By Wayne Hodges

Hair, weave, nails and wigs. When it comes to looking good, our black women certainly won’t hesitate to come out the pocket. But where is that money going?  And, most importantly, what does the future hold for black commerce?

Stacey Mebane, a 44-year-old African-American woman, has patronized non-black beauty supply stores for decades. Her favorite cosmetic shop, the “Two Brothers” beauty and supply store, is owned and operated by Koreans.

When asked to explain her fascination with the aforementioned venue, Mebane mentioned price and customer service as determining factors. “I have shopped at Korean stores for years,” said Mebane. “They have a nice assortment of beauty and nail supplies. I like their prices. And the owners are usually friendly.”

Today, the multi-billion dollar black hair market is being served by roughly 9,000 Korean-owned beauty supply stores. Most, if not all, of the revenue generated leaves the black community. “It would be nice to see our people take advantage of these opportunities. It seems like our businesses have a hard time just staying open,” said Mebane. ”My friends and I shop at these stores all the time so we know they make good money. I would like to see that money go to black owners, to the black community.”

Nicole Bailey, 40, of Kansas City echoed a similar sentiment. “The Korean stores are much cheaper than black-owned businesses. You have so many low-income women who wear weave but can’t afford to pay high dollar,” said Bailey. “The black businesses don’t stay open as long because of their prices. Sometimes black owners are rude. I’m like ‘you have high prices and a stank attitude too?”

The assumption here is most African-African women would prefer to see an influx of black ownership in cosmetic retail. However, when it comes to manufacture and distribution, too many barriers come into play.

For instance, of the four central distributors serving beauty supply stores in America, none are black. Instead, this component is owned and controlled by Korean merchants who many believe have discriminated against blacks to help preserve their monopoly.

Cash flow has never been an issue in the black community. Per capita, no race of people spends more and save less than African-Americans. The problem, nonetheless, has everything to do with which direction that revenue stream is flowing.

Now the million dollar question: What’s necessary for African-Americans to become more actively involved in retail production and distribution?

It’s tough to say.

Hair and weave products, for instance, are not manufactured domestically. Therefore, a wholesale distribution deal must be orchestrated between Korean merchants and black businessmen. If Koreans are unwilling to negotiate through fair business practice, then something in the form of a boycott or protest must transpire. But, can ladies survive without some of their favorite hair care products?

Such a task is probably too much to fathom.

“A (protest) wouldn’t be a good thing. You have thousands and thousands of women who wear hair weave,” said Bailey. “Even white women wear weave now. You also have women with a good length of hair who use weave to add a little ‘umph’ to feel sexier. I don’t see a protest working.”

Wayne Hodges is the Editor of MassAppealNews.com

(Patch) — Frank Mohadou closed the door to the beauty supply business he was struggling to keep, in the slice of space he obtained from his sister.  The still night held no comfort for the African native as he slid behind the wheel of the $250-a-month car he could barely afford.  He ignored the thought of going home; knowing soon he would have to find another place to live since the people he was staying with were drifting apart.  Instead, he sat; his anxiety and frustration combed into a manageable silence as he contemplated ways to grow his business. Just then, a Korean-American stepped up through his thoughts and across his path to stop at his storefront.  They often waited until he was gone to peek inside his store, Mohadou said. He knew he was an outsider. He didn’t speak their language. But he was trying to break into their world – a billion dollar market that primarily services black hair.  For almost 50 years, the Korean-American community has dominated the black beauty supply market by opening large stores, buying out smaller black-owned ones and using the faces of black celebrities on their products and black employees in their stores to grow their businesses in the black community.

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It’s odd but not so odd at the same time. By now, many people expect to walk into a beauty supply store and see a Korean store owner manning the register. Whether you’re in the suburbs of Houston or on MLK Blvd in Anytown, USA, you know what to expect. And yet, walking down a street in a Black neighborhood with Black residents and Black customers buzzing about the retail shops, that image of the few Koreans in the neighborhood only existing behind the cash register of liquor, beauty supply and other retail shops is still perplexing.

But what can explain the seemingly random attraction of Black hair to Korean entrepreneurs? Is it that they love Black hair so much? Was there a plan amongst the first wave of Korean immigrants to hone in on the black hair care industry and dominate the beauty supply store market? From a business perspective, it was no coincidence.

The wig business and the explosion of the wig business in South Korea in the 1960s is instrumental to understanding the Korean ownership of beauty supply stores. According to the book “On My Own: Korean Businesses and Race Relations in America”, the rise of the YH Trade wig manufacturing company was significant. Founder Yung Ho Chang, conceived the idea of the company while working as the vice-director of Korean Trade Promotion Corporation in the U.S. Between 1965 and 1978, his company exported $100 million worth of wigs.

The wig business was doing so well, especially amongst African-American consumers that the Korean Wig Merchants pushed to corner the market. “In 1965, the Korean Wig merchants joined together and convinced the Korean government to outlaw the export of raw hair,” said Aron Ranen, a filmmaker who has documented the marginalization of African-American entrepreneurs in the hair care industry in the film Black Hair. “[This ban] made it so that one can only buy the pre-made wigs and extensions.” In other words, Korean hair could only be manufactured in Korea. “Six months later, the United States government created a ban on any wig that contains hair from China,” effectively putting South Korea in prime position to exploit the market.

The business structure helped set up many Korean entrepreneurs in the sale of wigs and over the past five decades, wig stores have evolved to become full fledged beauty supply stores where hair for weaves and extensions represent the top selling products. Since then, it’s been a chain reaction as one store beget another; family members and employees of one store owner duplicated the business. According to said Dr. Kyeyoung Park, associate professor of anthropology and Asian American Studies at UCLA, competition also played a role in the proliferation. “Korean immigrants are more concerned with peer competition,” she said. “If one is running a business so well, then another Korean will open up a  similar business very quickly.”

Today, there are over 9,000 Korean-owned beauty supply stores serving a billion dollar market for Black hair. Between manufacturing, distributing and selling these hair care products, Korean entrepreneurs appear to control all major components. Ranen was inspired to make his documentary because of what he saw as the injustice of unfair business practices.

“It’s really about allowing black manufacturers to get inside the distribution channel,” he said.  “‘I mean, if you ask me, ‘what is your vision for the future?’”  Well, right away, it’s a 100 black-owned stores opening up right next to Korean stores – a boycott until the Korean stores accept at least 20% black-owned manufactured products. Then we are talking about money in the community.”

According Ranin, there are only four central distributors serving beauty supply stores in the country and these Korean owned distributors discriminate against Black store owners in order to maintain their monopoly in the market. Ranin interviewed Lucky White, the owner of Kizure Ironworks which specializes in making styling tools like curling irons, for his 2006 documentary. Ms. White claimed that distributors told her that her products were no longer in demand as an excuse to turn away her products in favor of knock-offs produced by Asian companies.

Devin Robinson, an economics professor and author of “How to Become a Successful Beauty Supply Store Owner”, organized a boycott last November against Non- Black Owned Beauty Supply stores. “The problem is with the distributors.” he has stated. “Distributors are mainly Non-Blacks and they handpick who they will distribute products to. This oftentimes leaves aspiring black owners disenfranchised.”