Chris-Tia Donaldson was the CEO and founder of Thank God It's Natural (tgin), a specialty hair care line for women with naturally curly, kinky, or wavy hair types. By early 2019, Donaldson had built tgin into a national brand in the United States, with its products widely available at large retailers such as Walmart and Target, as well as in specialty beauty retail stores like Sally Beauty. One important beauty retailer still did not carry the brand, however: Ulta Beauty, a US chain of 1,196 brick-and-mortar beauty stores located predominantly in high-traffic shopping centers around the country. Ulta also had a robust online storefront in ulta.com and had cultivated a vibrant social media presence. On Donaldson's desk was an offer from Ulta Beauty to stock tgin for the first time. Should she commit to this deal, knowing she was setting aside other opportunities, such as e commerce, direct-to-consumer (DTC), and the pursuit of additional distribution channels? All things considered: Was this distribution agreement with Ulta really the best path forward for tgin?
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Case Study|
June 25 2022
Thank God It's Natural: A Distribution Dilemma Available to Purchase
This case was prepared by Professor Jim Lecinski and Helena Bouchez.
Received:
April 28 2025
Accepted:
April 28 2025
Online ISSN: 1111-111X
Print ISSN: 1111-111X
© The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
2022
Northwestern University
Cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion and are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. This case was based on publicly available information and interviews with Chris-Tia Donaldson, Carly Cobbold ‘18, and Ella Weems ‘20, to whom the authors are grateful. For pedagogical purposes, the authors might have fictionalized individuals, conversations, strategies, assessments, or other details. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 847.491.5400, or email cases@kellogg.northwestern.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Kellogg Case Publishing.
Teaching Notes 1–23.
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Received:
April 28 2025
Accepted:
April 28 2025
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Thank God It's Natural: A Distribution Dilemma
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Lecinski J, Bouchez H (2022;), "Thank God It's Natural: A Distribution Dilemma". Teaching Notes, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print.
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