Black-Owned Men’s Grooming Brand Aaron Wallace Enters Saks Fifth Avenue, Liberty London And More Retailers

“When you see a Black brand at a major retailer, go and buy that Black brand in that major retailer,” says Lina Gadi, co-founder of London-based Aaron Wallace, a grooming brand that launched its products in the United States at Saks Fifth Avenue in April after they entered British department store Liberty London, and European e-tailers ASOS and Zalando.

Since Aaron Wallace’s arrival at Saks, Gadi has had customers come say to her that they’d rather buy the brand’s products directly through its website. The margins are better for the brand with purchases on its site, but Gadi argues it’s important “to fight it on both angles.” If customers pick up Aaron Wallace’s products at Saks or the brand’s additional retailers, she explains, “What you’re then telling retailers is that we are brands worth investing in, and we are consumers that have strong spending power and that then helps the next brand to get onto retail shelves.”

Aaron Wallace originally began as a product line called Shear & Shine in Wallace’s now closed barbershop after he received product inquiries from customers. “He’d really started to notice some of the issues that he had when it comes to his hair, skin and beard care were mirrored by the customers he was cutting,” says Gadi. “But I think what really came to light during that time as well was that there were hardly any products designed and created to tackle the very specific hair and skincare issues that Black men face like ingrown hairs and dryness being the root cause for breakage and flaky scalp.”

The customers that solicited product recommendations from Wallace were crucial to Gadi’s initial market research. “We spent time speaking to his customers in his shop and also went into other barbershops and spoke to barbers there and really started to map out all the key issues and plan how we can best tackle them,” she says. Gadi was previously in marketing and headed Start Young Global, an organization that helped young entrepreneurs build businesses. She met Wallace working at Start Young Global.

Shear & Shine promptly gained traction, but the duo quickly realized that, in order to achieve their goal that Gadi describes as creating “a space in the male grooming sector for Black men to be seen, heard and catered to with their personal care,” they needed assistance. Gadi brought on Carol Savage, a strategy consultant impactful in enabling them to secure 75,000 pounds in investment or roughly $105,000 at the current exchange rate. “With that money, we were able to go back to ground zero, go back to the basics,” says Gadi. Going back to basics involved revamping formulas and branding. In October 2019, Aaron Wallace premiered with a new collection.

Currently, the brand’s assortment includes Hydrating Hair & Beard Shampoo ($18), Softening Hair & Beard Moisturizer ($18), Deeply Nourishing Hair & Beard Conditioner ($15) and Hair & Beard Oil ($25). The products are water-based and formulated with nourishing ingredients like black seed oil and mango butter to provide moisture to textured hair. The 3-Step Haircare System with shampoo, conditioner and moisturizer for $50 is Aaron Wallace’s bestseller.

Gadi has discovered most men visit the brand’s site intending to buy Hair & Beard Oil, but, after education via email and the grooming guide on the site, they realize the importance of a hydrating foundation. “It’s about teaching them that a Beard Oil is great, but, if you put it on hair that’s unhealthy or damaged, then you’re not really solving the root problem,” she says. “So, what you need to do is start with a healthy base and with a consistent care routine and, then, you top it off with the Beard Oil.”

Aaron Wallace’s early distribution strategy targeted barbershops. Once the pandemic forced barbershops to close, the brand pivoted online. “We increased our digital marketing budget, we improved the website for conversion, and we focused everything on online,” says Gadi. “So, it literally impacted us for two weeks before it completely flipped around and skyrocketed, and has been growing ever since.”

The growth caught the attention of Saks, which reached out to Gadi and Wallace. “They came across our brand through some of the press we received and also through our social media,” she guesses. The partnership was beneficial for both parties. Saks was looking to diversify its offering as well as its customer base, Gida notes, and Aaron Wallace was looking to break into the U.S. market without high shipping costs. Gadi says, “Saks is the best partner right now for us to be able to test that market a little bit.”

The U.S. isn’t a major focus for Aaron Wallace at the moment. Instead, over the next few years, it’s focusing primarily on the United Kingdom. “It’s all about getting our presence here in the U.K. cemented, making sure that we’re front of mind to Black men when it comes to all things to do with their grooming and really becoming market leaders,” says Gadi. Aaron Wallace is scheduled to roll out at a large British retailer in the fall that will make its products more accessible. “That will hopefully give us a massive nationwide distribution here in the U.K. through retail and direct,” says Gadi. Raising funding to support the retail rollout is in Aaron Wallace’s plans, too.

“Retailers are now starting to wake up to Black brands and not just Black brands that cater to Black consumers, but just Black brands in general,” says Gadi. “That’s the direction that retailers are headed in, and I really want to make sure that we as consumers, but also as brands, do everything we can to make that a successful direction.”