Male Vanity Spurs
Development of Skin Care
Department store sales of men's products jumped
13 percent last year
Coke Whitworth / AP
Updated: 4:25 p.m. ET July 19, 2005
NEW YORK - Alex Grossman heads to the gym four
mornings a week for an hour-long workout and
shuns most carbohydrates to keep himself looking
fit and vibrant.
The 35-year old advertising executive has a
regimen for youthful skin as well: In the
morning, he washes his face with a soap-free
cleanser followed by a moisturizer and then a
sun screen. At night, he dispenses with the
sunscreen but adds an eye cream. Every week or
so he scrubs with an exfoliant.
“Your face is what people see so I want to look
as youthful and healthy as possible,” said the
San Francisco resident. “There are a bunch of
25-year olds that would love to take my job. So
to keep it I want to look as good as possible
but I also want to look good for myself.”
Whether they are prowling for promotions,
business or mates, men are becoming more
concerned about their appearance, driving up
sales of male skin care products and sparking
the development of new lines in the process.
While dismissed in some quarters as a
metrosexual fad when it first surfaced in the
late 1990's, the trend has shown staying power.
Sales of men’s skin care products sold in
department stores jumped 13 percent last year,
more than twice the total growth for the overall
and women’s skincare markets, according to NPD
Group, a marketing information company. In 2003,
revenues from men’s skin care products rose 10
percent while the women’s and total market
advanced only 6 percent.
The growth in the market isn't relegated to the
high-end products. Sales of men's skincare
products surged 68.6 percent at mass market
retailers compared to a 6 percent increase for
women's products, according to the research firm
ACNielsen. Men's shampoo and conditioner sales
rose 17 percent while the market for women and
unisex hair products was flat.
Expanding sales are driving cosmetics companies
to introduce new men's products, including
department store brands such as Shiseido and
Estee Lauder Cos.' Clinique and mass-market
lines from Avon Products, Gillette Co. and
L'Oreal.
In September, drugstore chain CVS Corp. will
introduce an exclusive line. The company
quadrupled its shelf space for men's grooming
products last year and sales are up over 20
percent this year, said Suzanne Hock, CVS'
category manager for men's grooming. The brands
don't seem to be swiping customers from one
another because the category is growing rapidly,
she said.
A shift in cultural attitudes has made it more
acceptable for men to primp and preen. Shows
like “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and
“Extreme Makeover,” and sports figures turning
up looking sleek and coiffed on television and
in magazines, are reinforcing the idea that
paying attention to grooming isn't just a
feminine trait.
“There is just more cultural pressure on men to
look good,” said Karen Grant, a marketing expert
at NPD Group.
Grant believes the boom will continue for at
least another two years because the market is
still minuscule, $59 million in sales last year,
compared to the $2.1 billion women's segment.
Marketers of men's products say many of their
customers are prompted to pay attention to their
skin by the women in their lives.
Matt Geis described himself as a typical guy,
buying “whatever was on sale.” But when a former
girlfriend didn't approve of his nonchalant
approach to skin care, he tried several products
and now uses a Nivea cleanser and moisturizer.
“I notice a difference. My skin is as smooth as
can be,” said Geis, a 33-year old bartender in
Greensboro, N.C. “People say my skin looks
good.”
Marketers say men still need to be coaxed to the
beauty counter because they either don't believe
or don't understand the products' benefits the
way women do.
A large part of promoting cleansers,
moisturizers and other facial products to men is
education, said Rob Robillard, senior vice
president of marketing for L'Oreal's L'Oreal
Paris division. For example, one recent ad for
an anti-wrinkle moisturizer in L'Oreal's new
Men's Expert line explains that hydrating can
fight wrinkles — hardly a news flash for women.
Robillard declined to say how much the company
is spending to promote the new line, but it is
running TV commercials on sports programs and
print ads across various men's and sports
magazines. Sampling at baseball stadiums is a
major component of the strategy.
Sports tie-ins are also popular with other men's
skin care products. One AVON catalogue featured
NASCAR diver Kasey Kahne, while New York Jets
quarterback Chad Pennington graced the cover of
another.
Lilliana De Stefano, director of Fine
Fragrances, Specialty Bath and Men's products at
AVON, said the company opted for sports tie-ins
because men relate to athletes and today's
players are more polished-looking than ever
before.
“These guys (sports figures) are really good
looking. They are like movie and TV stars,” said
De Stefano. “They're all dating hot models and
are groomed like never before.”
Former professional football player Fred Barnett
said he really starting paying attention to his
grooming products in the early 1990s.
He was being interviewed on a TV show and “I was
horrified by how I looked,” said the TV show
producer and radio host.
Even though he is no longer in front of the
camera, the 39-year old Philadelphia resident
says he is constantly trying new products to
keep a youthful appearance.
“I go through so many products,” he said.
|
Former
professional football player Fred Barnett is reflected in a
mirror as he uses a facial scrub. Barnett says the scrubs,
cleansers and creams he uses daily, along with watching what he
eats keeps his skin looking healthy. To read the MSNBC
Article, click here.
|
