The wholesalers Makro and Game have become the latest chain groups to remove TRESemmé hair products from their store shelves.
Macro and Game, which are owned by Massmart, announced the decision on their official Twitter accounts.
Unilever, which owns the TRESemmé brand, has not responded at all to the latest developments after apologizing on Friday for the Clicks ad that led to the uproar.
“We are very sorry that the photos used in a TRESemmé marketing campaign on the Clicks website promote racist stereotypes about hair. The campaign aimed to celebrate the beauty of all hair types and the range of solutions that TRESemmé offers, but we misunderstood it. The photos do not match the values of our brand or those of Clicks. TRESemmé South Africa apologizes for the insult it caused. ”
The EFF has meanwhile sent a letter to Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever, which owns the TRESemmé brand, regarding the controversial ad. The EFF gave the company 24 hours to resolve the issue regarding the advertisement.
Makro’s announcement comes shortly after the pharmacy group Dis-Chem confirmed that it would no longer sell TRESemmé hair products.
Woolworths, Pick n Pay and Shoprite also confirmed that they have decided not to sell TRESemmé hair products anymore.
Clicks announced on Tuesday that it will remove TRESemmé hair products from the shelves of its stores and instead expand its range of local hair care products.
This shopping group ended up in trouble this past weekend after placing a TRESemmé advertisement on its website referring to different women’s different hair types. The ad uses the captions “frizzy & dull” and “dry & damaged” in the photos of black women’s natural hair, while the captions “fine & flat” and “normal” are used in photos of white women’s natural hair.
The DA said earlier in a statement that the removal of TRESemmeé hair products from store shelves could jeopardize the livelihoods of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs).
Zakhele Mbhele, DA spokesperson on small business development, said it was unfortunate that there had been a succession under political pressure by the EFF as well as the remarks of Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister of Small Business Development.
“The minister requested that TRESemmé’s products be removed from Clicks’ store shelves. While it is correct to strive for more inclusivity and diversity in the retail supply of hair care products, especially those manufactured by SMMEs, it is ʼn a very different matter and unwise to advocate the removal of current products. ”
