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Members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are seen at Sandton City Mall during the national closure of all Clicks outlets.
PHOTO: Sharon Seretlo, Gallo Images
- A post-Clicks confab of hair controversy has propelled small black-haired businesses to the forefront of the new business line.
- This after Unilever met the champions of government and small business development.
- Your agreement will feature special support for Black women, young professionals and the disabled to increase their business opportunities.
The consequences of the offensive advertising on the hair of the retail chain Clicks will prove to be a boon for black hair professionals, in particular, black women, young professionals and the disabled, and their small businesses will soon have vital access to a variety of business services to help them prosper.
This was announced by the government after Small Business Development Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni met with Unilever board members and representatives from the Small Business Development Agency Department (SEDA) and the Small Finance Agency. Companies (SEFA).
The hair ads scandal erupted in early September and was deemed racist and sparked widespread violence outside Clicks stores.
In a statement Wednesday, the Small Business Development Department quoted Unilever CEO Luc-Olivier Marquet on the subject of TRESemmé’s announcement: “We were surprised to find that we had provided images for the Clicks website that showed hair black as inferior. This was racist and we apologize without reservation. “
He continued:
We immediately began an investigation to understand what happened. At the same time, we began reviewing all the marketing campaigns and images in our South African portfolio to ensure they match our commitment to celebrating all beauty and promoting diversity and inclusion.
The department said Marquet also recognized the need to accelerate the diversity and inclusion agenda in corporate South Africa and the critical role that the push for black business would play in this agenda.
To this end, Unilever had established an advisory board to “develop programs to provide immediate support to black stylists and small professional salons,” the department said.
Commitment to ‘participate in a meaningful way’
“It was noted that although 95% of Unilever’s products sold in South Africa are manufactured domestically, most of the input materials for such manufacturing are imports, which significantly dilutes the benefits for South Africa in the South Africa value chain. Unilever supply “.
This would now be addressed.
Unilever had already identified materials that could be manufactured locally and committed to working with the department “to develop the capacity of SMEs, particularly black, women and youth and those belonging to people with disabilities, to meaningfully participate in this manufacture, “the department Announced.
In an impending second boon, small businesses could soon have access to a variety of Unilever’s business capabilities and partners, including third-party manufacturing, logistics platforms, and the SMME product path to market support.
In reciprocity, the minister said the department would also provide assistance to the party, including speeding up the qualification of small businesses to participate in various Unilever programs.
In a third constructive twist to the scandal, the department would partner with Unilever’s program to support black hairdressers and small professional salons through its programs to support informal and micro personal care services.
The minister “accepted Unilever’s offer to partner in the spaza and general distributor support program to ensure the success of spaza stores as the next frontier for convenience shopping in municipalities and rural areas.”
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