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BlackStats
Frequently requested data on African American consumers
Buying Power:
$631 Billion (2002)
Black U.S. Population:
38.3 million
Top Five Black Cities
- New York
- Chicago
- Detroit
- Philadelphia
- Houston
Top Five Black Metros:
- New York-New Jersey
- Washington-Baltimore
- Chicago-Gary
- Los Angeles
- Philadelphia
Top Five Expenditures:
- Housing 130 billion
- Food 52.4 billion
- Cars/Trucks 48.7
- Clothing 22.3 billion
- Health Care 14.5 billion
______________________
Get quick access to key
U.S. Census
Bureau Data
Click here to go to African-American Census Bureau data
Essence's Susan Taylor says new title will revolve around staff's talents
(Jan.
16, 2004) Finding Suzanne Boyd to head Essence's forthcoming magazine was
fortunate, said Susan Taylor, editorial director of Essence Communications
Partners. Boyd arrived in New York this week from Flare magazine in Toronto
to begin her duties as editor-in-chief of the company's new fashion and
style title."It's been a long and challenging search," said Taylor of the company's efforts to find the right talent to launch the publication, "and it comes back to African-Americans not getting the opportunities in the industry. Suzanne has the expertise, knowledge and fashion sense to create a successful style publication," Read more...
EXCLUSIVE
America Online in negotiations with Tribune Co. to acquire BlackVoices.com
Purchase could boost strategy for Africana.com
By Ken Smikle
Copyright (c) 2004 Target Market News
(Jan.
7, 2004) The nation's leading Internet service provider, America Online, is
in negotiations to purchase BlackVoices.com from the Web site's owner,
Tribune Co. A deal could be announced before the end of January. As reported by Target Market News last month, BlackVoices, one of the nation's most visited black Web sites, has been seeking an investor to prevent the shuttering of operations of the eight-year-old company. Earlier efforts to form a merger with Vanguarde Media ended when the magazine publisher abruptly filed for bankruptcy.
The Tribune Co. had planned to simply shut down the wholly-owned division at the end of last year but delayed action when AOL, a division of TimeWarner, expressed interest.
Though BlackVoices.com remains an active Web site, most of the employees have already been laid off or have taken a hiatus until the company's future is decided. Tribune is attempting to find positions for some staffers within its newspaper business.
Read more...
Also:
BlackVoices.com ponders the future after failed merger with Vanguarde Media
Vanguarde Media, publisher of Savoy, Honey, Heart & Soul, files for bankruptcy
BLACK CONSUMER RESEARCH
Study finds black travelers more likely than others groups to shop during travel
(Jan. 16, 2003) The Travel Industry of Association of America has released its latest report on the habits of African-American, Hispanics and Asians. The study finds that African-American travel volume increased four percent (from 72.2 million to 75.2 million person-trips). These increases are considerably higher than the two percent growth in U.S. travel overall over the same period.
Shopping was named the most popular activity for African-American travelers, with 41% of those surveyed saying they head to stores on trips. By comparison only 34% of Hispanics and 39% of Asians named it as their most popular activity.
Read more...
Forrester research survey shows black consumers offer marketers advantages
Survey highlights differences between minority and white homeowners
More blacks moving to the south than to any other region
EEOC study reveals black women still a growing force
RETAILING NEWS
Discrimination lawsuit is filed against Abercrombie & Fitch by Rainbow/PUSH
(Nov. 25, 2003) A nationwide class action lawsuit was filed last week by the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and three law firms in the U.S. District Court in Camden, New Jersey, against retail chain Abercrombie & Fitch alleging racial discrimination in the chain's hiring policies. The lawsuit is similar to one filed in June in a federal court in San Francisco and seeks class-action status. Read more...
Wal-Mart, facing major discrimination suit, names two to new office of diversity
(Nov. 24, 2003) Wal-Mart, the nation's largest employer and the target of what could be the largest class-action discrimination lawsuit in history, has established its first company office for diversity. The new department will be headed by Charlyn Jarrells Porter, who most recently headed the retailer's human relations area, has been with Wal-Mart for 11 years.
Also
announced was the appointment of Esther Silver-Parker (left) as vice
president of diversity relations effective Dec. 1. She is currently an AT&T
VP of Corporate Affairs and Corporate Citizenship. Her responsibilities
included leading AT&T's foundation and corporate responsibility programs.
Read more...Sears adds urban apparel shops to 50 of its stores in holiday test
(Nov. 25, 2003) Sears has initiated a pilot of 50 urban shops that also include popular male urban brands such as FUBU, Icewear, Run Athletics by Russell Simmons, P. Miller and South Pole.
The urban shops are located at select stores in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The pilot will run through the holidays. It's anticipated the urban shops will expand to other stores next year. Read more...
INDUSTRY NEWS
Index of black business owners shows cautious optimism on holiday spending
(Nov. 24, 2003) A quarterly index surveying black business owners registered some optimism that this year's holiday shopping season will be as good or better than last year's.
The ING Gazelle Index queried 350 CEO's of the nation's fastest growing African-American-owned businesses with 10-100 employees. Here's how they responded:
-- 6.9% of Gazelle CEOs expect business activity will be significantly better than it was last year
-- 24.9% expect only slightly better
-- 46.6% expect no change
-- 19.4% expect activity to be worse than last season
"It is interesting to see that leading African-American business owners are cautiously optimistic given that economic expansion significantly improved in the third quarter. The next few weeks are a critical time for many businesses," said Carolyn Harris-Burney, vice president of African American Markets for ING Financial Advisers. Read more...
FCC's Powell said to be seeking a way out
ADVERTISING & PR NEWS
L. Renee Richardson named director for SMG Tapestry African-American markets
(Dec. 9, 2003) L. Renee Richardson has been named director of African American markets for Tapestry, the multicultural division of Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG). Richardson, a 15-year media veteran who has worked for Starcom and Starlink, both divisions of SMG. Read more...
Chisholm-Mingo files for bankruptcy,
Black entrepreneurs focus of Martell ad campaign
Audi/Volkswagen poised to select its first ethnic agency
S.C. Tourism to spend half-million in black magazines
Lowe's chain searching for its first black ad agency
MARKETING NEWS
Beyonce Knowles launching new fragrance with Tommy Hilfiger Toiletries company
(Jan.
27, 2004) Tommy Hilfiger Toiletries, a division of Estee Lauder Companies,
announced that they will team with music icon Beyonce Knowles in a
multi-year deal in which she will be spokesperson for a new fragrance line.
The product will be launched internationally in the fall of this year. Terms
of the agreement were not disclosed.
Read more...Also:
Serena Williams said to be signing Nike endorsement contract worth $55 million
Hanes plays on with Michael Jordan as spokesperson
Laila Ali and adidas form a marketing partnership
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Essence names Suzanne Boyd, star editor in Canada, to head new magazine
(Jan.
8, 2004) To get just the right person to head up its third new magazine
launch, Essence Communications headed north to Toronto to find Suzanne Boyd,
who is already a publishing luminary throughout Canada. Boyd is currently editor-in-chief of Flare, Canada's leading fashion magazine, a post she has held since 1996. As Canada's first black women to head a major magazine, she has been heralded for turning around the moribund publication into Canada's hottest "must-read."
Boyd is currently editor-in-chief of Flare, Canada's leading fashion magazine, a post she has held since 1996. As Canada's first black women to head a major magazine, she has been heralded for turning around the moribund publication into Canada's hottest "must-read."
Read more...
Also:
Calvin Darden named to Coca-Cola board
Marv Dyson exits WGCI after 35 years, Launa Thompson named station manager
Sherman Kizart named to FCC advisory panel
Mary Ware named AURN Regional Director-Marketing
Susan Banks appointed TV One marketing VP
The 2004
African-American
Magazine Summit
March 16th-17th, 2004
New York University - The Kimmel Center
Make plans to attend the second annual gathering of black magazine publishers and advertisers
More panels, more topics, more exhibit space, more opportunities!
Click here to register with Target Market News to receive more details
Click here for highlights from the 2003 African-American Magazine Summit
____________________
The Black Consumer Research and Advertising Summit Workbook is available now!
Did you miss the fourth annual Black Consumer Research and Advertising Summit? Now you can own the hardcopy of all the presentations made at one of the industry's most anticipated annual events!
You'll get over 300 pages of the latest statistics, trends and analysis on the African American consumer market.
DATA FROM THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS!
Speakers at this year's Summit:
Hugh Brown / The Media Audit
Oveda Brown / Scarborough
Barry Cooper / BlackVoices.com
Julian Davis / Arbitron
Morris Davis / M. Davis & Co.
Ron Franklin / GlobalHue
Valerie Graves / UniWorld
Craig Gillmore / State Farm
Mellody Hobson / Ariel Capital Mgt
Linda Jefferson / Burrell
Dwight Johnson / Census Bureau
Renetta McCann / Starcom
Pepper Miller / Hunter-Miller Group
Chuck Morrison / UniWorld
Marty Revel / BMW North America
David Rudd / Motorola
Ken Smikle / Target Market News
Launa Thompson / WGCI Chicago
Omar Wasow / BlackPlanet.com
Carol Williams / Carol H. Williams Advertising
Christine Wood / Newspaper Assoc. of America
Deborah Gray Young / E. Morris Communications
Your research library is not complete and up-to-date without this invaluable reference on the African-American market.
Click here to read the topics covered
Click here to order your copy today!
'Buying Power' report shows blacks still outspend other ethnic segments
African-Americans continue to increase their spending in proportion to their rising income, according to the newest edition of “The Buying Power of Black America” study. Black households also continue to spend more collectively than Hispanics or other minorities in virtually every consumer product and service category.
The findings come from the latest edition of the annually published report from Target Market News, a 15-year-old research and information company specializing in black consumer marketing and media. The “Buying Power” report, which has been published annually for a decade, is one of the most widely quoted sources of information on black consumer behavior.
According to the report, black households had $631 billion in earned income in 2002, an increase of 4.8% over the $602 billion earned in 2001.
Click here for whole story and 2003 Buying Power expenditure data
Click here to order your copy today!