Twelve-year-old CEO Zoe Oli is making a passionate plea to consumers to support Black-owned brands like hers in the wake of Target’s recent decision to scale back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Oli, the founder of Beautiful Curly Me, took to Instagram to address the concerns surrounding the retail giant’s shifting policies and their potential impact on minority-owned businesses.
A Fight to Stay on Shelves
In a video shared on Beautiful Curly Me’s Instagram page, Oli stood proudly in front of her brand’s dolls at a Target store, urging customers to remain intentional with their purchases.
“I know our first response is to say, ‘Well, I’m not shopping at Target anymore,’ and that is so justified,” Oli acknowledged. “But we have to think about the small businesses like mine that have worked so hard to get onto these shelves.”
Oli, who became the youngest CEO in her category at Target, emphasized that getting a Black-owned brand into major retailers is already an uphill battle, but staying on the shelves is even harder.
Sales performance determines whether a brand remains in stores, and a consumer boycott could disproportionately hurt the very businesses the DEI initiative was meant to uplift.
‘We Belong On These Shelves’
Beautiful Curly Me, a brand dedicated to empowering young Black girls through dolls and hair accessories that celebrate natural beauty, was self-funded for five years before finally securing a spot at Target in July 2023.
“It has taken almost three years of work, fixing things, and trying things just to get onto Target shelves,” Oli explained. “If our sales go down, they’ll have all the reason to take us off the shelves and replace us with billion-dollar companies.”
Oli encouraged shoppers to make their dollars count by intentionally supporting Black- and women-owned businesses when visiting major retailers.
Rallying the Community
In a heartfelt caption accompanying the video, Beautiful Curly Me reinforced the message:
“Family, don’t let them erase us. Your support is needed now more than ever for us and other #BlackOwned businesses at Target. We need your support to be successful in retail so we can scale and someday have our own.”
Despite the disappointment surrounding Target’s policy changes, Oli remains hopeful, calling on her community to take action. Customers can support Beautiful Curly Me in-store at Target or directly through BeautifulCurlyMe.com.
“I’m the youngest CEO in my category at Target, and I don’t want to be the last,” she appealed
