Male grooming - it's time for some Homme truths

The men's grooming market has certainly come a long way since the days when the height of manly sophistication was a swift shave followed by the liberal application of Hai Karate. Well-groomed style icons such as David Beckham have inspired a new generation to spruce up their act and embrace the ever-growing range of shaving gels, deodorants and even moisturisers designed with men in mind.

But although Mintel estimates that the overall market for men's toiletries reached a good-looking £806m in 2007, industry experts believe that there is still plenty of room for growth.

"The male grooming market continues to exhibit unfulfilled potential," says Datamonitor consumer markets analyst Matthew Taylor. "Its rate of growth has been steady in recent years, but has still to 'explode' as many have predicted."

The good news for retailers is that male customers are making up an increasing proportion of the 34% of c-store shoppers estimated to come into stores specifically for toiletries (source: Unilever Partners for Growth).

"Some toiletries, such as toothpaste, shower gel and deodorants are used regularly, and if customers are running low they will pop into their local store to top up," says Kimberley Green, Partners for Growth manager. And once men are in the store to seek out shaving gel they tend to stock up on other daily essentials, too. "Toiletries shoppers spend about £8.87 per trip compared with the average £5.24," continues Green. "This makes them very valuable shoppers and a category that's potentially valuable to the retailer."

While it may not be news to long-suffering wives and girlfriends, Mintel has identified that men really don't enjoy shopping for toiletries. Their research also suggests that men go to the shops only when they're running low on a certain product and prefer a self-selection environment to being hassled by shop assistants. All of which makes the typical convenience store 'grab and go' format the ideal forum for reluctant male consumers - as long as they can find what they want quickly and easily.

"In order to reach male customers it's all about getting the core range right and stocking the top sellers," says Unilever brand manager Louise Brunt. "Because customers act on impulse it's the best-selling products that you can't afford to run out of."

Unfortunately, one practical barrier c-store managers face to putting best-selling products out on the shelves is the threat of theft. Grooming products are often high-ticket items and as a result many stores put items such as razors behind the counter so they're out of reach of light-fingered shoppers. But, as Green points out, while it's important to keep stock safe it's still vital to signpost product availability elsewhere on the shop floor.

"If retailers feel it is necessary to keep high-value products behind the counter then it is critical that empty packs or a simple visual prompt of these products is positioned at the fixture stating 'ask at till',"

she says.


Price concerns


While well-known brands such as Sure, Nivea and Gillette continue to be big sellers the current economic downturn may be stopping the male grooming market from expanding as fast as marketers would like.

"The most important influencing factor on men's personal care is price," admits Datamonitor's Taylor. "There's a big contrast with the women's grooming market. Whereas some women will trade down in other areas in order to still afford their favourite grooming brands and products, the relatively low emotional connection that men feel in this sector could see them trade down personal care products in order to maintain purchases in other categories."

Brunt at Unilever sees the situation differently. "We're not seeing a tradedown in male toiletries," she states. "Men are much more likely to trade down with purchases such as electricals - toiletries still don't represent a massive amount of men's outgoings."

Fresh faces to the UK male grooming market are counting on the fact that brand loyalty will waver as penny-pinching consumers look for value products. After enjoying a 27% value growth between 2007/2008, which it claims is driven by the c-store sector, Supermax has launched a new range of razors, gels and shaving foam targeted at the what sales manager Jo Thiselton-Dyer calls "the growing £1 zone".

For retailers unsure of which products to concentrate on stocking, it might be best to stick with functional toiletries such as shampoo, deodorants, shower gel and soap which dominate men's daily routine. After all, research suggests that as a target market most men prefer to stick with what they know rather than look out for new products. However, image-conscious younger consumers are creating an appetite for fresh ideas, especially in the skincare sector.

According to Mintel, four in 10 men currently use the kind of face creams and lotions that were once associated purely with the female market. And as pressure grows on men to be well-groomed for the office, more brands are working on incorporating skincare benefits into their offer.

Nivea For Men was the first international brand to concentrate on male facial skincare. Last year saw the company relaunch the range to mark its 10th anniversary. Hot on Nivea's heels is L'Oréal's Men Expert series, which is pursuing the skincare route through anti-ageing and moisturising products.

"The skincare category is relatively immature in the men's market," says Datamonitor's Taylor. "This sector represents the greatest potential, but marketers face a tough challenge motivating men to buy products they have lived without for many years."

Brunt believes that younger men are more likely to begin introducing skincare products into their bathroom cabinets. "Men aged 45+ just don't want skincare, they've never used it and don't see why they should start. It's the 30- to 45-year-olds who are getting into these products," she says.

C-store managers might not anticipate demand for expensive moisturisers, but they will see skincare benefits sneaking into best-selling brands they already have in stock. For example, Gillette hopes to attract new customers to the skincare category with its Gillette Series range featuring scrubs and balms designed to fit into men's shaving regime.

"Half of UK men already use a skincare product, but less than a fifth actually buy a product designed for men," says Nathan Homer, brand manager at Gillette. "Gillette consumers already have great trust in the Gillette brand."

Meanwhile, Unilever is putting the focus on younger men with marketing activity for its Lynx shower gel range. "Up until now shower products have been very unisex," says Brunt. "But now we're seeing an increasing amount of 'for men' products."

Lynx is also aiming to drive value into the male deodorant category with the Lynx Bullet. The pocket-sized deodorant is currently being promoted with a cheeky campaign aimed squarely at the under-25s.