Men just want to look good

Men's skincare has enjoyed steady growth in emerging markets since 2005, sparking a wave of new products coming to the market.

Nielsen Data found the local market, worth just Bt400 million in 2005, was valued at Bt1.08 billion last year.

L'Oreal Thailand expects it to grow by 25 per cent this year.

Like the women's market, it is broken up into segments, including facial care, body care, hair care and toiletries.

The one area it commands, which is distinct from women, is its grooming segment.

In areas such as hair care, facial care and facial moisturiser, sub-segments have been created by players who serve specific groups.

In the future, the men's market is expected by some to grow to the size of the women's market.

"Men always want to look good. They want to look tidy and clean. It has an effect on their private and working lives," said Natica Thansukranunt, Beiersdorf (Thailand)'s product manager for Nivea for Men.

"Even with the tough economic conditions today, spending in this area has not been affected."

Of course, players in the market have been major factors in driving its growth.

They have been working hard to build awareness and are moving to persuade men to use products that are purely developed for male users to get them to stop sharing products bought by female family members.

Beiersdorf started introducing its first facial product in 2001.

In 2003, when it launched its second product in the Q10 group, it used heavy television commercials, urging men who stay up late to use Q10 anti-ageing products.

In 2005, it launched a whitening series made for Asian men who may prefer to sport fairer skin.

Since then, many players like L'Oreal and Bio Consumer have begun to enter the market pool.

So many brands were launched that The Mall Department Store decided to capitalise on the trend by giving the products their own space.

When it renovated its Bang Kapi store, it gave a separate area to men's products.

The chain gradually added similar spaces at other branches, including upscale outlets such as The Emporium and Siam Paragon.

Zen Department Store, located in CentralWorld and operated by Central Group, also began using separate areas for men's care products.

The boom is also attributed to media coverage, especially by men's magazines that educate readers on how to use the products.

Since 2005, the market has grown 20-30 per cent a year and is expected to enjoy two-digit growth for years to come.

Methee Jarumaneeroj, marketing communications manager for P&G Thailand, said many men's sub-markets showed stronger growth than their female counterparts.

"Men don't want to make the kind of effort females go through. They are less willing to work hard on skin care. They need products that are simple to use," Claude Rumpler, L'Oreal's managing director, said.

"Price is not their major concern," Methee said. Although the market is growing, not all players are expected to succeed.

P&G focuses on Gillette razors and Head & Shoulders shampoos.

"Current males take better care of their appearances amid a health trend but we don't know how long this fad will last," Methee said. The company still keeps a lookout for new products and conducts studies in regional markets as well, he said.

The top players share the view that men today are placing more emphasis on using such products.

Some men still use products made for women, said Natica. She found 74 per cent of men surveyed used products made for women while 62 per cent said they shared moisturising products with female partners.