Putting Housewares in Order

Consumers will buy housewares while shopping for food, if the right items are put before them. 

Industry observers say it is no longer a question of whether shoppers will buy grooming tools, kitchen prep items, storage containers and other non-consumables at the supermarket, but just a matter of retailers offering the right products at appealing prices. 

“We see the consumer as the main driver of change for supermarkets and, indeed, for all retail,” says Perry Reynolds, vice president of global trade development for the International Housewares Association (IHA), based in Rosemont, Ill. “Even as consumers move purchasing online for many items, they will still frequent supermarkets in large numbers. We believe that this will give housewares in supermarkets extra attention and make merchandising those products with appropriate adjacencies in the store even more compelling.”

According to the IHA’s 2015 State of the Industry Report, the average U.S. household spent $591 on housewares in 2014, up from $584 in 2013. Supermarkets accounted for eight percent of housewares sales in 2014, down from 9.3 percent in 2013.  

There are opportunities, says Reynolds. “In our conversations with supermarket merchants and sellers we hear regularly that those merchants appreciate sellers who have a broad knowledge of the stores’ mission, its market positioning and the needs of its consumer,” he says. “Not all products are appropriate for all consumers in a supermarket setting, but buyers seem to work best with suppliers who are willing to collaborate on programs that meet their longer term needs.”

Things are moving in the right direction in grocery, says Steve Yde, divisional vice president of marketing for Wahl Clipper Corp., based in Sterling, Ill. “Retailers are realizing the value in personal care, especially when they see losses in the wet blade market,” he says. “Men are not shaving as much as they used to. Our research shows they shave two to three times a week; ten years ago they were shaving five days a week.” 

Yde says one trend that is impacting the category is the do-it-yourself trend, which includes haircutting and beard trimming at home. The market penetration of clippers is high, Yde says, with 45 percent of men owning a hair clipper. For trimmers the market penetration is higher, at 65 percent. “Even men who don’t have beards have trimmers for sideburns,” he says. 

The challenge is to get grocery retailers to stock the more premium items. Yde notes that some chains want more of the $14.99 items than the new stainless steel Lithium Ion Groomer that retails for about $60. 

According to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm, for the 52 weeks ended Nov. 1, multi-outlet sales for grooming supplies totaled nearly $330.4 million, up 0.9 percent compared to the same period the previous year. In supermarkets, sales totaled nearly $34.4 million, up six percent. In multi-outlet stores the average price per unit was $7.17, and in supermarkets the average price per unit was $5.85. 

Grocery consumers are looking for value, says Tim Stapleton, president of U.S. sales for Big Time Products, based in Rome, Ga. “The consumer doesn’t want the least value items,” he says. “A great price with low quality is not really the answer to consumers’ needs.” 

Big Time recently launched Soft Scrub Premium Fit gloves, which have anti-microbial protection and are designed to be tougher and thicker than typical reusable latex gloves. The gloves are available in blue and have a slender fit. 

Stapleton notes that supermarkets are using a “better, best” merchandising strategy because shoppers, mostly women, want one-stop shopping and they also want high-quality products. “If they buy something and they don’t like it, they are going to tell people on social media,” he says.  

Cleaning House

Cleaning product sales remain steady. According to IRI, sales of sponges totaled more than $421.1 million in multi-outlet stores, up more than two percent. In supermarkets, sales of sponges totaled more than $153.5 million, up 0.9 percent. Sales of mops and brooms were up 1.7 percent in multi-outlet stores, surpassing $2 billion, and in supermarkets mop and broom sales were up 1.6 percent, to more than $488.5 million. 

Consumers are looking for assortment, says Michael Silverman, senior vice president of marketing for Butler Home Products, based in Marlborough, Mass. “Not all consumers have one way to clean and they want the product that they want,” he says. “Our expanded assortments allow for that.” 

Butler has several new products. The Dawn Wiping Sponge is a larger format cellulose sponge designed for cleaning countertops and tables. The Clorox Spin Dry Mop and Bucket system is an all-in-one solution for mopping. In the lint category, Butler is expanding the Belle Vie lint roller line with spring patterns, and in the pet category there are new Fur Erase sponges and gloves. “These are all perfect for the grocery trade,” says Silverman. “Each category has a strong presence in grocery and helps round out the product assortment currently on the market.” 

Household formation is another trend that is helping the housewares category. “The marketplace continues to shift and twist to the changing dynamics of the American household,” says Steve Throssel, president and CEO of Eldora, Iowa-based Whink Products Co. If Millennials are still living at home with their parents, the young adults are not forming new households. “This has huge consumer purchasing implications.”

Still, there is a need for cleaners that have specific uses. Whink recently launched Game Stain Remover detergent to complement the presoak the company launched in 2014. Whink is private labeling both for the national outdoors brand Mossy Oak. Whink also launched a more general use Lime and Rust Stain Remover to replace LimeBuster.

While cleaning products are everyday necessities, other housewares such as candles are more impulse driven. Fayetteville, Ark.-based Hanna’s Candles offers retailers a user-friendly floor display for merchandising. “The employee opens up the shipper box and it’s ready to go,” says Helen Hattabaugh, marketing and product development manager for Hanna’s Candles. The display has trays that serve as shelves, and can hold the company’s jar candles, warmers, melts and other products. 

One trend in candles that can help grocery sales is that food-related fragrances are very popular now. The flavors that shoppers find in everything from gourmet jams and jellies to condiments are now translated to the candle aisle, says Hattabaugh. 

That attention to consumer trends is one potential advantage that grocery has. Grocery is more focused in its product selection, says Mike Rojewski, vice president of sales for Cool Gear International, based in Plymouth, Mass. “The grocers that are successful are the ones that have identified specific profiles that work in their specific marketplace in the areas they serve,” he says. “If you establish what works for your guest, it is simpler and easier to go deeper than offering a myriad of choices in design and brand.” 

Among Cool Gear’s new products is the 18-ounce Double Wall Soda Bottle, a cold drink bottle that mimics the design of a soda bottle. Cool Gear also offers chillers, tumblers, double walled water bottles and infusers that mix fruit in water all appeal to Generation Y. “The products Millennials buy are a reflection of their personality,” says Rojewski. “The generations before them taught them to reuse and recycle, and there is a unique flair to the products too.”