H&M to Host “Buy From a Black Woman” Summer Pop-Up Shops at Select U.S. Store Locations
Retailer H&M has announced that it will host a series of pop-up shopping events highlighting Black women-owned businesses throughout the month of July. The Buy From a Black Woman Inspire Tour will be hosted in select H&M stores where customers can meet and shop from local vendors. A variety of businesses will be featured, ranging from skincare, stationary, to home accessories and more.
Founded in 2016 by Nikki Porcher, Buy From a Black Woman is a non-profit organization that connects nearly 600 Black Women owned businesses across the United States and provides a community of support with the goal of helping them flourish.
“In 2021 we are still hearing the phrase ‘the first Black Woman to…’, yet people far and wide look and see Black Women as a source of inspiration. From our looks to the way we run a business and a household simultaneously, Black Women are and have been living examples. We so often hear the phrase that Black Girls and Black Women are magic, but the thing about magic is, it’s all around. Black Women are all around. We are you sisters, your mothers, your aunties, your daughters. We are your teachers, your leaders, your motivators, your trend setters. Black Women continue to shape and shift so many things and it is our hope that this year’s Buy From A Black Woman Inspire Tour serves as a public reminder that: Black Women are here,” says Nikki Porcher, Founder of Buy From a Black Woman.
While Black Women have been starting businesses at an increasing rate, annual sales for Black Women Business Owners are five times smaller than all Women-owned businesses due to lack of support and awareness, which makes the work of Buy From a Black Woman so important. H&M USA is committed to using its platform to support economic participation and growth, because when Black Women and their businesses flourish, communities thrive.
“H&M is thrilled to present the Buy From a Black Woman ‘Inspire Tour’ this July,” says Donna Dozier Gordon, Head of Inclusion and Diversity for H&M USA. “We’re working to rally around the communities of which we’re a part across the country. Amplifying the voices of Black Women and supporting the growth of Black owned businesses is one way we’re doing that.”
The tour kicked off on July 1, 2021 in Atlanta, GA with a free open-air market next to H&M’s Atlantic Station store, featuring 10 local vendors. The tour will continue to travel across the country concluding with an in-store event in Los Angeles on July 25. A complete list of cities included on the Inspire Tour can be found here.
