Men’s Prestige Skincare Growth Outpaces Women’s

But The NPD Group Reports Men’s Skincare Growth is Slowing

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, October 19, 2006 – Sales of men’s prestige* skincare products for the first half of 2006 reached $32 million, up three percent from the same time in 2005. It continues to grow at a time when women’s prestige skincare sales are flat for 2006.  Both the Face and Body segments posted growth for the first six months of this year, the Face segment was up five percent and the Body segment was up 22 percent versus the same time last year.

Men’s moisturizers and treatment shave represent 51 percent of the men’s total prestige skincare sales.  These two sub-segments combined had a total of $16.3 million in sales for the first half of 2006.  Facial exfoliators ranked third among men’s sub-segments with $3.7 million in sales.  Facial cleansers ranked fourth with double digit growth of 14 percent in the first six months of this year versus last year and sales totaled $3.4 million.

“Men are starting to embrace the concept of taking care of their skin beyond washing it with bar soap,” said Karen Grant, senior beauty analyst, The NPD Group.  “The products that we see in the prestige market that are doing well are those that are simple and multi-purposed, products that are part of a basic regimen, like cleansers, moisturizers and shave treatment products. Any product that requires extra steps is a much harder sell for men,” said Grant.  

While men are willing to pay a little more for their prestige skincare products year over year, the average price is much lower than the women’s market. In fact, on average, men pay 46 percent or $16 less than women for prestige skincare products. For men’s skincare, the average price for the first half of 2006 was $18.56 up three percent from last year. The average price women spend on prestige skincare for the first half of 2006 was $34.53.  

One Billion Dollar Opportunity?
The men’s prestige skincare business is relatively new to the market. According to NPD’s statistics, women’s skincare products make up 97 percent of the prestige skincare industry or about $2 billion and men’s makes up just three percent or $70 million annually.  After two years of double digit growth within men’s (2004 dollar sales were up 18% and 2005 sales were up 15%), the first half of 2006 saw just three percent growth in overall sales. Is this category hitting a plateau? When we look at the prestige fragrance industry from 2005, women’s fragrances make up 67 percent of the market or $2 billion and men’s make up 33 percent or close to $1 billion.  

“Based on the size of the men’s prestige fragrance industry, we believe men’s skincare also has the potential to be a billion dollar industry, but it’s hovering around the $70 million mark,” said Grant.  “I see this as an opportunity for the industry to go after men and broaden the user base. The most successful marketing for men when we look at fragrances, for example, is not about looking better and feeling younger, it’s about being relevant to their lifestyle and the old adage of impressing the ladies. Perhaps those are pieces that the men’s prestige skincare market is missing,” said Grant.

*Prestige Beauty products are mainly sold in U.S. Department stores.

About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,600 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, visit www.npd.com.