Tag Archives: North Main Street

How Changing Consumer Cultures May Affect Business

Briana Chang and I visited a hair supplies shop on North Main Street in Hartford Connecticut. We met with a woman by the name of Jeanie (a pseudonym), who is the store manager. She spoke on behalf of the Korean business owner who was also present in the store at the time. The store specializes in the sale of hair products, and hair weaves/wigs. Many of the customers who visit the store are women of color. I asked Jeanie about some of the difficulties she faced as a manager of the store. She mentioned that many of her customers have begun wearing their natural hair in their natural textures instead of wearing straighter hair weaves or chemically processing their hair. It is no secret that because of societal pressures, women of color have historically spent a great deal of money on their hair in order to conform to the European standard of beauty. This means that they must straighten and chemically process their naturally curly/kinky hair. Women can purchase many of the products for this process, or additional alternatives to achieve these styles at this store. Recently, women of color have developed a consciousness around, and greater appreciation for their natural hair texture and have refrained from relying on many of these products. There is no doubt that this transition is most beneficial for these women because it saves them a great deal of money and the stress of always manipulating and damaging their natural hair.

This does however have the opposite affect on the businesses that depend on these women for the majority of their profit. This is a common trend among many types of businesses. Our cultural norms are ever changing, and with that, our cultural capital also changes. The things that we claim to be a significant part of our lives today may be thing of the past in just a few years. The way that we wear our hair, or the kinds of clothes we wear, and even the things that we eat can change drastically from generation to generation, and businesses must be able to conform to these changes in order to remain profitable. This hair supply shop that we visited might benefit from incorporating more “natural hair” products and information for women of color who may not be very knowledgeable about how to care for their natural hair, especially if they have never had to deal with caring for kinky/curly hair in the past. They might even want to sell hair extensions that are available in kinky/curly forms so that these women could purchase products that better resemble their own natural hair textures. These ideas are sight specific, and may not work for many businesses, but there are ways to adapt to cultural changes depending on the customer demographic, availability of resources, and willingness of business owners to discover and meet the demands of their customers.

Reflections on a Hair Salon up North Main Street

North Main Street is filled with shops owned by and catering to West Indian immigrants and somehow even a Korean businessman has found his niche along the strip.  Although he only has a fundamental level of English comprehension he is able to sell hair products to the women of the West Indian community. Communication is not an issue when the products provided are considered for quality and customer demand. The store manager says, “I just try to carry out more things that cater to what they want.  I try out the products myself, some of them and just see how it goes.”

Although it may be helpful for an entrepreneur to be a part of the community he is selling to it is not necessary. Social scientist, Zulema Valdez points out in her research entitled Beyond the Ethnic Enclave that “an increase in ethnic density will increase ethnic supply and demand in the market economy.” This says that the more concentrated a culture is in a community the more similar demands from the economy are expected from businesses. Hence one of the main necessities for a successful business is that an entrepreneur must do research on the demographics of a community and gage the level of demand for certain products in that area. The Korean owner of the beauty supply store on Main Street has done this; it targets people that make up a significant amount of the Hartford population and the desires of those possible customers.  According to the 2008-2012 American Community Survey[facfinder2.census.gov], about 10.7% of the Hartford residents claim West Indian ancestry, the biggest number of them claiming Jamaican ancestry. This useful information is the central means of the Korean owner’s beauty supply store on North Main Street.

Due to the high concentrations of ethnic groups in Hartford neighborhoods, such as the Jamaican, Italian, and Irish communities, an entrepreneur that wishes to start a business in particular areas must be well aware of the cultural demands of these communities.  This can be challenging for an entrepreneur if he is of a different ethnic group than their customers.  But for the Korean business owner on North Main Street it has come with ease by simply doing research on the demands of his community. For an entrepreneur to get the most business in a given area they must look at the cultural demands of that community and supply products that optimally meet the demands. It is then that the entrepreneur may have a significant rise in profits.