Modus operandi and the socio-spatial milieu in which immigrant niche markets vis-a-vis informal economic activities

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85VOL. 33. NO. 2. JULY 2018 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA
Modus operandi and the socio-spatial milieu in which
immigrant niche markets vis-a-vis informal economic
activities.
Mhandu,J¹., Ojong,V. B². and Muzvidziwa, N. V. ³
Abstract
This paper is situated within a broader economic, socio-anthropological
framework and set against the background of immigrant niche marketing.
Drawing on literature on immigrant niche markets (Gemici, 2008:9; Eckstein
and Peri, 2018:3) with specific reference to Africa (Ojong, 2005:12; Ojong and
Fomunyam, 2011:23), this paper poses that there is invisible literature aimed at
assessing the position of niche markets of Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers in Durban. Against this backdrop, the ongoing paper presents a
succinct position of niche marketing research drawing insights on anecdotal
evidence of the abovementioned participants. The initial part of this paper
provides an understanding of the dynamics of immigrant niche marketing and its
operationalization. The second part of this paper provides an analysis on the
multiple avenues utilized by the abovementioned participants in order to start-
up and sustain their businesses in the host country. Key submission made in the
section is that social capital, personal savings, and stokvels play a significant
role in starting up informal economic activities of the said participants. The
penultimate part of this article discourses how Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers in Durban experience the concept of mixed embeddedness as they
participate in informal economic activities. In this paper, we have engaged with
fieldwork data, relevant literature, Giddens structuration theory (2003) and
Waldinger et al (1990) interactive model of entrepreneurship growth. We
conclusively argue that structural synergies of mixed embeddedness as
experienced by the said participants are both enabling and constraining and
forms that backbone of their enterprise in the host country.
Key words: informal economic activities, niche marketing, mixed
embeddedness and social capital
¹ PhD candidate, School of Social Sciences , University of KwaZulu_Natal
² Academic Leader, School of Social Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal
³ Vice Chancellor, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe

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Background and introduction
The ongoing paper discourses the applications of a niche market in
informal economic activities making recourse to the
abovementioned participants. The initial part of this paper
provides an overview and operationalization of immigrant niche
markets. On this note, this part poses and reflect on how niche
marketing offers creative ways to use available resources and
generating innovative revenue streams for Zimbabwe migrant
women hairdressers in Durban. In particular, We unpack multiple
avenues utilized by the abovementioned participants to start-up
their informal business in the host country. Coupled with this
paper is also an analysis of how Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers in Durban experience the concept of mixed
embeddedness. In order to provide a bona fide sociological
analysis, I We augment the view of Rath's (2007:6), Sepulveda,
Syrett, and Lyon (2011:474) and that of Giddens' (2003:171).
Against this backdrop, we conclusively locate mixed
embeddedness within the structural determinism framework
owing its structural elements that determines the processes,
outcomes, and future of hairdressing business performed by
Zimbabwe migrant women in Durban. The last part of this paper
explores successive defensive mechanisms employed by the said
participants in order to protect their niches. The key defensive
strategies found in this study consist of protective communication
techniques, price fixing, maintaining good relations with both
short and long-term customers and marketing strategies.
The concept of niche markets is integral to human nature. What is
indisputable in niche market literature is that immigrants are
unequally spread in the labor market. To this end, their
participation in the formal economy is often asymmetrical,
sanctioning the manifestation of ethnic niches. Eckstein and Peri
(2018:3) maintain that niche markets are a specialized line of work
that is made up of groups of clients who have similar demographic
and lifestyle characteristics. This implies that niche markets
(sometimes called specialized markets) consist of a provision of
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certain products targeting a small group. The most important goal
of niche markets is to meet customer needs. Services offers should
meet the needs of that small group and the customers are willing to
pay once their unique need is met. For the purpose of this study, we
hold that employing niche markets demonstrates a bunch of
management implications every Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdresser faces. To put into perspective, niche marketing offers
creative Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers with different
ways to use available resources simultaneously generating
innovative revenue streams. We argue that niching is a valuable
channel used by the discoursed participants to respond to economic
conditions in the host country.
Methodology
This paper is grounded on interpretivist paradigm. Qualitative
inquiry was used so as to build an authentic and bona fide sense of
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in their natural setting.
This technique was coupled with inductive reasoning drawn from a
humanistic approach. This enabled capturing the meaning and
perspectives of social actors. This study utilized 15 in-depth
interviews, participant observations and 3 focus group discussions.
The primary justification for data source triangulation method is its
capacity to produce an enriched nuance data and its ability to
eradicate intrinsic biases that may arise from using one method.
Data was collected over a period of 6 months between February
and August 2018 in Durban central. Willing (2008:24) and May
(2011:140) notes that the principal investigator should reflect on
the possible effects of respondents' identities for instance
nationality and gender. To this effect, throughout the fieldwork
process the principal investigator was conversant with
respondent's cultural environment, migrant status and their gender.
This inspired him to go to the field with an open mind-set that
enabled him to treat them as participants and not as subjects.
Snowball sampling was used in order to achieve broad
representation of the population. However, given that the study
focus on Zimbabwean migrant operating unregistered (informal)
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business gatekeeper's letter was not necessary. Key ethical
considerations viz anonymity, non-maleficence and autonomy
were observed during the research process. In order to protect the
identities of Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban,
pseudonyms were used. This implies that identities used
throughout data presentation and analysis are not the actual names
of the said participants.
Niche marketing and its operationalization
The following sections are divided into three parts. The initial part
explores how Zimbabwe migration women hairdressers start and
survive their informal economic activities in Durban. The second
section unpacks the concept of mixed embeddedness as
experienced by the said participants in the informal sector. The last
section discusses the successive defensive mechanisms drawing
insights into potential problems encounters by Zimbabwe migrant
women hairdressers in using niche marketing strategies.
How they start up and maintain their business
We argue that there is limited access to resources and capital is a
key issue which encumbers the start-ups and growth of
immigrants' businesses. In this respect, Zimbabwe migrant
women hairdressers use multiple avenues to start-up their
businesses in the host country. This research found that social
capital, personal savings, and stokvels play a significant role in
starting up informal economic activities among the
aforementioned participants.
Social capital
This study found that social capital is socially embedded in
relations of Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban.
Since social and material resources are mostly assembled to solve
predetermined problems, they are depicted as capital. Although
there are various theoretical approaches to the distribution of
possible resources, in this section, we are mainly fascinated by
those that exhibit the most remarkable in problem-solving
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strategies among Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in
Durban. Different forms of social capital viz family members,
friends and the Zimbabwe community in South Durban provides
financial support, knowledge, and skills pertinent to the success of
their business. The notion of social capital has been widely used to
elucidate economic and social phenomenon. Sociologist Bourdieu
and political scientist Putman are amongst the early theorist to use
the concept of social capital (Julien, 2015:359). Inasmuch as the
concept of social capital has been broadly used in various
disciplines, there is no single study that has unpacked the
relationship between social capital and informal economic
activities of Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban or
in any comparable areas. High levels of social capital are allied
with the improvement of Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers'
welfare, economic prosperity, safety, and well-being of the host
city. Based on fieldwork data, we pose and reflect of two types of
social networks namely family and Zimbabwe community.
Family as social capital
The underpinning precept of this sub-section is that social capital
is entrenched in social situations and network structure defines an
individual's access to resources available to start and sustain
informal economic activities. We view the family as the bedrock of
accumulation and spread of social capital. The family provides
twofold constituents of social capital viz networks and norms. The
two components that are both objective and subjective provide
help and essential services necessary in their everyday life. The
authenticity of the family as social capital in this regards is
conveyed into existence through the narrative constructs of the
following research participants. Commenting on the role played
by family in starting-up her saloon business, Chiedza recounts
that:
My family has been so supportive and helpful to
me. When I first came to South Africa I was
staying with my mother. I didn't know that
hairdressing was a good business. I used to go
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with her to Johannesburg where she was
working as a hairdresser so that I could help her
market her business. That's where I started
learning how to plait hair but I did not have the
adequate finance to start my own rent a chair.
(In-depth interview: Chiedza; 22/04/2018)
Vimai Sene adds that:
My brother gave me R3000 to pay rent and other
expenses for the first month. However, this
money was not enough to buy everything needed
in a saloon. My brother's girlfriend gave me
some resources to use. I remember the first
blower that used I got it from her. (In-depth
interview: Vimbai Sene; 23/04/2018)
Based on the above narratives, we see a very strong relationship
between strong family ties and business growth. As shown in the
two narratives above, one cannot undermine the presumption that
strong family ties provide advice on the growth and sustainability
of informal economic activities. Through strong family ties,
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers are able to get more advice
and assistance when dealing with more complicated situations in
the start-up phase. Chiedza and Vimbai Sene's narratives provide
convincing evidence about the importance of family as social
capital as well as its relationship in working towards achieving the
common good christening what Prandini (2014:223) epitomize as
bonding and bridging social capital. However, our taxonomic
tweak of bonding and bridging is pronounced as dimensions of
social capital coupled with reciprocity and trustworthiness that in
my view is apparent among Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers' families. In this regards, we consider the family as a
system of relations surpassing the actual interactions among
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers. This indicates that the
family is an embryonic property of social relations. Borrowing
from Giddens (2003:3) structuration theory, the family constitute
part of a social system that has structural properties that provide
resources for human action. The family has a reflexive social
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character that reproduces facets of continuous and reliable social
bonds that symbolize central resources for Zimbabwe migrant
women hairdressers in Durban.
Zimbabwe community in Durban
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers have created a community
of practice which assists them to establish and sustain their
informal economic activities in the host city. For the purpose of this
study, we conceptualize community of practice as a group of
Zimbabwean migrant women hairdressers informally tied together
through shared problems associated with their migrant experience,
collective pursuit of solutions, and in that way themselves
expressing an accumulation of knowledge through interaction
with each other. Their knowledge system is construed from their
social process which gives them a sense of belonging to an
integrated part of the community. Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers in Durban are destined by both formal and informal
relationships based on shared roles, goals and collective context.
These shared goals are aligned to collective trust, which constructs
value by enabling collective operational action. The community of
practice implies that social capital embraces asserts and network
that may possibly be mobilized through such networks. Exploring
hairdressing within this framework indicate that their informal
economic activities are not only cognitive activities or private
endeavors but they are activities located in a particular socio-
historical context.
There are close social ties that are enshrined in the community of
practice. These ties enable them to assist each other with
knowledge, resources and different forms of assistance to other
Zimbabwean migrant women in order to accomplish their goals
and intents. These hairdressers utilize other members of the
Zimbabwean community to sustain their business informal
economic activities in Durban. As an illustration, through a
network of connections with other Zimbabweans, they know
which truck driver is going to Zimbabwe or Zambia where they get
most of their hair products. These truck drivers are the people who
transport products from Zimbabwe and Zambia to Durban.
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The hairdressers mostly hinge on the Zimbabwean community in
order to sustain their informal economic activities. They use such a
network of connections to import chemicals and hair products that
are on demand with customers in South Africa. The interactive
model developed by Waldinger, Aldrich, and Ward (1990:22)
provides a preeminent explanation on the Zimbabwe migrant
community and business sustenance nexus. The interaction model
holds that the success of the migrant business is a resultant effect of
the relationship between opportunity structures and immigrant
group characteristics. The opportunity structures consist of
immigrant resources that include different ways in which the
businesses are developed and sustained. Social networks are
available in the opportunity structure and play a significant role in
all stages of business creation. We therefore concur with
Waldinger et al., (1990:20) who maintain that social networks
provide preliminary information which affects migration
decisions and provides resources for business creation. Products
such as sangitta are on high demand by customers in Durban yet
they are not available in South Africa. In this respect, through
ethnic strategies, linkages with co-ethnics members creates a
social network that provides easily accessible resources such as the
said products. The Zimbabwe community in Durban is a key ethnic
resource available in the opportunity structure for Zimbabwe
migrant women hairdressers. It assists in resource mobilization on
already established hairdressers and creates a new avenue for
business creation economic opportunity structure available for
new migrant.
However although social capital has proved to be significant in the
establishment and sustenance of informal economic activities, one
cannot dispute the fact that to a lesser extent it will likely decrease
their level of participation in these informal activities. This mainly
supervenes when social capital is used for corrupt and
unscrupulous reasons, perhaps for profiting others at the expense
of the intended being. If social capital is used for such motives, it
becomes a constraint to human action. Drawing insights from
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Bourdieuan perspective, it is important to note such negative
effects of social capital in small localized communities
(Mikiewicz, 2012:57; Julien, 2015:364), including Zimbabwe
migrant women hairdressers in Durban. To put into perspective,
the negative effects of social capital includes social exclusion
experienced in instances where social capital is used for bad
purpose rather than for the benefit of those in distress. What it
means is that some group achieve internal cohesion by treating
others as an outcast and with hostility outright hatred and
suspicion. Such negative impacts of social capital have far-
reaching effects on individuals' life satisfaction, happiness, and
well-being. To a lesser extent, the exclusion of non-Zimbabwe
migrant women hairdressers in Durban as a negative effect of
social although there is no such evidence of such that arose during
the fieldwork process. However, participants developed strong
internal ties and for this reason, there is a tendency to preclude
'others' from access. They have implemented protective barriers
for their niches which is a criterion to exclude 'other' from
accessing their marketing strategies.
Stokvels
Stokvels is an informal financial institution that gives support for
start-up and sustenance of informal economic activities. The
majority of Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers have no access
to finance and credit. Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in
Durban attached significance to stokvels as the best means of
gaining resources for their business creativities. In a focus group
discussion on the importance of stokvels for the said hairdressers,
it was found that, they (referring to stokvels) provide assistance to
mobilize savings accrued through the systematic contributions. In
the first focus group that conducted, Chido provided an insightful
revelation of the significance of stokvels in sustaining their
informal economic activities in Durban. She narrates that:
Our group consists of 13 members and we are all
hairdressers. We do weekly contributions of
R200 and at the end of the year we buy groceries

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using certain amount agreed by all members of
the group and the rest of the amount will be
divided among us. If there is any member facing
challenges or in need of cash we give loan from
our savings at 15% interest. But if she wants to
use the money to business purpose, that is,
buying any salon products or equipment to use
we give at zero percent interest but the money
must be paid back within 30 days. Ever since we
formed this stokvel in 2017, many of us have
benefited using this money. I personally have
managed to expand my business. (Focus group
discussion 1: Chido; 09/05/2018).
Chido's narrative shows that stokvels are used as working capital
to develop and sustain their informal economic activities.
Stokvels provide the yardstick for liquidity, efficiency, and overall
health of hairdressing business as conducted by Zimbabwe
migrant women in Durban. Borrowing from Waldinger et al.
(1990:23) as well as Baycan-Levent and Kundak (2009: 286), any
business no matter how big or small, certain resources to start up
and operation is necessary and attaining pertinent resources is a
difficult task. Stokvels (in)directly provide plausible avenues that
circumvent the multitude of difficulties that are faced in an
attempt to enter any economic activity. The role played by
stokvels confirms studies done by Crush et al. (2015:7). The
authors opine that any form of finance played a central role in the
start-up, growth, and sustenance of any business enterprise. In the
context of South Africa, Asoba and Tengeh (2016:411) add that
many financial institutions are reluctant to assist small businesses
and they view those owned by immigrants as not creditworthy to
be granted loans that can facilitate or rebuilt their growth. Relying
more on personal savings and stokvels are key strategies that was
found during the fieldwork process. The majority of Zimbabwe
migrant women hairdressers belong to different stokvels where
they get financial support to sustain inform economic activities.
Apart from stokvels, a handful of Zimbabwe migrant women
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hairdressers confirmed that they used their personal savings to
start up and sustain their inform businesses. They assert that they
used money that was saved in their personal bank accounts and
they rely much on personal savings to sustain their businesses.
Starting business with minimum resources
Reliance on social capital and stokvels is a reflection that
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers have minimum resources
available in their opportunity structure to start a business. Severe
resource constraints in the host country drive them to engage in a
plethora of resource procurement strategies discussed in the
previous subsection. The previously discussed strategies have
prompted my philosophical ingenuity to reflect on bootstrapping
resource acquisition strategy. Padachi et al. (2012:130)
conceptualize bootstrapping as the utilization of innovative
methods used at little or no cost, minimizing financial costs and
allowing the secure of available resources. Literature provided by
Gatewood et al. (2009:138) reiterates that in order to successfully
bootstrap small economic activities, owners have to find creative
ways to cut spending and utilize any available resources. In this
respect, drawing resources from families, Zimbabwe community
in Durban and stokvels as discussed in the previous sections is a
strategic and more convincing example of bootstrapping. The
process of bootstrapping as utilized by Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers is in two-fold. Firstly it enables them to maintain
available cash which is necessary to manage their business in a
more resourceful way. The discoursed participants do not waste
little resources and for this reason, they invest in stokvels and later
use such invested funds for the benefit of their own businesses. In
this respect, bootstrapping promotes the development of a new
knowledge system and their hairdressing industry is growing
through the help of such human resources and activities. Secondly,
bootstrapping is employed by the abovementioned participants to
reduce the need for securing finance from a financial institution
such as banks. In so doing Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers
are able to break through economic barriers that encumber the
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establishment of their businesses in the host country.
Bootstrapping strategy is beneficial in small enterprises such as
those advanced by Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in
Durban and it allows them to eradicate dependence of financial
investors. Using the narratives of Chido (Focus group discussion 1:
09/05/2018) as clearly outlined in the previous section, the
bootstrapping strategy is by and large allied to hairdressing growth
in start-ups. The abovementioned participants revealed that they
have low dependencies with financial institutions and investors yet
relying more on little resources obtained from their families,
Zimbabwe community in Durban and stokvels. In this respect,
such bootstrapping strategies multiply the resource base of
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers and minimize
organizational risks. However, to some extent, it is can also be
correct to embrace that bootstrapping create new forms of
dependencies on new resource providers such as the previously
said. To some extent, this may likely create a negative relationship
with business growth especially when these social networks fail to
provide anticipated financial support during the start-up phase.
Mixed embeddedness and informal economic activities
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban experience the
concept of mixed embeddedness and their relationships within
their informal economic space generate social solidarity. Mixed
embeddedness has become an important concept that elucidates
economic activities. The concept was developed by Polanyi
(1944). According to Gemici (2008:5), Polanyi's holds that
capitalist economies are embedded and trapped in social
relationships. The main argument herein is that economic life is a
socially established and organized entity and this makes all
economies embedded (Gemici, 2008:9). In this respect, the mixed
embeddedness method provide enlightenment to different patterns
of economic activities by analytically connecting the supply side of
businesspersons with an explicit set of resources. Zimbabwe
migrant women hairdressers in Durban are confined in the
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informal sector due to entry blockages that constitute a pertinent
component in this mixed embeddedness. South Africa's formal
economy is almost saturated for Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers. Predictably, cut-throat completion has infiltrated the
already shrinking South African markets and for this reason,
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers have no other option
besides maneuvering to the informal economy. Through their
social networks with co-ethnics, they are able to tap resources, for
instance, social capital, that assists in the development and
sustenance of informal economic activities.
The structures of mixed embeddedness as experience by
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers is not static but it is
multifaceted. Being embedded in the South African society
implies that they need to be affiliated to membership of the
Zimbabwean community in Durban and stokvels. Such
community organizations provide reciprocal aid in respect to their
daily business activities. As shall be discussed below, these
organizations cater to ethnic resources such as the transportation
of sangitta, outre, Constance Carroll, and Zimbabwean black
opal. These abovementioned hair products are only available in
Zimbabwe yet they are on demand in South Africa by other ethnic
customers. The analysis finds complementarity anecdotal
evidence provided by this qualitative research. In a focus group,
discussion 1 Chihera proclaims that:
Most of our client are Zimbabweans, Zambians
and South Africans. They prefer products that
are imported from Zimbabwe and Zambia such
as angels, outre, constance caroll, and
Zimbabwean black opal. These products are not
available in South Africa but they are always
available in our stock. So if a Zimbabwean
travel to Durban, she does not need to worry
about this product whilst in Durban. What she
only needs to is to look for any Zimbabwean
hairdressers and once she locates use she will
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get every product she wants. (Focus group
discussion 1: Chihera; 02/05/2018)
A closer introspection into Chihara's narratives shows that
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban have migrated
with the spirit of solidarity, and they rely on ethnic resource
mobilization. Their predisposition towards economic success rates
is determined by social networks and how these networks address
specific needs. The findings is in unison with Sepulveda, Syrett,
and Lyon (2011:474). To this effect, we pose and reflect on
Sepulveda et al. (2011:474) along with Giddens' (2003:171)
structuration theory. The aforesaid scholars integrate essential
components viz structure and agency which provides a bonafide
understanding of the interface between demand and supply side of
ethnic products that determine the success of informal economic
activities of Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban.
Unlike Rath's (2007:7) view of mixed embeddedness, anecdotal
evidence provided in this study, such as Chihera's narratives,
shows that the structural synergies of mixed embeddedness are
both enabling and constraining and forms that backbone of my
participants enterprise. What is indisputable in Chihera's
narratives is that the enabling aspects of their ethnic resource
mobilization overweigh the constraining ones. This is in unison
with Giddens structuration theory which envisages the dynamic of
the structure. Mixed embeddedness is located within the structural
determinism framework owing structural elements that
determine the processes, outcomes, and future of hairdressing
business performed by Zimbabwe migrant women in Durban.
Successive defensive mechanisms
Zimbabwe migrant women in Durban are not the only hairdresser
who provides services to customers. Local nationals and other
immigrants such as Ghanaians, Nigerians and Senegalese also
provide similar services to customers in Durban (Ojong, 2005:12;
Ojong and Fomunyam, 2011:23). This implies that there is too
much competition given that services offered by the former are all
most the same with those offered by the latter. In order to survive in
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such a competitive environment, Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers in Durban employ a plethora of strategies in order to
protect their niches. The key defensive strategies found in this
study consist of protective communication techniques, marketing
strategies, price fixing and maintaining good relations with both
short and long-term customers.
Protective communication techniques
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban use unique
symbols and languages as a form of protecting their niches. They
use unique language and symbols as a means of conveying certain
messages among themselves at the same time making sure that
customers and non-hairdressers do not understand the intent and
purpose of the message. They use certain gestures, signs and in-
depth slang in order to accomplish their goals and make sure that
the message is understood among themselves within their
interstitial spatial context. Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers
in Durban use gestures and symbols such as tweaking the eye, nod
or shake the head as a substitute of the word 'no' or, 'yes'. Such
premeditated gestures are used as apparatuses of transmitting
communication among themselves and this normally happens at a
very fast pace at an unconscious level of customers and non-
hairdressers. The majority of participants confirm that they use
unique language and gestures as a way of protecting their informal
business. Commenting on the type of language they use in their
saloon in order to disguise the meaning of the messages,
Ruvarashe recounts that:
Yes, there is the language we use in saloons…If
we want to know how much a customer is going
to pay we say “arikuburitsa zvingani, makwati
anobuda mangani”. Sometimes if you hear us
saying “haisi mari idombo' it means we know
the customer she does not want to pay and no
one will want to plait her. No one will ever
understand what it means. We can even gossip
about you while you are there and you won't
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notice it. We have a certain way we
communicate that even that Zimbabweans will
not understand (In-depth interview: Ruvarashe;
24/04/2018)
Ruvarashe's narratives show that any language which proceeds
from Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers magnifies its
significance when understood by other hairdressers within the
same ethnic group. In addition, Ruvarashe's narratives show that
the language used by hairdressers is a tool of power that is capable
of creating a shield against any mistrusted customers. Zimbabwe
migrant women hairdressers are able to decide how much the
customer must pay (arikuburitsa zvingani, makwati anobuda
here?), to agree as a group whether it is a trustworthy customer
who does not hesitate to pay (haisi mari idombo). All this is said in
the presence of the customer but the customer will not realize or
know that she is under scrutiny. Such kinds of language encoded is
used to protect their informal economic activity from any
impending danger that may arouse in the presence of their
customers. In so doing, Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in
Durban use hidden language as problem-solving mechanisms.
The unique gestures and language used by Zimbabwe migrant
hairdressers is a way of creating and storing thoughts as
replications of reality. By its nature, gestures and language linked
the creators and users and used as a way of protecting their niche
from outside threats. Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers use
different types of languages only known to themselves for a
multiplicity of purpose.
Price fixing
Zimbabwe migrants in Durban appear to be predisposed to some
degree of price discrimination. Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers in Durban can certainly distinguish customers who
can pay more without complaining and those who cannot. It is a
pragmatic matter that customers have different price elasticities of
demand for hairdressing but anecdotal evidence provided by this
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101VOL. 33. NO. 2. JULY 2018 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA
study submits that some customers are more anxious with their
physical appearance and are more willing to pay any amount
without any reservation. The following is a focus group discussion
that describes price fixing behaviors employed by Zimbabwe
migrant women hairdressers in Durban:
Customers who drive big cars rarely complain
when it comes to payments and obviously, you
won't charge the normal rate. We start at a
higher rate and most of them do not complain
they pay without hesitation. The majority we
charge normal rates and sometimes even lower
rates especially if it's a quiet day. When
customers are few we charge normal rates and
we do negotiate but if it's a busy day such as in
December days or month end customers are
plenty so we charge high prices. (Focus group
discussion 1: Tanya; 09/05/2018)
The above narrative shows how price fixing is exercised by
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban. There is as the
uniform price of hairstyles agreed upon by hairdressers. There is
stiff competition in the hairdressing industry and hairdressers need
to improve and protect their strategic positions. In some instances
protecting these strategic positions happen at a very huge cost.
These women react to competitive markets by launching price
reductions christening what Leslie (2013:1695) envisage as
predatory pricing. Inasmuch as the abuse of market power in
relation to manipulation of prices is illegal from an economic
perspective, Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers utilize this
unorthodox technique as a way of protecting their niche. Reasons
could point to the fact that there are already involved in informal
economic activities and for this reason, they employ illegal means
to sustain their market power.
If there are no customers, Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers
employ an economic concept known as 'predatory pricing'. Leslie
(2013:1695) opines that predatory pricing is a strategy used to
secure monopoly profits. To put into perspective, producers charge
prices below the standard cost in order to take rid of available

102
competitors out of the market. When they are many customers, if it
is a busy day and in the event of rich customers described by Sibo
and Tanya as people who do not hesitate to pay any agreed amount
owing their financial stability, Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers charge a 'monopoly price' in order to recoup losses
obtained in the predation stage. Monopoly pricing is a valuing
procedure taken by service providers in which they price an item
to maximize their profits under the presumption that there is no
worry about competitors. Borrowing from Leslie (2013:1695),
monopoly price has outright market power and Zimbabwe
migrant women hairdressers are able to earn positive economic
profits. For this reason, they are able to maintain and sustain their
niches set against the background competitive markets. For the
avoidance of doubt, locating monopoly pricing in the context of
the above narratives is of paramount importance. Our dictum is
reminiscent of that of Leslie (2013:1695) but extends with the
decomposition that price fixing set by Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers in Durban reflects goals of improving competitive
position in the marketplace. In so doing they avert to become a
formidable competitor yet building a solid foundation of their
niches.
In as much as Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban
use price fixing as a sustaining measure, to some extent its
function can be dangerous. We reflect on an economic principle,
which affirms that to fix prices is to distort and misrepresent the
purpose of markets. We augment the said economic principle with
a sociological functionalist perspective, which holds that market
prices play a function in economic spaces, and for this reason price
fixing destroy stages of economic life. From an economic
perspective, price fixing either reduces consumption or
perpetuates the use of substitutes that may have a far-reaching
effect on both service providers and consumers. As an illustration,
if a hairdresser fixes the price, there is a high likelihood that the
quantity of consumption is also affected. Secondly, the
assumption that people who drive big cars are rich and do not
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103
hesitate to pay the high cost as alluded to by Sibo and Tanya can be
refuted to some extent. The main argument herein is that if prices
are too high, the chances that this customer might go to other cheap
hairdressers are also very high. Although my precepts can be
factual in this regards, however, no such a scenario was envisaged
by Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban. This
implies that the abovementioned hairdresser is more fascinated
with the positive attributes of price-fixing than the negatives ones.
Maintaining good relations with both short and long-term
customers.
Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers maintain good relations
with both long and short term customers. Maintaining good
communication and relations with customers is not only a good
marketing strategy but it also preserves the and sustains economic
activities of Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban.
Commenting on clients' relationship, Sibo notes that, “We keep
good communication with our clients. I have tried that and it
works for me. I always communicate with my regular clients at
least twice a week” (In-depth interview: Sibo; 25/04/2018). On the
same note, Vimbai Sene narrates that, “The best technique that I
use to protect my business is maintaining good relations with my
clients… Sometimes they call us to come and plat them at their
homes after hours and we go we don't complain so they have
gained a lot of trust in us and we know our business is protected.
(In-depth interview: Vimbai Sene; 23/04/2018).
The two narratives above shows that customer relationship
continuously provides feedback which enhances customer's
satisfaction. Bergstrom and Leppanen (2011:477) provide a
statistical rule that 20 percent of existing customers bring 80
percent of business income. In this respect, maintaining a good
relationship with existing customers will most likely preserve the
business income. This confirms Van Raaij and Stoelhorst
(2008:1282) who proclaim that good relations and interactions
between the customer and the service provider are necessary for
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10
business growth. Failure to maintain such good relationships is a
threat to the sustenance of niche markets and for this reason, the
businesses will fall into the risk of narrow horizons and stagnation.
The underlining premise herein is that by maintaining a good
relationship with short and long-term customers, Zimbabwe
migrant women hairdressers in Durban are able to uphold some
level of proactivity that is required in informal economic
activities.
Marketing strategies
Niche marketing strategy is no new phenomenon. Niche
marketing strategies as the “process of carving out, protecting and
offering a valued product to a narrow part of a market that displays
differentiated needs” (Toften and Hammervoll 2013:274) .
Various strategies to protect a nice including market strategies
were also proposed by Boon et al. (2014:794). Toften and
Hammervoll (2013:274) opine that the niche market strategy is
frequently described as a method of defensive “pull marketing”
following a set of product developed to cater for a specific niche
market. Various protective barriers are put in place to protect a
specialized specific product or customers. In the context of this
study, Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban market
themselves in the street offer discounts and have special for their
clients as well as maintaining communication with regular
customers. Commenting on their marketing strategies, Panda had
this to say:
So we have special offers for them to keep
coming back. It's just the same as what I said
earlier, that sometimes we give them special,
plait them at a cheaper price, they can also pay
half then finish the other half later. (In-depth
interview: Paida; 04/06/2018)
Tinashe concurs with Paida and adds that:
We just go outside holding our board or card
then we call customers passing by. That's how
we convince our customers. (Focus group
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discussion 1: Tinashe; 09/05/2018)
Borrowing from the narratives of Paida (In-depth interview:
04/06/2018) and Tinashe (Focus group discussion 1: 09/05/2018),
the concept of a proactive niche market strategy precisely
considering the way in which these participants make effort to be
acknowledged and become a favored hairdresser who interacts
with customers at all level. Niche marketing strategies as
protective countermeasures used by Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers in Durban to build defensive barriers. The said
participants employ a multiplicity of techniques in order to
circumvent competition with other hairdressers. These marketing
techniques include providing special offers and discounts to
clients, sitting on the streets and identifying clients with hair that
might need attention as well as making an appointment via
WhatsApp and phone calls.
Largely, this finding confirm comparable analysis provided by
Hamlin et al. (2012:1303). The authors categorize the majority of
niche market strategies as defensive and advocates for marketing
techniques that sustain such strategies. The said defensive reaction
empowers the use of niche market strategy as a proactive choice
that can, in theory, assist to outstrip other competitors. Niche
marketing strategies is a pragmatic initiative informed by a set of
economic activities of Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in
Durban. To this effect, the use of proactive niche market strategies
in the said participants is scrutinized by means of focus group
discussions and in-depth interviews outlined above. Anecdotal
evidence provided by the two research techniques demonstrates
how marketing strategies of Zimbabwe migrant women
hairdressers can allow them to accomplish profitability.
However, to some extent, what we retain in our submission is
contrary to Hamlin et al. (2012:1303) as well as Toften and
Hammervoll (2013:280). These authors reach the conclusion that
organizations and small business that embark on niche marketing
strategy are often weak, collapsing and often unable to compete in
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the market. Our entry point which is grounded from the three
narratives above contravenes the argument provided by Hamlin et
al. (2012:1303) as well as Toften and Hammervoll (2013:280). The
underpinning premise of my edict is that niche marketing strategy is
not only embraced by weak and/or collapsing organizations. There
is no evidence which suggests that hairdressing, as conducted by
Zimbabwe migrant women in Durban, is on the verge of collapsing.
Instead, services provided by this ethnic group and their level of
well-being is a symbolism of a strong ethnic group capable to
compete in the market. In this regards, we vehemently refute and
detract any claim which stresses on the idea that only weaker niche
players embark on protective barriers as an approach of
sidestepping competition. Such an argument cannot be generalized
but it should be context specific as it does not apply in some niche
players which include Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in
Durban.
Conclusion
This paper has succinctly discussed the modus operandi and the
socio-spatial milieu in which niche market in informal economic
activities operate with particular reference to Zimbabwe migrant
women hairdressers in Durban. Anecdotal evidence provided by
this paper provided extraordinary thinking about immigrants' niche
markets making recourse institutional practices and regulations
from the perspectives of Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers. In
this paper, we have engaged with relevant literature, Giddens
structuration theory (2003) and Waldinger et al. (1990) interactive
model of entrepreneurship growth. Giddens structuration theory
expresses reciprocal dependence of structure and agency and this
assist this study locate niche marketing within the structural
determinist framework. Against this backdrop, We conclusively
argue that structural synergies of mixed embeddedness as
experienced by Zimbabwe migrant women hairdressers in Durban
are both enabling and constraining and forms that backbone of their
enterprise in the host country.
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