Page 46 of Night and Day
“She’s ready for you. Right this way.”
Tamika took a deep breath and followed her. Inez opened the door and let her enter one of the most well put together offices she had ever seen. There was plenty of white in the room, and she remembered once reading that white was Ms. Johnson’s favorite color. Quite huge, the office contained an area where chairs that looked comfortable enough for a living room were grouped around a table filled with Tamika’s products.
As Inez softly closed the door behind her, a woman, who looked like a younger version of Ms. Johnson—with the same narrow face, high cheekbones, and light-brown eyes that shone like gems against her dark skin—extended a hand to Tamika.
“Hello. I’m Ella Brooks, the vice president of operations.”
“Tamika Jones,” Tamika returned, breathing slowly and evenly as she shook her hand.
Despite being impressed by Ella, she was completely overwhelmed by the sight of the legendary Sylvie Johnson, who rose from her glass desk in front of the window and approached wearing a pair of black glasses.
She was shorter than her daughter, but with no less of a commanding presence. Regal in stature, with flawless dark brown skin and sharp, assessing topaz-colored eyes. She looked trim and fit in gold, wide-legged pants, a white high-collared shirt, and a gold brooch over her left breast. Tamika hoped she looked as good as Sylvie did when she was her age.
Sylvie removed her glasses. “Welcome. I trust you had no problems with the transportation we sent?”
“None at all.” Tamika was proud of herself. Her voice wasn’t shaking.
“Good. Please, join me and my daughter, Ella, over here. As you can see, we have some of your products on hand.”
Actually, it looked like they’d purchased all of her products. Tamika sat down on the loveseat, and the two women sat on the sofa across from her. Lip balms, makeup kits, lipstick, eyeliner, and other products were spread out on the table.
“Thank you so much for agreeing to see us today, and on such short notice,” Sylvie said.
Tamika almost laughed out loud. As if anyone would not drop everything to meet with her.
Sylvie continued. “We are very interested in your products and your creativity. But first, let me explain why you’re here. Ella handles operations for my companies, including the cosmetics line. We have people who are constantly keeping an eye on the industry because we don’t want to fall behind. We’re a large company, but we pride ourselves on being nimble enough to change with the times.
“It so happened that the daughter of one of our marketing assistants—a freshman in college—found out about your Weekend Slumber Party kit and raved about it to her mother. The marketing assistant told her manager, which in turn caused TamCam Cosmetics to come up in a weekly meeting which my daughter oversaw. She looked into your products, read a recent article about you, and remembered a conversation we’d had before.” She stopped speaking and turned to her daughter.
Ella took over. “My mother and I had discussed how to expand our market share.” She picked up the Weekend Slumber Party kit, which contained eyeliner, mascara, two shades of lipstick, bronzer, and makeup remover pads in a rose gold pouch that closed with drawstrings. “We don’t do things like this. It’s very clever. Most of our products are in luxury stores, and they’re considered a luxury, so they’re high-end and out of the financial reach of many consumers. Most of our customers are in the thirty-five and older age bracket. What I discussed with my mother was expanding our market share by reaching out to a younger demographic—something you do very well. Teens learning to take care of their skin and experimenting with makeup. Young women in their early twenties and a little older, who are looking for more fun products, to whom more fun marketing and lower costs would appeal.
“We think your products, particularly your creativity when conceiving product lines, would be a way to tap into that demographic. And, as these women eventually become older and earn a greater income, they will already be loyal customers who’ll naturally gravitate toward the other product lines we have to offer.”
“Essentially, we want to go into business with you and build on what you’ve started, to capture a younger demographic,” Sylvie said. “Is that something you would be interested in?”
Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness!Tamika screamed internally.
“Yes ma’am, I would,” she said calmly.
“That’s what I wanted to hear. Now tell me, how do you handle your manufacturing?” Sylvie picked up a red-tinted lip balm. “For a product like this, for example?”
“Some items I outsource, like my eyeliner pencils, but my staff and I make the lip balm by hand, in a commercial kitchen,” Tamika replied.
Sylvie nodded but frowned. “That could create inconsistent batches, but we’ll work on that. We have the capacity to mass produce based on your formulations. The article and your website state your products are cruelty-free. Is that true?” She arched an eyebrow.
Tamika knew this was very important to Sylvie. Not only were her own products cruelty-free, she used only organic and all-natural ingredients. Customer raved that they often forgot they were wearing makeup and swore the products improved their skin.
“Yes. My suppliers are committed to that, and I only test the products on myself, friends, and other models.”
“Good. In that case, I have no doubt we can do business together. We are very interested in partnering with you.”
“When you say partnering, do you mean… like fifty-fifty?” Tamika asked.
“You would be okay with that?” Sylvie asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Tamika said quickly. This was a dream come true! She could potentially make millions with the investment and marketing power from SJ Brands.
Eyes narrowing, Sylvie slowly placed the lip balm on the table, and Ella shifted on the seat.
