BEAUTY

Growing stronger

As a nurse, Monique Rodriguez was used to helping people. As a Black woman who struggled to find the right products for her hair, she approached social media the same way: posting tips and tricks on which products and ingredients worked best. 

• Monique quickly attracted a small, but dedicated following, and she decided to turn her kitchen into a test site, mixing ingredients to make her own concoctions that would hopefully restore her heat-damaged hair. 

“I felt that there were a lot of products out on the market...represented by people who really didn’t understand that my hair needs a texture,” Monique told Retail Brew. “With my nursing background, I understood the science and chemistry and human anatomy and how the body functions and how hair growth works.”

To turn that knowledge into a full-fledged product, Monique enlisted her husband, Melvin, and linked up with a chemist who helped her break down ingredients like avocados, eggs, and olive oil, so they would be more effective for hair care. 

Good hair days: Monique created her first official product—a mint almond oil to moisturize the hair and scalp—in May 2014, the beginning of Mielle Organics. Today, the hair-care company has 100,000+ points of distribution, including Target, Walmart, and Walgreens stores, as well as online. Oh, and it scored an investment from Berkshire Partners, a private equity firm, in April. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Mielle said it was more than $100 million.

• In 2020, Mielle said sales grew 140% YoY, but it declined to share specific figures.
• Monique and Melvin (CEO and COO, respectively) are still majority owners. 

Landing a nine-figure investment is a feat for any company, but for Mielle, a Black-owned business, it meant a step to “normalize” Black success. 

• Some of the capital will go to Mielle’s “More Than a Strand” program to support Black entrepreneurs. 

Mielle said it spoke to 40 to 50 potential investors, and made the story the company wanted to tell clear.

“We wanted them to know that [Black-owned businesses] can do extraordinary things and sometimes they just need help to help them realize their dreams and potentials,” Melvin said. 

What’s next for Mielle Organics? Click here to read more.—KM

SPENDING

Presents already?

It’s mid–September, which means Halloween is right around the (retail) corner, which means it’s practically Christmas. And time to ring in the holiday forecasts.

Deloitte projects holiday sales will increase between 7% and 9% in 2021, totaling up to $1.3 trillion from November to January. That’s up from the 5.8% bump seen last year.

• Meanwhile, Mastercard SpendingPulse predicts holiday sales will grow by 7.4%.
• Bain pegs November and December sales at $800 billion this year, up 7%.

“We’re going to maintain the momentum of the recovery,” Rod Sides, Deloitte’s vice chairman and US leader of retail and distribution, told Retail Brew. “There was so much pent up demand, as we saw early in the year, and consumers felt more confident. We’re going to see the same thing happen again.”

Old habits: Pandemic-era online shopping conveniences are here for the long run, Sides said. Newly popular models like curbside pickup will still drive holiday e-comm growth, though not at the same 30%+ rate as last year, when shoppers had fewer options.

• E-comm sales will grow by 11% to 15% YoY this holiday season, per Deloitte, and hit between $210 billion and $218 billion.

Ups and downs: With increased demand, retailers have more room to sell at full price. “[They] may not have to go as deep with discounting...but it’s going to be a challenge,” Sides explained. Count shipping delays and supply-chain issues as two culprits for the “trickle-down effect.”—JG

SPONSORED BY PAYCOM

Rock ’n’ Payroll

Let’s be clear: Getting paid rocks. You get to buy things and pay bills and even treat yourself to a little spaghetti dinner every now and then.

But payroll—you know, how people get paid—doesn’t always rock. That’s why Paycom created Beti, an award-winning, industry-first, employee-driven experience that puts payroll in the hands of your employees.

With payroll pressure always at a high, Beti helps improve accuracy, reduces employer liability, lowers direct deposit reversals, and more. It does all this by combining payroll tasks while giving employees more details and insights prior to payout.

This all means that instead of having to manage payroll, HR only has to monitor it. A redundant task is removed from their to-do lists, and they can turn their focus to bigger, more strategic initiatives.

So if it wasn’t clear yet, Beti REALLY rocks. Check out all the details of this award-winning top HR product right here. 

SUSTAINABILITY

Make it happen

“Sustainable fashion” is, in many ways, an oxymoron. Thirty percent of manufactured garments are considered overproduction, and the fashion industry makes up to 20% of the world’s wastewater.

Kornit Digital, which creates textile manufacturing tech and works with the likes of Adidas, Amazon, and Asos, has a plan to green the apparel machine.

The goals: By 2026, Kornit said it will produce approximately 2.5 billion apparel items sustainably, per its first-ever impact report covering ESG. That means it should save:

• 1.1 trillion gallons of water and nearly 37.9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.
• The company claims it will reduce overproduction in the fashion industry by 1.1 billion items with its “on-demand” model.

“Consumers are different from 10 years ago. Each one of us would like to have our own product [and] be unique,” CEO Ronen Samuel told Retail Brew.

“In the textile industry, the supply chain is very long. It’s usually 18 months between the idea from a designer to a product that’s on the shelf,” Samuel said. “Using digital technology...you produce to a demand versus producing to a forecast.” 

• Cutting down on excess inventory can boost profitability, Samuel added.

+1: In addition to its made-to-order operation, Kornit will fight water waste by embracing waterless printing methods, as opposed to “reactive ink” analog systems. The company will use sustainable “pigment ink,” which negates the need for steaming and washing fabrics.—JG

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING…

• Carousell, the Southeast Asian online marketplace, is now valued at $1.1 billion. 
• Inditex saw Q2 sales rebound to pre-pandemic levels, beating out H&M. 
• Walmart+, about a year after its debut, has 32 million members, Deutsche Bank estimates. 
• Kroger teamed up with Instacart to offer 30-minute grocery delivery.
• Amazon, meanwhile, will offer free food delivery to Prime members in the UK via Deliveroo.
• Consumer prices rose 5.3% in August, signaling a drop in inflation. 

FROM THE CREW

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SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads. 

Slam dunk: Dunkin’ turned itself into a lifestyle brand by tapping Charli D’Amelio fans and New Englanders. Oh, and its streetwear-like merch drops. (GQ)

So meta: Fashion brands want in the metaverse, and Roblox has the insights they need to thrive in the virtual world. (Vogue Business) 

Dressing down: What the exercise dress says about the industry’s fixation with function over fashion. (Vox)

COMMUNITY

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Amy Reiter spent years at Hudson’s Bay Company, in roles spanning everything from merchandise planning to finance to tech. But in January, she joined GS1 US, the nonprofit that essentially sets the standard for things like barcodes, where she’s the director of community engagement for apparel and general merchandise. Scan below for more. 

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I collaborate with all of the retail industry to promote the use of global data standards like RFID, EDI, barcodes, and QR codes to make their jobs easier and more efficient. 

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? I got to help bring together retailers and brands to talk about pandemic response, GS1 Standards, new software trends, and better ways to do business at GS1 Connect: Digital Edition this year.

One retail trend you are pumped about this year: I am loving all of the mini-shop collaborations between iconic brands lately, such as Target and Ulta, Macy’s and Toys “R” Us. It’s a win-win for everyone, especially the customer.

Hands down, the best fast food restaurant chain is...I’ll never turn down a great burger, but the Big Mac was invented in my hometown of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and I’ll always have a soft spot for it.

ICYMI

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• Make room: Retail real estate heats up in Austin
• Bot me, bro: Autonomous delivery startups are hitting college campuses
• Small businesses are relying on tech, e-comm more than ever: survey

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