Cosmetic Report of Pakistani Company
1.1.
Background and problem:
Every
one wants to be beautiful. The global world we are living in sets
stereotypes that
become
models. Models that are over represented all around us: in the
magazines, on the
television,
in the fashion shows, in the commercials, in the streets and even at
work or at
school.
It is a fact, everybody wants to look like the magazines’ figures,
men as well as
women:
a perfect skin and a perfect body for a perfect life.
This
growing concern is a gold mine for the cosmetic brands.
But
how to define cosmetics? Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the
beauty of the
human
body. It implies psychologically that you are compensating for
something you do not
have.1
Cosmetics
include products such as shampoos and soaps as well as make-up, hair
cares
and
perfumes.2
The
women market is running since a large number of years whereas the
business of selling
cosmetic
for men is booming since a couple of year. The male body, before
eclipsed by its
female
counterpart, is more and more shown off in the media, advertisement
or the cinema.
Nowadays,
men are more conscious of their body and the need to conform to the
injunctions
of
youthfulness, healthiness, and thinness which make them go from
“sanitarians to body
aesthetics”3.
The development of fashion magazines for men reinforces this new
concern of
the
men for their appearance. The explosion of the male press in general
goes hand in hand
with
the one of consumption of beauty products for men. Thus, the men
conform more and
more
to certain patterns of beauty and are more sensitive to the
cosmetics, like products
enable
them to improve their appearance, to put it in scene, to dramatise
it.4
However,
although men use more and more cosmetics, it is estimated that their
products are
still
bought at 80% by their wife5.
But, even if market research suggests that the women
expect
their companions to take care of their appearance also, some still
fear that the purchase
1
E:\Susan's
Place Transgender Resources for Transsexuals and Crossdressers
Library The Politics of
Makeup.htm-
12/04/07
2
http://www.pgbeautyscience.com/en_UK/sustainability/cosmeticdefinition_en.html
3
Lipovetsky,
www.pug.fr/extrait_ouvrage/Ebeau.pdf
-
Le
crépuscule du devoir, l’éthique indolore des nouveaux
temps
démocratique, Gallimard - 12/04/07
4Maffesoli,
Au creux des apparences, pour une éthique de l’esthétique –
Plomb – 12/04/07
5
Data
panel, Europe, TGI Europa, 2002 -
12/04/07
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
8
of
cosmetic products call into question their virility, associating them
to a female, effeminate
or
homosexual universe; the stereotypes seem to have the hard life!
Indeed, the body,
appearance,
and the beauty reflect to the game of seduction and consequently with
sexuality
and
the object or rather about the desire: women versus men. Therefore,
as research remain
relatively
seldom when talking about cosmetics for men, it seemed important to
understand
what
these terms mean today for the men, considering the evolution of
mores and mentalities
on
the one hand, and of their orientation or preference for one or the
other sex, on the other
hand.
In fact, men do not have the same “cosmetic” speech obviously as
the women (Solomon
and
al.1998), which explains certain failures of products due to
packaging considered to be
too
feminine or inadequate smell. Also, it can be supposed that the
heterosexuals do not have
the
same uses and experiences of this category of products as the
homosexuals.
Obviously,
many differences exist between the market of cosmetics for women, and
the one
for
men. Thus, the firms have had to adapt their marketing strategies to
this new target to lead
them
buy their products. Those adaptations touch all the areas of the mix
marketing: product,
communication,
place and price.
1.2.
Purpose:
The
behaviour of the men is not easy to understand and is actually the
core of this work. The
focus
will be on the relationship that men have with self-appearance and
cosmetics or beauty
care
product. Some said that men were not ready to use cosmetic products
whereas others
considered
the mentalities ready to face a boom in this market. Is it relevant
to talk about one
mentality?
Or is it rather better to define different targets with different
needs and wants? And
therefore
different marketing strategies?
To
answer those questions, this study will focus on the customer
behaviour and more
precisely,
on developing the self-concept theories: self-esteem and self-image.
Self concept is
the
totality of the individual thoughts and feelings having reference to
himself6.
The self
esteem
is part of self-concept: It is in connexion with the need for an
individual to be
recognized
by himself and by the others. It is an element about the ability for
a person to
assert
himself, to look at him, to assume his mistakes and his regrets, to
love himself and thus
to
be self-confident.7And
finally, the self-image is the mental picture someone has about
himself,
based on experiences or on the internalization of others’
judgments.8
6
Morris
Rosenberg, Conceiving
the Self,
New York: Basic Books, 1979
7
Christopher
J. Mruk, Self-esteem
Research, Theory, and Practice,
third edition, 2006, p 8
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
9
After
having defined those theories, the next part will wonder about the
mechanisms that link
the
customer and the self-esteem. As a matter of fact, the self esteem is
directly influenced by
the
use of cosmetics: the purpose will be to identify in which extent
self esteem influence the
men
behaviour.
1.3.
Delimitations:
The
paper’s limitations are firstly that the product’s offer will not
be analysed, because the
study
will rather focus on the demand since the topic is more in connexion
with the customer
behaviour.
Then, all the different kinds of products will not be studied.
Indeed, it is
considered
that perfume is not representative enough; those products are already
common in
the
male gender. Therefore the focus will be on the cosmetics that have
had a late
development
such as the moisturizing creams, the scrubs etc. The inquiry is
mainly
concerning
the European market. Nevertheless, there are also in the survey some
answers
from
people from the USA, Turkey, Pakistan and China.
The
cultural dimension is quite obvious in the inquiry; the consumption
of cosmetics products
is
probably not the same in every countries according to cultural
dimensions. However it has
been
decided not to consider this dimension, firstly because it would be
too complicated, and
then
because the most important is the main tendency in the global market.
1.4
Plan:
The
first part of this study is a market and product analysis: the
history of this market, the
different
actors and the main trends in the marketing mix. Then, the second
part is about the
customer’s
behaviour by considering the evolution of the mentalities, the taboos
still present
in
the today’s society. This part will be finished by presenting the
different types of
cosmetics’
customers. This customer behaviour will be then analyzed through the
self-esteem
theory
and finally, the theoretical data will be compared with the empirical
ones: the survey.
Those
parts are considered to be the most interesting since so far, no
studies have treated the
link
between the self concept’s theories and the use of cosmetics for
the male gender.
8
Rogers,
T.B., Kuiper, N.A., Kirker, W.S. (1977) Self-Reference and the
Encoding of Personal Information,
Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology,
35,
677-688
2.1.
Method
2.1.1.
Deductive and inductive approaches
A
research can be deductive or inductive.
The
inductive inquiry means that theories are developed from specific
observations. A
deductive
inquiry is a model in which theories are developed on the basis of
general
principles.
As
general principles were used to develop the first part of the study
and for the theory, the
adopted
approach was a deductive one. Nevertheless, specific observations
were also used
thanks
to the questionnaire: as a consequence, both of the approaches have
been adopted.
2.1.2.
Qualitative and quantitative approaches
A
quantitative research is a method based on statistic data’s
gathering via questionnaires or
surveys,
in order to know the general public tendency.9
A
qualitative research is the second research method, which evaluates
information about
opinions
and values, at the contrary of statistic data.10
To
answer to the problem, the choice was to collect information about
the global market in a
first
part, concerning the market’s history and its facts and its actors,
and about the marketing
mix.
The second part is about the consumer behaviour and then the theory
about the selfconcept
is
developed. To check the theory, a questionnaire has been made, to see
what the
global
tendencies are.
As
these statistic data have been used, the approach was quantitative.
It was relevant to use a
concrete
survey to illustrate and to compare with the theory. Also, it is
interesting to have
proper
and unique results, rather than use only already done surveys.
9http://www.google.fr/search?hl=fr&rlz=1T4SKPB_frSE213SE213&defl=fr&q=define:Recherche+quantitative
&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title,
visited on 13th of May 2007
10http://www.google.fr/search?hl=fr&rlz=1T4SKPB_frSE213SE213&q=define%3ARecherche+qualitative&met
a,
visited on 13th
of
May 2007
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
11
2.2.
Type of research
Exploratory
research allows determining the best research design, data collection
method and
selection
of subjects. It is often in connexion with secondary data collection
or qualitative
approaches.
The results of exploratory research are not usually useful for
decision-making by
themselves,
but they can provide significant insight into a given situation. 11
Descriptive
research describes data and characteristics about the population or
phenomenon
being
studied. It is used for frequencies, averages and other statistical
calculations. 12
The
adopted approach for this survey is a descriptive one, because it is
concerning the
phenomenon
of the men’s cosmetics consumption. Data and characteristics have
been used,
from
secondary and primary data collection method. The aim of this study
is to describe and
analyse
them in order to better understand this phenomenon.
2.3.
Population and sample
2.3.1
Population
Obviously,
as the survey is about understanding the relationship between men and
the
cosmetics
world, the choice of focusing the questionnaires on men, and more
especially on
young
ones was relevant.
At
the beginning of the research, it has been decided to interview
Swedish men: 2 targets were
chosen
for these questionnaires: People aged between 18 and 25 years old,
generally students.
They
would have been picked up at the university for example. It was quite
sure that they
used
cosmetics whatever they were. But, then, it seemed that the brakes to
the consumption of
cosmetics
for men more concerned the former generation, that is to say men aged
more than
45
years old. It had been chosen to question 50 persons of each group
(100 in total) in the city
of
Halmstad, the university, and the city-centre, in the next weeks.
However,
as the research was going on, it has been discovered that this market
is developing
since
few years and is a quite European tendency (Western Europe). So, it
could be interesting
and
quite relevant to focus the survey on a mixed population of men from
different countries.
Moreover,
young men between 20 and 35 years old tend to be the most receptive
to the
market.
So, the chosen population was young men between 18 and 25 years old.
2.3.2.
What sampling method is used?
To
sample is to use a subset of the population in order to represent the
whole population.
Probability
sampling or random sampling is a technique in which the probability
of getting
any
particular sample may be calculated. But, for the work, it has been
decided to choose a
non
profitability sampling. Performing non profitability sampling is
considerably less
expensive
than doing probability sampling, and the result have a limited value.
The
generalizations
obtained from a non probability sample must be filtered through one’s
11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploratory_research,
visited on 13th
May
2007
12
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descriptive_research,
visited on 13th
May
2007
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
12
knowledge
of the topic being studied. The convenience sampling is one of non
probability
sampling,
and is the one that was chosen for the survey. The members of the
population are
chosen
based on their relative ease of access. Here, the sample was Erasmus
friends.13
So,
by combining both trends (men from different countries and 18-25
years old, the “new”
Target
appeared. Being in Halmstad for an exchange program was very useful.
Thus,
students
form Halmstad University, Swedish ones and Erasmus ones, which are
for most of
them
coming from Western Europe (Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Sweden…)
and who
are
between 18 and 25 years old will be interviewed. It has been decided
to administrate 110
questionnaires
in total in order to have a good representation.
2.4.
Instrument/technique to collect data
2.4.1
Secondary data collection:
This
concerns all data that have already been found by someone else, for a
different purpose
from
you.14
Secondary
data were used in the first and second part, concerning the global
market of men’s
cosmetics,
and also when developing the theory about self-concept.
To
collect the secondary data, many sources were used. Firstly, some
books of marketing and
psychology
were taken at the library in order to talk about self-concept theory,
self-esteem
and
about the consumer behaviour in General.
Also,
many really interesting articles from the Internet were found, about
for instance the
men’s
cosmetics market in facts and figures, the offer and the supply, the
link between
cosmetics
and self-concept.
Finally,
the university database has been used to find some information about
social
construction
of masculinity
2.4.2
Primary data collection:
Here,
you collect data yourself using methods as questionnaires or
interviews. The advantage
is
that the collected data is unique, so it gives all its importance to
the work.15
Primary
data is used in the third part. The technique chosen is a survey
realized with the help
of
questionnaires (instrument). The purpose of the survey is to check if
the theory is
conforming
to the research’s results (reality).
2.4.2.1The
questionnaires (cf. annexe 12)
First
of all, it should be precised that the questionnaire could have been
more relevant if focus
only
on the “new men’s cosmetic product” rather than including the
basics one. Indeed, we
included
products such as shaving foam, shower gel, deodorant that should not
have been
included
for a consistent concern. Moreover, when talking about shower gel or
deodorant, we
are
obviously convinced that most of men use it, but we were more
thinking about products
specifiquely
made for men.
13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonprobability_sampling,
visited on 13th
May
2007
14
http://brent.tvu.ac.uk/dissguide/hm1u3/hm1u3fra.htm,
visited on 9th May 2007
15
http://brent.tvu.ac.uk/dissguide/hm1u3/hm1u3fra.htm,
visited on 9th May 2007
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
13
A
questionnaire about a score (twenty) questions was built. It is a
funnel-shaped questionnaire
that
is to say that it begins from the more general information such as
the age and the
nationality
and then, asks questions about the consumptions habits of the
respondents such as
what
kind of products they bought, the brand that they like, the budget,
the place where they
bought
them…. And finally, it finishes by questions about consumer
behaviour: Why do they
use
or not cosmetic? If they feel more self-confident or guilty by buying
and using cosmetics?
If
they fear to be consider as a homosexual by using cosmetics?
At
the beginning, the questionnaires had much more questions like: What
cosmetics means
for
you? Or, questions about the purchase frequency… But, it was chosen
to put them away
because
it seemed that it was necessary to ask direct questions, easy to
answer… And
moreover,
the important purpose was to link it with the theory which is much
more about the
consumer
behaviour and the self-esteem.
Another
problem happened when building the questionnaire concerned the people
who would
use
cosmetics and the one who would not. In fact, they had to be
separated, but at the same
time,
some questions were relevant for both. And after some discussions, it
was finally found
how
to organize the questionnaire for both targets.
The
types of questions used were for the most “closed” questions but
with a multiple choice
which
enable to guide the respondents to answers relevant for the link with
the theory. All of
the
information found in the secondary data enables to build the question
and the possible
answers.
Just a few opened questions were used for the age, the nationality
and the budget.
Here
is the table showing the category of information and the specific
information asked in
the
questionnaire:
Information
Category General information, Consumptions habits, Consumer
behaviour
Demographic
Age,
Nationality
Consumptions
habits Use or not cosmetics,
Mens
or womens products,
Kind
of products,
Products
typical for men,
How
long the use,
The
brands,
The
place to buy them,
The
budget,
The
purchasing advisor,
The
decision-making process through the product’s
characteristics
Consumer
behaviour
(psychographic)
The
reason for using or not cosmetics,
Guiltiness
by bying cosmetics
Self-confidence
Self-image
Men
or women area
Virility
Homosexuality
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
14
2.4.2.2.
The administration of the questionnaires
Before
everything, it was important to pre-test the questionnaire with ten
or so persons in
order
to see if the analysis was relevant or not, and in this case, if it
will be important to
modify
some questions. The pre-test was relevant. Often, people were
surprised by the absent
of
perfumes in the answers. But, it was a thinking choice because
perfumes for men, even if
they
are cosmetics, exist since a long time. And the survey is more about
cosmetics such as
skin
cares…that appear few years ago.
The
questionnaires were administrated by two methods:
By
going to the different students’ houses and ask directly to the
Erasmus (male) student to
fill
out the questionnaires. Also by going to the university to attend
some courses,
questionnaires
were given to the classmates. But, the problem was that sometimes,
the
Erasmus
were not in their house, so coming back later would have been a great
idea. But the
time
was running out so, it has been decided to complete the investigation
by new
technologies!!!
Another problem was that lots of interviewed people were more than 25
years
old,
so they could not be included in the survey. That is why the first
question was about the
age,
in order to see directly if the respondent belongs or not to the
sample. And if not, they
were
nicely thanked and putted out from the survey!
Using
e-mail was very helpful. The questionnaires have been sent to friends
in France and
also
to all the Erasmus (male) student that were in Halmstad the last
semester.
With
all of these means, more than one hundred in total questionnaires
were easily collected.
2.4.3.
Instrument used to analyze the empirical data
To
analyse data, the Sphinx software was used. This software is
specialized in data’s
treatment
and analysis and realises automatically graphs and results.
But
the analysis of the results of the questionnaires will be developing
in the last part of the
work.
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
15
The
market of men’s cosmetic is relatively a new market. So, it is
interesting to study the
beginning,
when this market was considered as a niche market, until the rapid
development
nowadays.
It seems to be also interesting to try to forecast in a mid-term the
evolution of this
market
and understand why the growth will probably continue these following
years.
3.1.1.
History
3.1.1.1
Origin of the appearance of this new market
Niche
market
The
definition of a niche market is that the product interests just a few
people. The target is
represented
by a limited segment and, in order for the market to be profitable,
only one or two
companies
can be positioned on this specialized segment.16
In
the market of hygiene and beauty for men, and especially in the
cosmetics, the offer has
been
ignored by the cosmetics brand for a long time. In fact, until the
end of the 1990s, beauty
products
for men were almost non-existent on the market. They did not have a
special space
the
stores and the men strictly used products in a utilitarian aspect.
This market has interested
just
a few brands because it was considered as a niche. Only the group
L’Oréal had the
courage
to launch itself in this segment in 1985 with Biotherm Homme. This
brand is
considered
like a pioneer in the men’s’ cosmetics. In fact, Biotherm was
almost alone for
more
than 15 years, and it is the first one which dares to proclaim that
men also need to take
care
of themselves, to clean their skin, combining the pleasure and the
wellness by using
creams,
lotions, even anti-wrinkle creams.
16
Kotler
et Dubois (2004), Marketing Management, p.304
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
16
In
the 90s, Nickel, an exclusive brand for men, launched an offensive by
creating masculine
beauty
institutes. Then, in 1996, it launched its own line for men only. In
fact, thanks to the
succeed
of its institutes, the brand noticed an real capacity and opportunity
in this market.
This
new brand bound to men only knew how to enter in this market, thanks
to its concept
composed
by different offers: one on the products, and the other one on the
performance of
services.
But,
the real revolution occurred in 2001 with the arrival of Vichy for
men and Clarins in
2002.
A lot of brands begin to be seriously interested in this growing
segment and real
competition
appears. A new potential is detected by the big cosmetologist firms.
The
“masculinity of the women’s products
It
is important to consider the cosmetics’ world in two distinct
parts; the market for the men
and
the one for the women. Even if there are not big distinctions between
the products, those
two
markets are quite different. In fact, the men have not the same
demand concerning the
product.
That is why the offer cannot be the same for both.
The
ideal product for most men must have some properties and qualities
such as being
invisible,
fast, pleasant to put, easy to use, without smells and with an
efficient result. Thus,
men
are not searching for a feminine product, otherwise, they will
continue to use their wife’s
ones.
They really look for a product adapted to them and to their needs and
wants. Moreover,
the
demand is different from the women: They (the women) like to use make
up, take care of
their
body and their face by putting moisturizing cream on it… Men have
not already
surpassed
the taboos of the society, and, moreover, they do not like to
“spread” cream on their
body.
That is why they will be more attracted by products for shaving, for
hairs. But this
current
demand will probably change in the next years.
The
strength of Nickel was to propose from the beginning a technique and
know-how studied
specially
for men. For instance, in his institutes, the technique for
depilation was specially
adapted
for them. Moreover, in order to stay in “a masculine tonality”,
the brand gave names
with
a masculine connotation that do not make the men “guilty”, such
as “torse de boxeur”
(boxer
chest) or “jambes de cyclistes” (biker legs).
3.1.1.2.
Changes in the men cosmetics’ market
Blossoming
(rapid development) of cosmetics for men
As
it was said before, the market of cosmetics, at the beginning,
interested just a few brands
and
also, few men. Initially, this world is attributed to women only. In
fact, cosmetology is
synonymous
of seduction, beauty, healthiness, or pleasure. Those words represent
what the
women
are looking for when it comes to cosmetics.
But,
finally, the market of men cosmetics takes off after years of waiting
thanks to different
changes:
mentalities of the new masculine generation, appearance of
“metrosexual”, social
liberalization
of homosexual, and the fact that men want to stay young. The
relationship
between
men and cosmetic products has changed and nowadays, they admit the
fact that they
also
look for pleasure and wellness by using cosmetics.
Bit
by bit, firms pass over some barriers that men did not think they
could transcend: make
the
men taking care of their skin, then, make them epilating and after,
everything follows and
continues
to change. Make-up, Spa centres, beauty institutes, anti-wrinkles
cream, hair
cares…
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
17
“Their
interest for their appearance expresses in their point: thus, they
are 64,6% to take care
of
their skin, 73,8% to attach importance to their hair, and 31,8% like
trying novelties. In
addition,
38,7% states they devote time to take care of themselves. Those
figures are clearly
higher
for the men under than25 years old and decrease gradually with the
age”.17
All
begins in 1985 when Biotherm launched Biotherm Homme, a line
specially dedicated to
men
use. But, the market really took off in 2001 with the appearance of
many brands
interested
in that specific market such as Nivéa for Men, Klorane, Vichy Homme,
Nickel,
Phytomer,
Clarins Men. Many lines and brands still appear on this market. It is
in constant
growth
since its apparition and above all since 2001. This market is bound
to be successful for
both
top-of-range and mass distribution.
Opportunities
of the market
The
advantages of this market are real since it is accessible and opened
on the growth. In fact,
forecasts
are optimistic but the results are above the foretold success. For
instance, Clarins
Men
reached 170% of its objectives in 2002 18
by
the fact that the average number of products
bought
by the men is higher that the women’s one.
According
to Christian Courtin from Clarins, men buy “well beyond their
forecast, (…) men
buy
on average 4 products, against only two for women.19
Another
example is Biotherm Homme, the pioneer: its line counts 45 products.
Between 1997
and
2002, this brand knew a growth of more than 250%. 20
It
is true that the purchase from the men reaches unhoped-for
proportions, but a demand
without
attracting cannot be a balanced market. This is why many brands of
hygiene-beauty
specialized
in the female market launch a reserved range for the men in order to
benefit from
a
market less encumbered, of a stronger growth, evolution of
mentalities and to create a place
in
this market before being lagging behind. Indeed, some firms benefit
from advantages
before
even catapulting themselves in the masculine care, because while
being already present
for
the women, they enjoy a good reputation, therefore of a true
credibility, an image of
specialist
and financial means the consequent ones.
The
arrival in force of the interest for the male world does not reach
only the beauty care. The
readers
express a real passion for the male press, which arranges the market
because, thanks
to
this mean of communication, it makes them known. Whether it be
Maximal, Men’s Health,
New
look, or even Mr. Magazine, they approach each subject having
attracted with the
beauty.
Forecasting
The
market is booming and it will not cease evolving during these next
years. The specialists
predict
each one their figure, but they agree on one point: this market is
not only a fad, but
well
a new market with a strong potential which will be reinforced these
next years.
In
a medium-term, i.e. in five years, the specialists suppose that the
male market for the care
will
account for 15% of the market for the women21.
With regard to the longer-term forecasts,
L’Oréal
France considers that in fifty years, the number of male user of
beauty cream will
17
http://www.mondadoripub.fr/content.asp?rub=1&niv1=1&niv2=105&page_id=193
– 05/03/07
18
www.lidealiste.com/article.php/id/3575
-
05/03/07
19
www.effie.fr/_03clarins.htm
-
05/03/07
20
http://www.casafree.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=548
-
05/03/07
21
www.effie.fr/_03clarins.htm
-
05/03/07
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
18
amount
to 50% (one in every two men), whereas nowadays, it is just 21% and
in 1994, it was
just
4% of men who stated they used regularly face care products.22
A
survey of Datamonitor, made in 2006, forecasts a world growth rate of
2,3% per year
between
2005 and 2010. The specialists expect that the market of the
cosmetics for men
which
accounts for currently hardly 3% of that of the women reaches from
here 5 to 6 years
15%.
23
These
rises will be due to several and various causes. First of all, the
demand will grow thanks
to
the behaviour of new generations, which ones are more and more
feminized and makes the
taboos
fall down. Moreover, the male is a particularly faithful target,
therefore once
convinced
by the use, there will remain customer.
With
regard to the offer, the firms bring out new lines incessantly. The
men will have only the
power
to choose. In some years will have a more important and more various
offer.
3.1.2.
The market in facts
3.1.2.1.
The global cosmetics’ market:
The
market of men cosmetic is absolutely not the rival of the women
market because it
represents
only the fortieth 24
of
the feminine cosmetology. But, in spite of its modest size,
this
market is bound to a continuous and fast growth, which is a sizeable
advantage.
According
to the French newspaper “le Monde”, the trends are not so
optimistic for the
manufacturers
of cosmetics. In fact, in Europe, the market of cosmetics in general
is about
59,47
billion euros according to the European Association of the companies
of hygienebeauty-
perfumery
(Colipa) and it presents a growth of the sales modestly positive (+
2% in
2004,
against + 3,5% in 2003). Those sales even start to regress in Germany
and France, the
two
biggest European markets. If the women still buy as many hair or skin
care products, the
purchases
of perfumes, and more generally of make-up (nail varnishes, for
example) decrease.
The
main reason seems to be probably the price.25
3.1.2.2.
The global market of men’s cosmetics
On
a world level, this sector knew a growth of 30% in 2001 and 50% in
2002. According to a
study
of Eurostaf in 2003, the world market of cosmetics for men roughly
accounts 3 billion
of
Euros, including approximately 700 million of euros only for the care
products.26
Moreover,
it has a growth rate of 7 to 8% per year.27
In
comparison, the world market for the
women
weighs approximately 200 billion of dollars.
22
www.24heures.ch/home/journal/index.php?Page_ID=10373&art_id=35383
- 05/03/07
23
http://librapport.org/getpdf.php?get=558&id=17&pagename=FILE:download/document%20view
- 06/03/07
24
http://lemagchallenges.nouvelobs.com/articles/p209/a218829.html
- 07/03/07
25
http://mariode.fabre.over-blog.com/categorie-865.html-
07/03/07
26
http://www.eurostaf.fr/fr/catalogue/cosmetiques_hommes/resume.html?PHPSESSID=hs0l3eoi-
07/03/07
27
www.emapmedia.com/-
07/03/07
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
19
3.1.2.3.
The men’s cosmetics’ market in France
As
all the group members are French, and because this market is quite
representative about
what
is happening through all Western Europe, it is interesting to present
the facts and figures
for
the French market.
The
French industry of cosmetics is an industry which “draws” the
growth: In 2006, French
cosmetic
industry saw its sales progressing for the fortieth consecutive year.
The sales
turnover
is divided harmoniously between exports (57%) and the sales in France
(43%). For
2006,
cosmetic industry grew of 3,5% which is half more quickly than the
national
economy.28
The
French market for men’s cosmetics follows the world tendency. The
total sales turnover
(produced
care, of beauty and perfumes for men) progressed of almost 140%
between 1998
and
2003, to 42,16 million euros, according to statistics of the
federation of industries of
perfumery
(FIP). For the only products of care and beauty, the progression is
294%, with
21,37
d'��
million!
29
Products
for men, account for 10,3% of the total French market of the
cosmetic, but 25% of
the
sales of perfumes.
28http://www.fipar.com/CORPO/industrie_cosmetiques/carte_identite_industrie_francaise.php
- 07/04/07
29
http://www.unhomme.fr/page-al-cosmetique_homme.html
- 07/04/07
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
20
3.2.1.Beauty
industrials’ stakes
In
a market which is developing faster and faster, the actors are faced
to the following stakes:
-
Making a specific cosmetic offer: Male skin has different
characteristics from the ones of
female
skin (thickness, rhythm of ageing, sebum secretion)
-
Investing in R&D to guarantee the product, because men are
looking for simple care
products,
quick to use, with immediate efficiency and convincing results
-
Getting an image of men beauty’ specialist with a wide and deep
offer, most often after
having
initialized the market with shaving products
-
Organizing a proper distribution to the male target, knowing two
major factors:
Men
beauty is still under taboos, what means an anonymous and discreet
distribution
– except for perfumes
Woman
still has a strong prescription power and realize most of the
purchases
30
3.2.2.
The market actors
Men
cosmetics’ market is still in a structuring phase. Nevertheless, 3
kinds of actors are
appearing:
Cosmetics
industry leaders
These
actors are the most powerful in the market. They all have important
financial and
organisational
ways to impose their products in the male market. They pursue a
roll-over
strategy
close to the one used since a long time in the female market.
30http://www.eurostaf.fr/cms/impression_page.htm?page_id=3&gab_id=9&URL_BIZY=cosmetiques_hommes/i
mpression&PHPSESSID=hs0l3eoi,
read on the 1th april 07
2.2.
The market actors
Men
cosmetics’ market is still in a structuring phase. Nevertheless, 3
kinds of actors are
appearing:
Cosmetics
industry leaders
These
actors are the most powerful in the market. They all have important
financial and
organisational
ways to impose their products in the male market. They pursue a
roll-over
strategy
close to the one used since a long time in the female market.
30http://www.eurostaf.fr/cms/impression_page.htm?page_id=3&gab_id=9&URL_BIZY=cosmetiques_hommes/i
mpression&PHPSESSID=hs0l3eoi,
read on the 1th april 07
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
21
Among
the leaders: Beiersdorf with Nivea for Men, Clarins with Clarins Men,
Estée Lauder
with
Aramis and Clinique, L’Oréal with Biotherm, Vichy, L’Oréal
Paris and Lancôme, and
Shisheido
with Shisheido, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Décléor.
To
keep their ranks, the leaders are now compelled to spread their
product ranges to stay in
the
competition. That is why Biotherm, one of the pioneers since 1985,
have not less than 45
products.
Between 1997 and 2002, this line growth has exploded: +250%. Clarins
Men, who
have
launched 9 products in the market in 2002, has then added 6 more.
Care
universe actors
Some
brands benefit of a strong credibility thanks to the care market.
This market has several
advantages
in the distribution network - pharmacies, institutes, spas - thanks
to their support.
Actually,
these actors take advantage of the know-how and the credibility which
characterize
care
and pharmaceutical world, and could get a determinant rank in the
market.
Brands
and laboratories to know are for instance Pierre Fabre with Klorane,
Sanofi-Aventis
with
Lipofactor, Phytomer and Décléor.
Independent
cosmetics’ makers
They
strongly stimulate the market by adapting their offer to men, but
their diffusion stay
confidential.
To become strong, this group needs distributors to give visibility to
beauty for
men
through specific spaces or special concepts.
Independent
makers have to use particular ways and specific concepts to introduce
the market
because
they do not have the power of the market current players.
Examples
of independent makers are The Body Shop or Nickel, which was created
in the
1990’s
and which in ten years has arrived to get 5 millions euros of
turnover. What is more,
the
firm has opened in Paris beauty institutes, only dedicated to men. 31
3.2.3.
Competition analysis
New
entrants threat
Cosmetics
sector is a very competitive one where in which are many brakes.
Indeed,
companies
have to think about rules, high investments’ level, and scale
economies.
Innovation
should be a primacy objective. However, research & development
and
communication
costs are very high, and all companies can not invest heavily.
This
is of course not the case of firms such as L’Oréal, Nivéa and
Clarins, which already have
a
past fame very important. Thanks to this successful past, it would be
hard for new entrants
to
find some place in the market.
Substitutes
threat
31
http://cosmeto.blogspot.com/search/label/Clarins,
read on the 1st
April
07
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
22
Substitutes
are not a real threat in cosmetics’ market.
Yet,
men use more and more aesthetic surgery. Actually, a patient on ten
is a man. Today,
men
better assume their beauty’s envy.
Most
of men do not like going to buy beauty products. That is why they
borrow them to their
partners,
who have, moreover, an adviser role.
Finally,
the distributors’ brands can be a threat. The market shares of
these brands is growing
more
and more. Nevertheless, male products in supermarkets are often just
shaving products
and
deodorants.
Suppliers’
power
Suppliers’
power seems to be light as well. Without big brands, suppliers and
conditionment
factories
could not live. It is still important to keep good contacts with
suppliers, especially
those
which have rare raw materials.
Customers’
power
A
company has always to maintain its sustainable advantage by creating
original products,
adapted
to the market targets.
It
is difficult to attract man’s attention since he is maybe not used
to buy cosmetic products.
So
it is necessary to know and to analyse his needs and wants, and to
succeed to satisfy him: a
satisfied
man is a loyal consumer for a long time. 32
3.2.4.
Strategies & targets
3.2.4.1.
Differentiation by the distribution
The
brand positioning depends on the chosen distribution way.
Sales
in specialized selling points (pharmacies, institutes, spas…)
Selling
in pharmacies, institutes or spas means a selective market target.
For example, Vichy
or
Nickel can be named: the products’ prices are medium-high. The
objective of this strategy
is
to give the consumer the message that these types of products are
provided with medical
care,
to emphasize on quality and safety.
Sales
in perfumeries
In
this case, the market target is more wide but still specialized.
Swedish examples would be
chains
such as Kicks or Ålhens. Clarins, Biotherm and Lancôme for example
use this type of
distribution.
The objective is to maintain a certain image, of quality and luxury,
with high
prices.
Sales
in super stores
32
La
cosmétique homme, Charlotte Barbeau, 2005, read on the 2nd
April
07
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
23
When
selling in a super store, the market target is the most wide as
possible: it concerns the
whole
clientele. The strategy becomes by the same way a mass-marketing
strategy, with
aligned
prices. For instance, Nivéa for Men and Gillette which are present
in super stores such
as
Coop in Sweden.
Peculiarities
Male
distribution is different from the female one and needs a particular
environment.
Actually,
discretion and anonymity are the most important in such a
distribution, since the
society’
taboos are still too present. Moreover, the place must be accessible
to women,
because
they are still a lot to take care of this purchase for their partner.
Distribution
through the Internet
More
and more men start to buy their products via the Internet. Indeed,
traditional distribution
is
still feminine coded. Shops are thought with the shopping notion,
which is unknown by
most
of men. They do not want some advices from the sellers, what would
annoy them. That
is
why they like better the free information offered on the web. Also,
taboos, discretion and
anonymity
are some reasons of this development. 33
3.2.4.2.
Brands positioning
Nivéa
for Men
Nivéa
for men is situated in the part of masculinity, relationship to
himself. The Nivéa man
uses
the products range to be clean, well-shaved and to get a beautiful
skin. He is aware that
men’s
skin is different from the women’s one, that is why he uses these
specific cares.
Confident
in his body, urban, he is the prototype of the male social identity:
good husband (he
is
present in many advertisements with his wife) (cf. figure 1) and
successful professional (he
is
often wearing a smoking with a business bag). The care rites have
masculine codes: hand
on
the chin, bare-chested in front of the mirror, spraying water on his
face, speed and
simplicity
of the gestures and the products used. (at the contrary of the
complicated beauty
rites
of women). (cf. figure 2)
Lancôme
Lancôme
is in the same part than Nivéa (masculinity for himself), but with a
more sensual
promise:
“care expertise, senses pleasure”. (cf. figure 3) In the press
advertisements, the man
is
only presented by “pieces”, but it can be guessed that he is
sophisticated: masculine and
designed
bathroom. Care gestures are masculine as well (shaving...).
Biotherm
33http://www.lefigaro.fr/masculin/20070313.WWW000000315_beaute_les_hommes_preferent_l_achat_en_ligne
.html,
read on the 15th April 07
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
24
Biotherm
is also in this part, the man has a proper skin. The Biotherm guy
uses and buys
products
to feel good in his body, to assert himself, to express himself (“and
what about
taking
care of me?”), but not in connexion with the others. Advertisements
show young men
in
a “natural” environment (wind, water, blue, green), associated to
speeches about the
conception
of the products. (cf. figure 4)
Epure
de Lierac
Epure
has adopted a complex position situated between the male and the
female dimension:
skin
is androgynous and the brand clearly shows a “crossover tendency”:
to mix genders.
Male
and female faces shown in adverts are androgynous: men have mi-long
hair, fine faces,
beardless
bare-chested: women have fine faces, short hair, naked shoulders. The
speech is
coded
urban style and sporty.
Nickel
Nickel
is situated in a different part: it is the female negation in
relation with the others. It is
the
brand of men who love men. They are not effeminate but show their
presence, staying
virile:
they have a “man skin”, are muscular, hairy, and sporty. Places
shown by the brand in
adverts
never make any reference to female universe: clubs, masculine
changing rooms,
meetings
between men. The products range does not have any connoted feminine
name.
(cf.
figure 5)
Jean-Paul
Gaultier
Jean-Paul
Gaultier has a speech which does not recognize all what is considered
as
“masculine”
in today’s society. That is why he proposes his own “Declaration
of the Male
Rights”
in his website. He denies masculine values to focus on feminine ones:
the right to
beauty
and make-up (insane cosmetics, not masculine). Nevertheless, he makes
difference
with
feminine products with sober packaging, more masculine coded. Models
are not
“masculine”:
they are very effeminate, made-up and depilated, but they are not
women. In the
website,
Jean-Paul Gautier brand gives some lessons of “gestures and
beauty”. Gestures are
almost
feminine. The Gaultier man does his “Dandy”: he is in a seduction
relationship to the
others.
Seduction here goes through emasculates symbols: signs of
homosexuality. (cf.
figure
6)
Nowadays,
it can be noticed a shift in the Jean-Paul Gaultier strategy: the
market target is not
the
“Dandy” anymore, but rather the virile man who takes care of
himself. On the
advertisements,
models are masculine, unshaved, unmade-up and not depilated, they are
more
natural.
However, they assume their “feminine” side, as it can be seen in
the “Fleur du male”
advertisement,
because the model is in a bath with flowers. (cf. figure 7) Jean-Paul
Gaultier
wants
to attract another target to widen his clientele and achieve new
market shares.
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
25
3.3.1.
Product
This
part is about the products through the packaging, the lexical field
and the line.
To
begin, here is a definition of the product: “a product is anything
that is offered to a market
for
attention, acquisition, use or consumption and that might satisfied a
want or need. It
includes
physical object, services, persons, places, organization and
ideas”34.
The
men’s products cannot be the same as those offers to women.
Everything should be rather
different:
the packaging, the container, the product’s texture, smell and
aspect and the
vocabulary
(lexical field) have to be reviewed. Indeed, their skins are
different: men have a
thicker
skin, tougher and so it is greasier. Thick skin and excesses of sebum
are not good: the
pores
quickly will dilate, to clog itself: buttons and black spots appear.
The skin of the males
ages
differently from the women’s one: the wrinkles appear later, but
will be deeper35.
Besides,
they shave. The razor’s blade attacks the skin and dries it that
makes it more
sensitive
and wrinkled. The men prefer products less scented than the ranges
traditionally
intended
for the women. As they refuse to spend too much time in the bathroom
the creams
must
have light textures with fast penetration.
For
all these reasons, it is impossible for the female marks to launch
the same product with
the
same components. The marks must make research on the skin of the men
and decline a
range
specifically for them. The marks such as l’Oréal or Shiseido have
already high
technological
laboratories which facilitate the access to men’s cosmetic market.
From their
know-how
and their reputation in the women’s cosmetics, the access for the
large companies
is
facilitated.
3.3.1.1.
The packaging:
The
packaging has above all a simple material function; it is the role is
“to contain, to protect,
facilitated
transport, storage, etc…. ”36
But
it is a good means to draw the attention of the consumer on the
product. Packing causes
also
a psychological function on the purchaser.
The
packaging is also a way to show the public image, this is why it is
important to emphasize
the
objectivity as well as the subjectivity of the image of the offered
product. The objective
side
deals
with offering an easy conditioning, reliable, ergonomic, recoverable
or reusable,
easily
transportable, with a good conservation and effective protection. The
subjective
side
granted
to the conditioning of the product, relates to the psychological
effect on the customer.
The
consumer judges the product with his first perception in the rays.
The identification of the
product
must jump in the eyes of the customer thanks to a colour or to a
particular form or to
34
Kotler,
Amstrong, Sounders and Wong, Principles of Marketing
35
http://www.seniorplanet.fr/write.php?id=6460
29/03/07
36
Michel
P. (1970), Le conditionnement et l’emballage, dans la conception du
nouveau produit, p.20
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
26
an
indication which enables to locate him the remote product. The bond
between the product
and
the mark is also done though the packaging, it helps to emphasize the
public image as
well
as the image of the product.
Besides,
certain specificities of the product conditioning will attract more
or less certain types
of
consumer. “The image of the products is often related to a precise
kind: the skirt for the
women
and the costume for the men. The same object according to its form
and its colour will
become
rather female or rather masculine. The objects clear, small, pink,
soft, will be
considered
to be rather female and the objects dark, large, blue, hard, rather
male. ”37
The
packaging should make forget the female side of the cosmetics and
make the product
more
masculine, thanks to the design, the texture, the colours, the smell…
all the senses are
used
to attract the male sex. The packaging of the cosmetic products for
men should also
make
it possible for the customers to forget the shame they feel when they
go to the checkout.
In
general, the typically male packaging is discrete, ergonomic and of
dark colours to avoid
the
guilty feeling some purchaser can have. For instance, Clarins
presents its range intended
for
the men using a colour, a logo and a name different from the products
for women. The
tone
reds intended for the women are transformed into blue for the male
line of goods: Clarins
Men.
3.3.1.2.
The brand name and lexical field:
The
name of the mark has an importance on the conveyed image of the
product. Indeed, the
mark
is primarily used to recognize a product or to differentiate it from
the others. Moreover,
the
mark communicates an image which joins certain values. This is why
the choice of the
mark’s
name must follow certain strategic points, for example simplicity is
required for the
memorizing
and the pronunciation of the name; it is appropriate to add that the
name must
correspond
to its positioning, define the product and bring a key of
originality.
37
Elisabeth
Tissier-Desbordes, Allan J. Kimmel, (avril-juin 2002) Sexe, genre et
marketing, définition des
concepts
et analyse de la littérature, Décisions marketing, n°26, p.65
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
27
When
talking about this market, it is very important to choose the right
words. For instance, a
night
cream called “velvety touch” for a woman would not be possible
for a man. The lexical
field
is primordial since after the packaging, it is the first ting the
customer sees. In matter of
fact,
there are two main streams: staying rather traditional using a clear,
simple even neutral
vocabulary
(what Clarins or Biotherm do) or being more aggressive as for
instance Nickel:
this
brand play the key of humour. Indeed, the range is made up with
various names
concerning
the language of the male universe, such as “Shortly after Festival,
Good Mouth,
Dirty
Massage or Handles of Love”, this manner of presenting these
products leads to make
less
alarming their use. For the marks such as Nivéa, Clarins or Biotherm
which have an
irreproachable
public image, which inspires confidence and which is synonymous with
quality
and know-how concerning the beauty products intended for the women,
the creation
of
a completely different mark for the men was not really necessary. The
principal task was to
preserve
the image of these marks but to transform them so that wiring for
sound points out
the
male world: Nivéa for Men, Clarins Men, and Biotherm Men.
3.3.1.3.
The line:
Product
lining is the marketing strategy of offering for sale several related
products. A line
can
comprise related products of various sizes, types, colours,
qualities, or prices38.
The
line can be divided into 5 categories:
The
basic: Those are basic products which meet the traditional customer
needs such as
shaving,
after shaving…
The
trendy: They are exclusively built for men and follow the rule
according to which
men
are men and the products must be totally different than those for
women. This is
the
case for Nickel or Zirth, an American brand.
The
natural: The last one in the market, those products extol the values
of natural
product
made of seaweeds, essential oils…
38
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_lining
- 24/04/07
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
28
The
elegant: Most of them are rather elegant or smart but some brands
such as Clarins,
Biotherm
or Lancôme are playing on this more than l’Oréal for instance.
They are
different
from the basic category because the quality and the brand image is
said to be
higher.
Those products are also more expensive.
The
expert: Product that is very specific for one kind of skin or on
particular part of
the
body. The new products to reduce the body fat are in this category.
3.3.2.
Promotion
3.3.2.1.
Advertising investments
They
express the market’s dynamism.
Advertising
investments for male cosmetics (millions of euros)
Investments
concerning all the medias in male cosmetics have strongly increased
in 6 years
since
they increased for +36%.
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
29
Investments
allocation (thousands of euros)
Yellow:
magazines, Red:
other press, Green:
radio, Light
purple:
TV, Dark
purple:
billboards,
Pink:
cinema
TV
is the most used media for the men cosmetics sector with 59% of
market share. After
come
magazines with 24% of market share. 39
3.3.2.2.
Brand’s name & product’s name
This
point is very important when talking about the promotion but it was
also relevant to talk
about
it in the part about the product; cf. 1.3.1.2
3.3.2.3.
Communication strategies
Communication
for men is different following the market target. To attract the best
the target,
a
communication campaign is necessary. Two kinds of communication can
be distinguished:
the
media communication and the non-media communication. The first one is
concerning all
types
of communication using one of the 6 medias which are the Internet,
cinema, TV, press,
billboards
and radio. All the other types of communications, such as public
relations, personal
sellings,
direct response marketing and sales promotion are non-media
communication.
Media
communication
Press
Thanks
to the apparition of masculine press, such as Men’s Health for
instance, cosmetics
brands
make them known thanks to articles about products. But, also, a
useful tool is
advertising
pages with free samples. This new press is an opportunity for
cosmetics’ makers
which
find among the readers new potential customers. What is more,
articles about wellbeing
39http://www.mondadoripub.fr/content.asp?rub=1&niv1=2&niv2=200&niv3=20007&niv4=2000300&page_id=4
46,
read on the 5th April 2007
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
30
attract
particularly readers: to a Men’s Health survey, the subjects which
interest the most
readers
are firstly health (62%), sex (53%), nutrition (32%), and finally
people (15%).
TV
When
a brand wants to sell its products in department stores, the best way
to communicate is
TV.
For example, when Adidas wanted to launch its range Performances, it
chose to use TV
adverts.
The
Internet
Internet
is a new tool of communication, which allows users to obtain
personalized advices
about
beauty and cares, such as how to recognize one’s skin type, or how
to choose the
adapted
product. Clarins, for instance, uses the Internet to give advices to
its customers.
Non-media
communication
Sponsoring
Most
of brands try to appear through sports events by using sponsoring.
Examples would be
Gillette,
during the Football World Cup (cf. figure 8), and also Nivéa,
introducing itself in
sports’
world. (cf. figure 9)
Sales
promotion
Sales
promotions are developing more and more in the distribution sectors.
Pierre Fabre, for
example,
has privileged non-media communication by using advertising on the
selling place.
40
40
www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2000/03/LEQUERET/13445,
read on the 15th
April
2007, and La cosmétique
homme,
Charlotte Barbeau, 2005
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
31
3.3.3.
Price, different strategies and theories
The
selling price-fixing is defined after the study of various data about
the market, the
demand
and the offer. More precisely, the price which the firm chooses to
impose depends on
the
cost of the product, on the positioning choice, on the evaluation of
the competition or of
the
vision of quality and the value perceived by the price. The price
gives an element of
differentiation
to the customer; moreover it influences its choice and the image
which he
guesses
of the product. Indeed “the price-setting must be set in relation
with the value offered
to
the customer and perceived by him”41.
Besides the relationship exiting between the price
and
the customer, the price takes part in the decision of the volume of
the sales, of the rate of
the
profit and its global volume42.
In
the market of the cosmetic for the men, there are various price
ranges. It often depends on
the
channel of distribution:
In
intensive distribution, penetration pricing strategy is used. Its
consists of pricing low and
promoting
heavily in order to gain a large market share and associated
economies of scale as
quickly
as possible and before competition builds. This method assumes that
consumers are
price
sensitive, that product awareness is low, and that competition will
build quickly. Nivéa
for
Men wanted to penetrate in force the market with an offer accessible
to all. In a selective
distribution,
producers prefer to adopt a skim pricing strategy which attempts to
“skim the
cream”
of the top of the market by setting a high price and selling to those
customers who are
less
price sensitive. It is used to pursue the objective of profit margin
maximization and it
works
well with prestige products. Brands like Shiseido Men or the line of
Jean-Paul Gaultier,
“le
Mâle” adopt high prices. But that did not prevent the line of
Jean-Paul Gaultier from
curling
the out-of-stock during the launching of its new products43!
Here are some examples
of
different pricing strategies on shaving foams:
4,
40��
13��
14��
41
Kotler
et Dubois (2004), Marketing Management, p.505
42
Leduc
R. (1969), Le produit nouveau, p.91
43
Marie-France
Gigataux, (15 mai 2005), Ce qu’homme veut, Femina,
p.59-60
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
32
3.3.4.
Place
Distribution
channels can generally be divided into three parts in the men’s
cosmetic market.
Super
store:
Men
are looking for low price and discretion when they buy a product in a
super store. Of
course
the line is not very wide and the products are not very specific but
it is enough for a
certain
kind of product. Besides, brands such as l’Oréal are launching
products more and
more
specific as anti-shining gel or anti-wrinkles to reach all the
targets via super store.
Perfumery
and drugstore:
Those
distribution channels point at a more specific target since crossing
over a perfumery is
a
sign that you are seeking for skin cares, for something that you
could not find in a super
store.
It is still rather difficult for men to go in those specialized shops
because they mean that
they
feel no shame about their consumption (the next part will talk about
the consumer
behaviour).
The
others
To
begin with, it exists nowadays the exclusive distribution channels
such as the beauty
institute
made for men. In France, the first one has been opened in Paris in
1995 by the
founder
of the brand Nickel.
Another
distribution channel is the Internet. It is actually the new
distribution channel and the
reason
is easily understandable: traditional distribution is dominated by
the female codes,
codes
that men try to avoid. The Internet seems to be the right answer, it
s an alternative and
anonymous
distribution channel. Those sites are full of headings on
specificities of the man
skin,
of self-diagnoses, cards councils or even of forums.
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
33
It
is often said that men often have apprehension about using cosmetics.
But as regard to the
figures,
men are not that shy and the market is booming. Still it is known
there are many
brakes
in the market, notably because of the mentalities and the mores. The
core of this part
on
the theory will be to define and analyse the customer behaviour. Is
it possible to talk about
one
behaviour? Should we rather talk about several behaviour considering
the different
mentalities?
What do a man feel when he uses cosmetics? What are the impacts on
his image
and
on the way he sees himself?
First,
the research will focus on the facts with a study of the consumer
behaviour, then will be
developed
the self image and the self esteem theories that is a great source of
influence when
talking
about men cosmetics. Then, the existing link between the market and
the theories will
be
developed.
Högskolan
Halmstad – Marketing Dissertation
Men’s
cosmetics
34
4.1.1.
Changes in the consumer behaviour
This
first part is mainly oriented on the consumer and in particular his
behaviour and its
environment.
Since, it is necessary to begin this study by specifying the exact
definition of the
consuming
term. The consumer can be defined as being “individual or household
that
purchase
and use goods and services generated within the economy”44.
Talking
about the consumer without quoting the consumer behaviour is not
possible. This
discipline
deals primarily with the process of decision-making of the
individuals as regards
consumption
while holding account of the social and economic environment in its
interactions
with
the psychological attributes of these one45.
Defining
the consumer behaviour as “the study of the buying units and the
exchange
processes
involved in acquiring, consuming and disposing of goods, services,
experiences and
ideas”46is
relevant for the understanding of the research.
The
study of the consumer behaviour must thus call upon various
multidisciplinary
approaches,
disciplines coming from various horizons such as the economy or from
fields
concerned
with social sciences such as psychology or sociology. Understanding
those
mechanisms
provide a large number of benefits for the managers in their decision
making.
Analysing
the consumer behaviour will help to understand more about the
psychological and
sociological
factors that influence the customer.
The
economy studies the rational behaviour of the individual, for
instance how it manages his
finances
and how it maximizes his satisfaction and profits. While social
sciences lean more
particularly
on the emotional aspect of the individual, by analyzing the consumer
per se, and
the
consumer in his social environment confronted with the internal and
external forces. Since
each
one of these sciences brings important information on the behaviour
of the individuals,
they
will be studied jointly.
The
beauty care is before all an appearance universe in which beauty is
the keyword.
Appearance
plays a major part in the professional, personal and social universe.
The image
released
by the individual is the essential element retained within the
framework of its
relations
with the others. The beauty is a reference value and is synonymous
with success,
fortune
and love. The social integration passes mainly by the self image: the
care taken to its
body
takes part in the self-confidence.
44
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer
- 16/04/07
45
http://ladwein.free.fr/index2.html
- 16/04/07
46
Consumer
Behavior, Fourth Edition, John C. Mowen p.4 – 30/04/07
Hand Made Herbal Beauty Soap in Pakistan, Cosmetic Brands, Cosmetic report of Pakistan based company, Pakistani Brands,Pakistan Brand reports.
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