What started out boiling has tempered down to a simmer in the much-heralded world of men’s grooming. According to The NPD Group, the market hit its peak in 2005 and has been languishing ever since, due to department store consolidation and lack of consumer education.
Shaving treatment, a staple category even for men who still can’t figure out what an exfoliator does, actually declined last year, causing retailers and market experts to take a hard look at the sector.
But just because the metrosexual concept has been declared dead doesn’t mean the grooming category is too, as NPD senior beauty industry analyst Karen Grant reminds us. “The men’s market is still in its infancy; it’s where women’s was 10 or 20 years ago,” she says.
To her point, there have been some signs of life. Even as shaving cream sales slipped, sales of moisturizers, cleansers and antiaging products all inched up last year. Says Grant, “It’s all about getting [men] to understand that this is something conducive to how they identify themselves, so it comes across as very masculine.” Hope on the horizon comes in the form of new launches from established brands.
Lancôme is introducing its antiaging men’s line this month with manly-man British actor Clive Owen, as its face. Iconic hardware brand Ace is launching a range of implements aimed at “manscaping” everything from wayward body hairs to toenails. Even the green market is anteing up, with natural brand Burt’s Bees introducing man- and Earth-friendly body and shave products this October.
But the sector’s saving grace may be the “other hair” category. (Read: thinning-hair treatments.) “Hair overall is a small component of the men’s market,” says Grant, “But it is where we are seeing the most excitement or at least activity. It’s a teeny- tiny category, but it’s growing by triple digits.”
This puts brands like Aveda at an advantage as it launches a scalp-focused hair care line this fall, dubbed Men Pure-formance. Says Heidi Norman, executive director of marketing for the brand, “Men’s scalps differ biologically from women’s. They’re thicker, more sensitive and have more oil, which can lead to dryness and flaking. This is a new platform and identity for men and for Aveda.”
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The retail landscape is also changing as men discover alternative shopping channels. Avon saw great success with its Derek Jeter Driven fragrance, so much so that the company expanded it into a full line of skin care products.
heir direct-sell competitor, Mary Kay, will counter with the introduction of MK Men, a four-item grooming and shaving line.
Finally, online destinations like Amazon.com are enticing the XY set. “We’re seeing a lot more democratization of the marketplace,” Grant observes. “There’s a lot more options out there and [men] are willing to try them out.”