Smooth operators

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“If you look at buying decisions, the majority are happening in-store.”

How firms are racking up clean profits in the male grooming sector by tapping into new attitudes among shoppers.

Although men are increasingly appearance-focused, brands must offer them good value for money.

"As economic conditions become more challenging, men are looking more and more for good value products, both in terms of what is cheap and what is better value, such as a lower cost per shave," comments Prakash Nedungadi, marketing director - Gillette Business (AP), Procter & Gamble.

"Men are being a little more cautious and therefore the overall trend is to be looking more at value than pure consumption," he adds.

Male shoppers are shifting from more conventional appearances to "daring and snazzy" goatee styles, he says, to improve their self-expression and look good.

"Since a lot of men here are wearing the thobe, a lot of their facial expression comes through their facial features. That's why more and more men are going towards fancier goatees," he explains.

In the male grooming segment, "if you look at the sales in the last five to 10 years, it has almost doubled. We have seen sustained growth as markets have expanded with people spending more or trading up," Nedungadi reveals.

All the grooming products are showing "fairly consistent growth," he says, with young men often identified as being the biggest spenders.

"If you look at buying decisions, the majority are happening in-store. At P&G, we look at focusing on the ‘first moment of truth' and getting our in-store applications right in terms of communicating correctly our strongest claims in the store, ensuring our products are well-represented there and in as many places as possible," he says.

Although the Middle East market is well developed, there are still a lot of men who are more traditional and will go to the barber for a shave and use oud instead of aftershave.

Last October, P&G launched Gillette Fusion Phenom grooming portfolio last October, combination of the advanced technology of Gillette Fusion with a striking new design in both power and manual options. "We believe the product has very specific relevance to our geography," he says.

Gillette has used a series of brand ambassadors right through its history. It recently announced the footballer Yasser Al Qahtani as the first Arab man to be the face of Gillette in the GCC.

"Celebrities have been consistent through our history and one of the pillars of our marketing campaigns. We think it's a very useful part, but not the only part," he says.

The company is releasing a series of innovations at Gillette and exploring "the perfect shave" to educate shoppers about the ranges available and how products will be more effective when used together, for example the pre-shave products, aftershaves and razors.

"We work very closely with our trade partners and customers to make sure the way our products are represented in-store are consistent with the brand image and the claims that we want to make. With P&G, we have one of the best relationships with our customers globally and in the AP," he claims.

The main challenge is the overall economic situation, and "fortunately in Gillette, we have a range from top to mid-end, all designed to give very good value. Gillette Fusion, cost per shave is very economical; it costs SR10 for a shave in Saudi Arabia, yet less then SR for a Fusion shave."

More and more men are spending money on being attractive and well groomed, positioning male grooming as one of the fastest growing segments, according to Robert Taylor-Hughes, managing director Middle East & West Asia, Beiersdorf Middle East.

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