By Chika Dunu

• Sales of wigs increased by 75% for the period May 2020 to 2021 as protective hairstyles continue to be on the rise
• Black shoppers spent $473M in total on hair care
  

For thousands of women, regular salon visits came to a screeching halt due to the 2020 pandemic, and the early days were a steep learning curve for those who found comfort sitting in their stylists’ chairs. Black women started to embrace the change and protective styles, as sales of wigs increased by 75% for the period May 2020 to 2021, compared to February 2019 to February 2020, according to a new report from Mastercard. As workers return to the office and more social events begin popping up on calendars, consumers are also looking to spend more on their hair and now could be the time to expand Black-owned beauty supply stores.

Why This Matters: Despite all the change the pandemic brought to the Black hair care industry, women have embraced their natural hair opting for styles that don’t require much heat utilization. According to Mintel analyst Toya Mitchell, between 2015 and 2019, braids with extensions increased in popularity by 64%, wigs increased by 79%, and weaves increased by 47%.

By Jennifer Ford

• Shaq serves as an advisor to The Beachbody Company that went public in a $2.9B offering
• The fitness Company expects to earn more than $1B in 2021 revenue
  

Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal along with other partners successfully raised $250 million for  their SPAC Forest Road Acquisition Corp. As we reported in October, the funds were specifically to make deals in the media and technology sectors. Now, those funds have a more permanent home, in a three-way merger among Forest Road, Myx  Fitness, and Beachbody Company Group. Collectively now called The Beachbody Company (BODY +2.73%), is now publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, adding fuel to the already increasing interest in SPACs as a lower risk investment opportunity.

Why This Matters: The SPAC market is attractive to those who only want to dip their toes in the water by going public quickly without the same volatility and regulatory requirements have  been both praised and criticized as a “shortcut,” compared to the traditional IPO. The first quarter of 2021 produced a record 298 SPACs, raising $83 billion.  

If Shaq were to explain the future of BODY, he would bet on his own success, famously giving  himself the nickname “The Big IPO.”

“Put your money on me. Because when I go public, we all gonna make money,” he said. While  BODY is not an IPO, an SPAC can yield the same result.

By Richard Johnson

• Jay-Z has joins hands Blackstone on a deal to buy Certified Collectibles Group
• The Global Sports Trading Card Market is projected to reach $87.7B by 2027
  

As much as I want to say HOV is “at it again”, Jay-Z’s continued investment deals have become the Roc Nation’s founder’s new norm. The hip-hop business mogul has joined hands with Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative investment firm on a deal to buy Certified Collectibles Group (CCG), which grades and verifies collectible items including comic books, magazines, stamps, banknotes and trading cards, for a flat-fee or a percentage of the item’s value. CCG estimates it has certified more than 60 million of these collectibles and Blackstone has agreed to acquire a majority stake in the company, valuing it at more than $500 million.

Why This Matters: Jay-Z will be an investor in the transaction along with Miami Heat forward Andre Iguodala, Daryl Morey, President of Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers, Main Street Advisors, a leading investment advisory firm to prominent athletes, recording artists, and other entertainment leaders, along with others. To put this joint-venture into perspective, the Global Sports Trading Card Market was valued at $13.8 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $87.7 billion by 2027.

By CultureBanx Team

• More than 20 HBCUs are using the $5 billion for debt relief to cancel student loan debt
• Young Black adults take on 85% more education debt than their white counterparts
  

A growing group of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have moved to cancel student debt in recent months. More than 20 HBCUs are using the $5 billion for debt relief created from the Higher Education Emergency Relief federal pandemic funds, according to the United Negro College Fund. With the burden of student loan debt worsening wealth inequality and continuing the debt disparity among Black college students this new wave of cancelling HBCU student debt is a racial wealth gap game changer.

Why This Matters: Young Black adults take on 85% more education debt than their white counterparts, and that disparity compounds by 7% each year after the borrowers leave school, according to a recent study in the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity journal. Students of color typically rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt, meaning they are unable to focus on other financial goals like buying a home, paying off credit card debt, and saving for retirement.  

By CultureBanx Team

• LVMH bought a 60% stake in Virgil Abloh’s Off-White band
• In 2020, LVMH’s revenues reached 44.6 billion euros ($52.4 billion)
  

Louis Vuitton Möet Hennessy (LVMUY +0.03%) bought a 60% stake in Off-White, as it doubled down on the Pied Piper of fashion, Virgil Abloh’s fashion reign. This investment boosts LVMH deeper into the sportswear markets with ties to its unrivaled roster of brands. Abloh is one of the rare Black designers with a leading role at the top of the fashion pyramid as head of menswear for Louis Vuitton. Will this new tie up with Off-White and LVMH help craft larger conversations about representation while giving them a bigger stake in the luxury sportswear and streetwear markets?

Why This Matters: Off-White, created by Louis Vuitton men’s artistic director Abloh, has a line of extremely popular sneakers with Nike (NKE +1.61%). Also, Abloh designed the uniform tennis icon Serena Williams wore while playing in the 2018 U.S. Open. According to a recent study by Bain & Company, Abloh’s appointment to help Louis Vuitton’s menswear group is a reflection of the increasing consumer-driven intermingling of the luxury and streetwear sectors.