Razor Thin

MATTHEW ENIS

Health and beauty care department managers and product suppliers will probably look back at the years between 2004 and 2007 as the time when men started paying a lot more attention to their appearance. Dollar sales of male-specific HBC products grew by 9% during that period, according to Chicago-based market researcher Mintel, and guys seemed to be willing to try a lot of new things, ranging from body sprays and premium shampoos to anti-aging creams and all-natural hair gels.

Those years may have worked the industry into a lather, but the recession made the segment's growth razor thin. In 2008 and 2009, men's HBC overall showed “less than 1% growth per annum, reflecting the general economic downturn and increasingly tight discretionary spending,” noted an October 2009 Mintel report on “Men's Toiletries.” Worse still, when one accounts for inflation, sales of men's HBC products in the food, drug and mass channels “actually declined in all years other than 2006, indicating that the growth in men's products is not strong enough to outpace inflation.”

For now, many men's HBC items appear to be treading water, with flat sales mirroring performance in comparable unisex and women's lines. But, retailers may see new opportunities begin to emerge for this once promising category as the economy improves.

Drug stores and mass merchants have continued to siphon men's HBC sales away from supermarkets. According to consumer research from Mintel, “Wal-Mart is the most common location for purchase of men's grooming products, with 45% of male respondents having purchased grooming items there.”

The percentage of men who shop for HBC products at Wal-Mart drops sharply in older age groups, but these groups also tend to frequent drug stores more often. Men over 45 are “significantly more likely to purchase their grooming products from a supermarket/grocery store than at Wal-Mart,” and “over-65s are slightly more likely than younger respondents to purchase their grooming products at a drug store.”

Judging by these responses, the report draws the conclusion that younger men tend to be more value conscious when it comes to grooming and HBC products. Older men tend to favor convenience, and will pick up HBC products while they're shopping for food or filling prescriptions, even if they know that the same products cost less at a mass merchant.

Men also tend to be fairly set in their ways when it comes to brand loyalty and grooming routines. More than 50% of male respondents to the Mintel survey said that they rarely change the products or brands that they prefer for grooming, and less than 7% said they regularly try new products.

One expert, who has previously held marketing and education coordinator positions for two major skin care brands, noted that these factors tend to affect the time and energy that suppliers devote to marketing products to men — particularly premium products.

“Ten years ago when I was working in skin care, the male market only represented 2% to 3% of our overall business numbers. Needless to say, some of the brands I worked with put less time and focus into men's skin care marketing as it represented such a smaller market share,” said Billy Lowe, who currently owns and operates a salon in Hollywood, Calif.

Lowe added that one of the biggest challenges for suppliers of men's products — particularly high-end products — is that men are often reluctant to ask for advice. As a result, he said that higher-end products are starting to migrate to salons, where customers have established relationships with the staff.

“One of the biggest factors is that men don't know how to approach ‘the counter’ or how to communicate with women behind the make-up counter to ask about their skin care needs,” he said. “More and more, salons are carrying skin care because men already have a relationship with their stylist, and they feel more comfortable asking their hair stylist about skin care or grooming than they would walking up to a make-up counter to ask questions about their grooming routines.”

The Mintel report offers a similar assessment, noting that when it comes to trying something new in this category, men appear to be heavily influenced by recommendations from their spouse, stylist or friends, rather than by advertisements or endorsements by celebrities and sports figures, for example.

“This reliance on word of mouth makes getting products into people's hands extremely important when targeting younger men. Samples sent not only to men themselves, but also to stylists and household decision makers, and creating a buzz around products may be more influential than big-budget traditional media,” the report reads.

This angle could bode well for supermarkets. Basically, men tend to be reluctant to try new HBC products, and reluctant to ask for advice about HBC products. But, they are willing to try new items based on professional recommendation, or when given a sample. Staffing, service and sampling aren't traditional strong suits of mass merchandisers. So, supermarket HBC departments may have a better opportunity to bump up sales of new, higher-end brands through special promotions and sampling programs.

BRIGHTER FUTURE

While total category sales have been flat, there are a few bright spots as well. During the 52 weeks ending Nov. 29, 2009, several products performed well in the food, drug and mass channels, according to data from Information Resources Inc., Chicago.

The growth of these products — particularly the “Infused” shaving gels with their interesting list of all-natural ingredients — could indicate that the potential for growth in higher-end men's grooming products is still there, and may have only stalled temporarily due to the recession.