LIQUIDS ON THE RISE

RICHARD TURCSIK

A spate of product introductions, especially on the liquid end of the business, is creating renewed consumer interest in the soap category, with liquids taking the cake. Retailers report some of that interest is being sparked by manufacturers who have been playing favorites with the liquids by featuring them more than bars in television commercials, coupons and cooperative advertising programs.

Although bars still have by far the lion's share of the category, liquids continue to gain in popularity with consumers. The relatively new body washes are being especially well received, retailers report. As a result, several retailers have reconfigured their soap aisles to give more play to the liquids.

"In the soap category the growth is in the liquid soaps, especially because they have a higher dollar ring," said Tim Henning, director of sales and marketing at Cub Foods Stores' Atlanta division, Lithia Springs, Ga. "The bar soap category as a whole is declining. It is far more economical to buy a bar of soap, but people don't want the hassle of having to handle a bar of soap and cleaning up the soap dish. People will use a bar for the shower, but have a liquid at the kitchen sink, and another liquid on the bathroom sink," he said.

"We have well over 100 varieties of soaps, in bars and liquids, and they are all geared to do different things. And the manufacturers keep introducing new items," said William Vitulli, vice president of government and community relations at A&P, Montvale, N.J.

"Our sales of liquid soaps are up moderately, and bar soaps are down marginally. The impact is that we are now devoting more space to liquid soaps and body moisturizing washes," said Emily G. Holdstein, senior vice president at Wonder Market Cos., Worcester, Mass.

According to Mark Polsky, senior vice president at Magruder Inc., Rockville, Md., "The liquids have carved out their own niche. There are people who like them and people who don't. The liquids are increasing in sales, but not by leaps and bounds. As a result, the bars are decreasing slightly."

"Bar soaps have decreased and liquid soaps have increased," said Nick Wedberg, vice president of sales and marketing at Plumb's, Muskegon, Mich. "I think that is directly correlated with the amount of advertising that the national companies are doing. They are definitely doing more toward the liquid side vs. the bar soap side." Wonder Markets' Holdstein concurred, noting, "Liquid soaps have had a lot of advertising support from manufacturers, as well as cents-off coupons, and they have been looking for co-op ads in our advertising program. I attribute their growth to the heavier promotion."

Holdstein finds liquid soaps are also cleaning up the aisle in terms of packaging design.

"The liquid soaps add some pizzazz to the soap section from a promotional as well as a packaging standpoint. They liven up the section," she said.

Liquid soaps are often more profitable for the retailer.

"We find that the liquids offer us better margins than bar soaps," said Mike Shultz, senior vice president at Hughes Family Markets, Irwindale, Calif.

Sales figures from sales tracking organizations support Holdstein's contentions that liquids are driving soap category growth.

According to Information Resources Inc., Chicago, for the 52-week period ended April 30, bar soaps accounted for $1.5 billion in sales in in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers, an increase of 0.1%. During the same period in the same classes of trade, liquid soaps had sales of $285.1 million, up 9.4%.

Figures supplied by A.C. Nielsen, Schaumburg, Ill. show that for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 10, 496 million UPC units of bar soaps were sold in supermarkets, a decrease of 7.1% from the previous year. During the same period, 75.9 million units of liquid soaps were sold, an increase of 1.1%.

Retailers find much of the increase in liquid soaps is coming from the body wash subsegment, which is geared toward women.

"We're really seeing an increase in our chain on the body washes. They have really picked up. This segment includes products from Jergen's, Oil of Olay, Dial, Lever; basically all of the manufacturers have one. They are definitely cutting into the bar soap sales. There is no doubt about it," Wedberg said.

"The latest trend in sales is the body wash, and they have increased the most in sales," said Al Young, category manager at Big Y Foods, Springfield, Mass.

"Our sales of liquid soaps continue to increase and we attribute the growth of the liquid soaps to the introductions of body washes," said Shultz of Hughes Family Markets. "As a result, we have increased our section from 8 feet to 12 feet."

"The latest trend in the soap aisle is the body washes," Holdstein of Wonder Markets agreed. "Bar soaps are trending down, while body washes and liquid soaps are up. Therefore, we are giving them more play on the shelves." Cub Foods has found success by not only resetting its soaps, but moving them into the health and beauty care department. The move appears to have spurred sales.

"Our liquid soaps are now at eye level," said Henning. "We have also moved our soap section back to health and beauty care, next to the lotions, bath oil beads, etc. We are one of the few in the Atlanta market to do this. Traditionally, in most grocery stores, you find it next to the powdered detergent section. Based on the sales results, our sales are increasing at a faster rate than the total market. So the customer says, 'That makes sense so I'll buy more soap while I'm over here in the HBC section,' " he explained.

While many retailers have reset their aisles to give more play to the liquids, Young of Big Y said the growth bubble of the liquids has burst at his chain, with New Englanders preferring the bars and body washes.

"We have cut our liquid soaps to make room for the body washes," Young explained. "In our stores, the sales of liquid soaps have fallen off compared to bar soaps. Liquid soaps make up 15% of our business. This is changing in that the consumer is going more toward refills instead of purchasing a new pump. We have downsized the SKUs from 10 pumps to the top five, and refills are also down to five.

"We find that the bar soaps are doing fine, and consumers are purchasing more bath sizes rather than the personal sizes of the bar soaps."

Young said promotions and multipacks are key to building sales in the soap aisle.

"The growth in the category comes from promoting the bath size and the complexion bars. We sell brands such as Dove, Lever 2000 and Dial in eight-packs," he said, noting that on the liquid soaps, "price points that work best are two for $3, buy-one-get-one-free or retails under $1.98."

Retailers also find seasonality in the soap aisle.

"In the summer we go into big bar soap sales because there is more outdoor activity, more athletic activity and the kids get dirtier," said Wedberg of Plumb's. "That is why all of the soap companies sell their bar soap modules in the summer. They sell them in waves during the summer and they tie in premiums and all of that stuff.