Iman is tired of black beauty products being relegated to the back walls of "ethnic sections" in major retailers.
The model and beauty mogul spoke out against mass retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Walgreens who have been hesitant to carry her beauty line in their stores despite its success in stores such as J.C. Penney and Sephora.
“I have customers from all over the world that look for the products, but I also have customers in the U.S. that can’t find the product in a store near them," she said at the WWD 2012 Beauty CEO Summit.
Clearly these mass retailers have been sleeping on the recent surge of beauty lines marketed to black women. The natural hair movement has also reached a pinnacle increasing the demand for product lines that not only cater to our skin tones but also our kinks and coils.
Iman's recent successful addition of liquid foundation to her makeup line has also puzzled retailers. When she first mentioned the idea they responded with this gem: "Oh, black women don’t buy liquid foundation, right?” Wrong. We do and will continue to as long as more brands start offering shades for women of color.
'Prestige' lines such as YSL and Laura Mercier have been making an effort to diversify their foundation shades. Mass retailers: it's your turn. It's time to acknowledge women of color as a growing section of the market that cannot be ignored.