
Africa's Best is owned by ORS.
Don't tell 'em I told you.
Tamster
New Member
the problem is production. you need low cost ways to produce a LOT of stuff. And well, black people generally dont have access to that. We dont have access to cheap labor like asians to produce mass quantities of gel or process weave. We dont have the strong relationships that the asians have to hair suppliers. I think i remember a story of one black woman who actually went to india to get hair and start a biz but that is one story. i cant even remember her name.
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