Interview with Shea Moisture! Part 1

We recently were able to interview the CEO of Shea Moisture, Richelieu Dennis! Special thanks to their hair expert, Chimole :), for her help in making this happen (I've been trying to interview someone from Shea Moisture foreverrrr)!  Thanks to everyone who suggested questions for us to ask!

JAS: Granted, Shea Moisture does not merely sell hair products, but where did the idea to begin making hair products come from?
Don't know for sure what gave my Grand Mother the idea except for a need to feed her children.  Starting with my Grand Mother, our family has been making hair and skin products for 4 generations now.
  JAS: Do you ever find opposition/negativity surrounding your products because the CEO is a male and it's viewed as a female-dominated industry? 
No, in fact quite the opposite.  We are a family business and truth be told my Mother and my sister are really my boss.  My sister Richelyna runs Operations and is responsible for Production and R&D.  Our Creative Director, Jullanar is a woman and is responsible for all design and art.  Our VP of Business Development, Roberta is a woman and is responsible for managing our productivity.  So women touch everything we do and influence everything we do.  I do what they tell me and it works pretty well.  We get a lot of love because we make great products that are clean and that work.  People share in our pride of working as a family and that we develop and manufacture everything ourselves here at our factory in Amityville, NY.

JAS: Explain to us your sentiments when approached by Target. 
We actually approached Target.  For almost 20 years we have been selling our products on the streets, at festivals, at shows, at flea markets, online and just about everywhere else where we could connect with our communities in a real and positive way.  We have established a lot of credibility for meeting the needs of underserved communities in unique ways because our goal is to bring natural and organic products to everyone at an affordable price.  We felt like Target was the best retailer to offer our products to because they were genuine about doing a better job of servicing the African-American and Latino communities.  They took our advise on which brands, on signage and on positioning.  Most large national retailers don't give small brands that opportunity.  They are a great partner not just for our business but for the black consumer who's true needs are ignored by many other retailers.  

JAS: Do you feel that being grouped on displays with other companies such as Kinky Curly, Jane Carter Solution and Miss Jessie's hurts or hinders your company and sales? 
This was a great idea and we are proud of our part in developing the idea and in executing the idea with Target.  All of these brands are making the lives of black women easier and giving them pride in wearing their hair naturally.  We love being on the shelf with them.  Each one has its own heroic story, its own avid followers and collectively we meet needs that are ignored by major brands.  I don't know if being grouped together helps or hurts individual brand sales but I do know that the black female consumer is winning big and that's the only way we will all stay on the shelf.






Part 2 will post Wednesday! Tell us what you think so far!