Chapter 14. Supply Chain Management and Marketing Channels Retailing

Four of SheaMoisture's main retailers include Target, Walgreen's, Walmart and Ulta. Over the week passed, I've been able to visit all the retailers except for Ulta Beauty. I've noticed in my research that the variety of products varies through store to store. All the retailers have the most common product known from Shea Moisture which is their "Cantu Shea Butter". Target contained the lines of "Coconut & Hibiscus", "African Black Soap", and "Jamaican Castor Oil". Walgreen's had the "Superfruit Complex" and "Raw Shea Butter". It was Walmart that contained the two line of products that I have never saw before. They had the "Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil" and "Mongongo & Hemp Seed Oils".

In the relationship with their retailers, Shea Moisture's is taking a jump on beauty standards.With the launch of SheaMoisture’s #BreakTheWalls campaign they sparked a meaningful conversation and action towards the mind-set in the beauty industry and our society. They are confronting the mental walls that encourage us to force fit ourselves into ‘good hair’ ideals. By questioning the very concept of a normal standard, especially as it applies to beauty and to hair type or texture, we can begin to see how narrow minded and potentially destructive it is. Our forward messages must focus on everyone, embracing everyone and celebrating the beauty.  

While many women are elated by the message this topic is bringing to the African American hair care community, some women argue that having an ethnic aisle makes it easier for them to find the exact products they're looking for, fearing that adding their favorite beauty products to the mainstream aisle may cause them to get lost in the mix of things.Which ever way you look at it, this is a revolutionary moment for African Americans in beauty as Shea Moisture is the only African American beauty company to run a major advertisement on television. 

Chapter 6. Consumer Decision Making

Changing Demographic 

Shea Moisture recently sold a portion of there company to an investment firm Bain Capitol. They were looking to broaden it's customer base outside of it's normal core of African Americans. Bain Capitol is aiming to boost growth by taking a brooder approach by marketing outside of ethnicity. Shea Moisture is trying to capitalize off the growth of more Americans using products that are organic and natural. The switch to marketing to a broader audience has been unsettling for Shea Moisture core base. Customers feels that the company has "sold out" and now this base need is being neglected. Co founder Dennis ensures that he will continue to service his core customer while still engaging a broader audience. 

Demographic Make up

Bain Capitol is a world leading private investment firm. Partners with management teams provide and plan resources for growth. They partner with Dunkin Donuts, Nabisco, and Dow Chemical Company. The statistical descriptions of the characteristics include population, race, age, income, etc. Both companies are looking to capitalize on a growing market. Shea Moisture's core demographic is the African American woman. A growing market means more opportunity for profits. A growing margin means more equable opportunity. Now with their new financial backup, Shea Moisture has begun to change it's strategies. They've recently become producing more products, partnering with major retailers, expanding representation in advertisement, growing availability in social networks, and pop up shops. Now instead of just hair products, they've also began making bath and cosmetic products too. The partnerships with major retailers include Target, Ulta Beauty, Walgreens, and Meijer. 

Ch. 5 Developing a Global Vision

Globalization 

Shea Moisture has a high factor in globalization, they focus on a community commerce. 10% of the community sales go to women-led businesses to support communities that supply ingredients for their products. Through the support of these communities, it helps to maintain a source that makes key ingredients in Shea Moisture products. The fund training helps them manufacture their own high quality goods in their countries and get fair prices for good, as well as labor. The better living and support for their families make the life better for communities. Shea Moisture does not consider this a donation but an investment in the fair world. 

Political Structure 

From their giving back, Shea Moisture has extended their hand to four foundation which have formed from their company. One is a not for profit, public charity which is referred to as the Sofi Tucker Foundation. It supports inspired women who's life's works in the basis for Sundial Brands products. Sundial Brands Products is a program that creates partnership with Shea Moisture and it's employees for charitable giving and volunteer work. When an employee makes a donation for a not for profit charity of their voice, Sundial will match that donation dollar for dollar. They also support employees doing volunteer work by offering administrative leave, which allows them to service charitable organization of cause of their choice.The Sofi Tucker Foundation through donation from Sundial Brands was awarded a cash grant of $18,000 to Todee Mission in support of agriculture programs, student scholarship and teacher training.  

Ch. 4 Marketing Enviornment

Economic Factors

Shea Butter is conveyed as a global cosmetic company. It is known for its amazing moisturizing components. The business expansion focuses on the use of ingredients. All of the ingredient in everything from soothing and nourishing hair and skin care products to lip balms and exfoliating creams. The benefits of shea butter are in high demand across the globe. The association of shea butter is desperate among the women of Africa who can harvest the nut of the Karite tree, from which shea butter contains. They are among the 1.2 billion people that live in extreme hardship. 

This equals one out of every five people on the planet living on less than a dollar a day. Shea Moisture takes processing in two routes. The raw nuts are sold to Asian oil companies in a mass quantity who extract, refine and sell the oil to Europe. When sent to Europe, this is when they are used for cosmetic purposes. Through contrast shea butter is locally processed, certified organic, looked after and checked for freshness. Afterwards it's then pushed onto the world market by upper level distributors. 

In both scenarios a large markup is added with none of the profits spill down. Money is generated from shea butter production to those in desperately needed. It pays for food, clothing, and child school fees. Fair trade compensation is connected to survival. Overall, their is the women recognization based on its many uses. Throughout the generations shea butter has been proven to be a precious substance. Overall, this is why shea butter is a global multi-million dollar industry. Last year an estimated 150,000 tons were exported with up to 23% of the total exports consumed by cosmetic companies. The women who collect the shea nut as part of their life are not completely lacking wisdom but are unaware of its true market worth. This results in a continued undervaluing of the product. 

Ch. 18 Social Media and Marketing

As a overall company, Shea Moisture has several social media outlets. On their website, when you scroll to the bottom of the first page under a subscription link to leave your email shows all the social media icons. It shows icons of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest, GooglePlus, and Instagram.

Social Media Objectives
Listen and Learn: From exploring their website, I've noticed Shea Moisture has a social media wall. This wall contains posts from the company's Twitter of customers sharing their comments on the products from the company.
Build Relationships and Awareness: By having social media outlets in which they respond and communicate with consumers the company is showing their concern and appreciation of needs. Their Instagram page contains a "contact" button which an account user has to make active with their contact information. When you click the button, it shows an address to the company warehouse, an email address in which they can be contacted, and a phone number to dial.
Promote Products and Services: Social Media is a great way to utilize advertising because it is accessible by millions.
Manage Your Reputation: Having a series of social media accounts also helps to ensure the quality of the product continues by involving brand owners to understand what should be fixed.  Currently, they actually have a contest going on where consumers post a picture with the hashtag #amillionwaystoshea.

Ch. 2 Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Swot Analysis

Strengths: Strengths of the company are numerous. For one, this company provides all natural, organic, sulfate free, and paraben free products. Sulfate is often used in shampoo which can help cause a thick lather inside the shower. It can often cause frizziness and damage colored hair. Paraben is a group of chemicals that act as a preservative to prevent bacterial growth in products. All products made with love for you and your body. They've been proven to be testing all on humans for four generations and not animals.

Weakness: A weakness within the company is common for those of many others, product substitution. Often when in the business and marketing world, there is always gonna be another product that is preferred by the targeted consumer.   

Opportunities: Shea Moisture's biggest opportunity through external effort is the Sofi Tucker Foundation. The Sofi Tucker Foundation provides grants and organizations that seek to empower women, their families and communities in the United States throughout Africa. They mainly partner with Todee Mission School, which is a boarding and day school for first through ninth graders Liberia, West Africa. The school that is located in the region, is an important resource for the villages around. Every year, the Sofi Tucker Foundation makes a contribution to the school. 

Threats: Potential threats to the Shea Moisture brand is the act they participate with fair trade through community commerce at home and abroad. A con of fair trade is the limitations to the success that can be achieved. Sometimes consumer base around the world can be limited, although Shea Moisture does participate through trade abroad. Fees become quite high and because workers earn competitive rates, fair trade products have premium prices that are associated with them. When you compare them to the regular products, they fall outside of this type of market. If the higher prices weigh on consumers who live paycheck to paycheck usually causing them to choose a cheaper product of similar quality.

Competitive Advantage

Diversity 

Target Market

Retail Partners 

Ch. 1 History and Mission Statement

History

Sofi Tucker started selling Shea Nuts at the village market in Bonthe, Sierra Leone in 1912. By age 19, the widowed mother of four was selling Shea Butter, African Black Soap and her homemade hair and skin preparations all over the countryside. Sofi Tucker is the Grandmother and Shea Moisture is her legacy. African black soap is familiar to many people of African descent for its skin care benefits.  It has been known to soothe skin irritations and diseases from simple rashes to contact dermatitis and psoriasis, as well as fading skin discolorations and evening out skin tone.

Nigerians and Ghanaians have used black soap for centuries for bathing and for reducing body odor. It was, and still is, used as a shampoo for hair, not only to cleanse, but also to alleviate scalp itchiness and irritation. African black soap was used to relieve oily skin and certain skin conditions, such as acne and eczema.

Women used black soap for skin care during and after pregnancy to keep from getting dry skin, stretch marks and other skin conditions caused by hormonal changes.  The soap was also used on babies because of its purity and it was gentle on sensitive skin.

Mission Statement 

There are four elements that made Shea Moisture African Black Soap what it is. The first one is being inclusively exclusive. This makes the best in personal care and beauty should not belong to the few. The accessibility comes compromise-free. The second is modern wisdom. These are recipes handed down from a healer make for potent 21st century cures. The third element is sensory solutions. The potent salves stimulate, soothe, surprise and speak to all the senses. Last, but surely not least is the act of having cultures cultivated. The best ingredients gathered from around the world and picked to complement perfectly.