Macy’s Adds Pattern by Tracee Ellis Ross to Hair Assortment
Macy’s Inc. is looking to go deeper into hair care, and is partnering with Tracee Ellis Ross to do it.
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Launching Feb. 1, Pattern by Tracee Ellis Ross will be available in select doors and online with the department store giant.
Macy’s will sell Pattern’s hair care and styling product lineup, with prices ranging from $9 to $25.
The move represents Macy’s’ growing focus on hair, a recent shift from the core businesses in fragrance, makeup and skin care. The prestige hair care category grew 22 percent in 2022, per data from the NPD Group.
“There was a gap in our assortment and hair was really what they were asking for,” said Nicolette Bosco, vice president of beauty at Macy’s. “In fragrance, we are a leader and we’re established with our cosmetics and our skin care. We took strategic initiatives to ensure that we’re building out hair as our fourth pillar at Macy’s.”
Within hair, Bosco said the Macy’s customer had specifically asked for brands catering to a wider range of hair textures.
“We knew that we needed a leader in the curly, coily and tight-textured hair brand matrix for our consumer. We have a highly diverse customer base,” she said. “Consumers were saying, ‘We need something more.’ We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Tracee Ellis Ross and her leading brand because she’s the authority in the category.”
Last year, a report from Goldman Sachs pointed to an industrywide gap in products for Black shoppers’ hair needs. Per that report, Black consumers are 2.2 times more likely to conclude a Black-owned brand will work for them, but those brands only make up between 4 percent and 7 percent of the lines available at retailers.
It’s also the second partnership between Macy’s and a celebrity-founded beauty brand. The retailer launched Kylie Cosmetics last year.
“Our consumer loves the recognition and that tie-back to someone that they view,” Bosco said. “That brand founder’s ethos is what our consumers are looking for as well.”
Pattern has been in expansion mode. Last year, the business launched at Boots in the U.K., and Ross said at the time she had an eye on markets in Africa.
“When looking for Pattern’s first ever department store partner, it was important to me that we work with a brand that celebrates individuality,” said Ross in a statement. “Pattern was built on a commitment to expand how we communicate, care for and celebrate the curly, coily and tight-textured hair community. We are thrilled to introduce our products to the Macy’s consumer and work with the brand to continue telling our story.”
Pattern also introduced its first tool earlier this year, a hair dryer for a variety of hair textures, which debuted on the brand’s website for $189.
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