Male Prowess

CHRISTINA VEIDERS

Men's grooming, which crosses several health and beauty care categories, has long been considered a growth segment with lots of untapped potential for mass market retailers.

The drug channel holds the leading sales position in male grooming products with a 43% share of the $1.5 billion market, according to a 2010 men's grooming report from research firm Mintel International.

“Men are oriented toward a quick trip or a specific fill-in trip and not a stock-up trip. Drug stores are c-stores on steroids with all of the men's grooming solutions and all the other types of HBC solutions that men are looking for,” said Don Stuart, chief operation officer, Kantar Retail, Weston, Conn.

Drug store operators have taken a chapter from department stores when it comes to HBC merchandising, which includes expanded grooming sections for men. Notably, New York drug chain Duane Reade, owned by Walgreen Co., installed dedicated men's grooming sections with prominent dark blue signage. This complements the drug chain's ‘Look Boutique’ rolled out last year that features upscale beauty lines. In the men's grooming section, the chain carries popular mass market brands as well as exclusives such as Anthony Logistics For Men lines in Sport and Body Essentials, retailing in the $10-$18 range.

H.E. Butt Grocery Co., San Antonio, Texas, is proving food retailers are capable of doing more than placing products on the shelf. In partnership with Procter & Gamble, H-E-B began testing Men's Zone, a dedicated store-within-a-store concept launched in early 2010 at several of its San Antonio locations. H-E-B declined to comment to SN on the concept. P&G could not be reached for comment. SN confirmed that two of the initial test locations in Boerne and Shertz still exist.

Men's Zone, which uses design elements found in department store beauty merchandising, received publicity in local media when the section first debuted. The San Antonio Express-News called the concept “a man cave filled with toiletries.”

Men's Zone stands out. An arching silver entrance and 20 feet of blue-lit aisles stocked with over 500 personal care products for men sets the section apart from traditional HBC aisles. An end-aisle flat screen TV, naturally tuned into sports, is said to entice guys into the zone. Small touch-screens with grooming tips and product advice are positioned at eye-level through the aisle. The section is categorized by body wash, hair care, deodorant, fragrance, shaving, shave care and electric shavers. For those seeking pricey fragrances, they can be found in a locked glass cabinet containing brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Vera Wang, Michael Kors, Sean Jean, Hugo Boss, Diesel and Issey Miiyake.

“Men are likely to purchase a product if they see how it works and if it is prominent with messages such as ‘here's stuff for your morning routine, your afternoon routine and your going-out routine,’” a P&G spokeswoman told the San Antonio Express-News at the time of the launch.

P&G said it chose the San Antonio area to debut the Men's Zone because of its large Latino population, which spends more money on general grooming.

H-E-B and P&G reported a significant sales lift of 11% for all men's products, and a 37% increase in body washes. However, it is unknown from what base these numbers are derived or if such increases have been sustained in the past year.

One shopper, commenting on his experience shopping the Men's Zone, wrote in Cup O' Mambo, a hispanic marketing blog, that the zone was “off the mark.”

“I've gone in several occasions to visit 3 of the Men's Zone locations. With each visit to each of the stores, I saw Anglo men confused by the sections, shaking their heads in a confused manner, and walking on. Further, many of them were wearing Wrangler jeans, had long side burns and most all, boots. I didn't see Hispanic men shopping/buying from these stores. It was mostly women doing all the buying.”

Jim Wisner, president, Wisner Marketing Group, Libertyville, Ill., concurred that women make the shopping decisions even when it comes to men's grooming.

“Guys aren't real good at making those decisions but their significant others are. If you put products out in a context — other than just finding products on a shelf — then all of a sudden you've created a need state, an opportunity and a solution for somebody who says ‘I've got to get something for my husband.’”

Most analysts give H-E-B credit for taking a chance in the men's grooming segment.

“Grooming sections are already established at mass and drug outlets, but grocery is a key upside opportunity,” said Stuart.

“H-E-B, based on Kantar's PowerRanking report, has always been a top player in terms of being progressive, innovative and marketing driven. I couldn't think of a better and more flexible partner to test the Men's Zone than H-E-B,” he added.

STATE OF THE MARKET

Men's grooming sales have slowed since the halcyon days of the metrosexual and his self-awareness about enhancing his appearance. Mintel estimates the male grooming sector grew 1.4% between 2009-2010 to $1.5 billion at mass market outlets, including food chains but excluding Wal-Mart Stores.

The recession, high unemployment and less disposable income have hurt men's grooming sales and forced men to stay on a budget.

Grooming segments that suffered sales declines are shaving lotion, talc, cologne and skin care, according to Mintel.

“The poor economy has caused many men to forgo products that may be viewed as unnecessary, especially because many shaving lotions now feature moisturizers that soothe skin post-shave. Competition from scented body sprays such as Axe [Unilever] has also hurt sales,” Mintel stated.

While drug stores were the top channel for men's grooming, generating $646 million during the year, the channel failed to increase sales of men's grooming products.

Sales at food, drug and mass merchandisers combined — excluding Wal-Mart — grew 2.5% to $899 million. The increase in men's grooming is said to come from mass merchandisers who were aggressive on pricing during a poor economy. While Wal-Mart sales figures are not included in Mintel's report, the researcher said the increases came from mass merchandisers, mainly Wal-Mart. Both Wal-Mart and Target have reportedly upgraded the design of their HBC departments making them more consumer-centric and easy to shop with wider aisles and clean signage.

According to a Mintel consumer analysis, some 40% of men who buy grooming products buy them at Wal-Mart, concluding that the economy is prompting many men, especially younger ones who are likely to have lower incomes, to seek value when shopping for grooming products. Those earning $25,000 or less are the most likely to shop at Wal-Mart, further emphasizing the importance of price, especially for low-income men impacted by the economy.

But aside from the recession's impact, Mintel noted a certain apathy among men towards grooming products, with some paying little attention to it or relying on products that are on hand rather than gender-specific. That means for further growth to occur marketers will have to bring in new customers through product innovation, new grooming regimens and frequent replacement cycles, Mintel stated.

On the plus side for future growth, the number of men in the United States is expected to grow by 5% between 2010 and 2015. However, the aging population will be a factor. Those aged 65-74 will increase by 26.4%, and those aged 75 and older will grow by 8.6%.

“Guys will go kicking and screaming as they get older,” said Wisner. “Certainly the boomer generation — compared to their parents — are more attuned to fighting age. Plus, you have the straight forward differences in physical needs as you age. Skin care usage tends to increase. You also have people living longer so the timeline for these products getting into use and continuing use and growth is longer than it was a generation ago. Factor that into men's grooming. It's not just product usage, but how long are men using products and when in the life cycle did they start buying them. That is what some of the manufacturers are looking at. This could be a long-term uptick for men's grooming.”

Certainly the economy has not deterred the launch of new men's products and line extensions, which are backed by hefty marketing campaigns.

“At both the high and low ends of the market, new men's grooming products try to provide tangible benefits based on appearance, specific body needs and ethical concerns,” Taya Tomasello, a Mintel beauty analyst, told SN.

So despite a slow-down and some marketing hurdles, researchers and analysts see future growth in the men's grooming sector with supermarkets having an opportunity to capture future growth.

“Supermarkets have the advantage of foot traffic, regular visits and converting those visits into additional basket rings. Men's grooming is a great opportunity for that and we see more anticipated growth in this area in the future,” said Stuart.