Guess What? Men Shop, Too!

In an industry obsessed with the wants and needs of women, men have been an afterthought among retail and marketing executives for as long as many can remember.

Not anymore. Men are paying more attention to their wardrobes. They’re spending more time shopping for themselves, and they’re showing an increased interest in personal grooming products. And, make no mistake, retailers, manufacturers and marketing executives have finally gotten the message.

Evidence that the gender gap has begun to narrow is piling up. Nowhere was this more apparent than the ads that ran during the Super Bowl. Dockers’ “Men Without Pants” commercial captured guys’ attention with the closing tagline, “Calling all men: It’s time to wear the pants.” Then, there was Unilever promoting its new Dove Men+Care, the first “for-men” product from the well-known brand. “Now that you are comfortable with who you are, isn’t it time for comfortable skin?” the announcer intoned.

On the retail front, French luxury brand Hermes opened its first men’s-only store on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue earlier this year. Coach will debut its first boutique for men next month in Greenwich Village; Ralph Lauren is transforming its Rhinelander Mansion location on Madison Avenue into a men’s store set to open this fall; and J.Crew has signed a lease for its fourth men’s-only store in the New York area.

Though it may appear that only men living in the tri-state area have boosted their spending on apparel and personal grooming products, various surveys confirm that the trend is taking root from coast to coast. About 75 percent of men shopped for themselves last year, compared with just 52 percent in 1995, according to research compiled by The NPD Group. Based on projections from its consumer panelist data, NPD is reporting men’s apparel sales totaled just over $51 billion for the 12 months ending December 2009.

While sales at most specialty retail chains took it on the chin in 2009, men’s apparel proved to be more resilient than women’s. The trend held true for retailers catering to the teen and 20-something set, as well.

The figures are also downright handsome in the personal care arena. According to the Packaged Facts report “Men’s Grooming Products: A Global Analysis,” the men’s grooming industry is already valued at $19.7 billion worldwide, and is expected to grow nearly 40 percent (to $28 billion) by 2014. And 2010 is expected to be the biggest year ever for product launches aimed at manly men.

Wake-up call
So what’s the deal? Did men just wake up one morning and decide it was time to clean up their act and assert their fashion sensibilities? Not exactly.

“It’s been a slow, steady build over the last eight to 10 years,” says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for The NPD Group. He points out that retail companies began taking a closer look at the men’s business just prior to the recession because it was posting better growth rates than women’s apparel. Everyone pulled back on spending once the recession hit, but the men’s segment has proven to be more resilient.

“The bottom line is that it looked more appealing because it was a little less recession-reactive,” Cohen says. “Retailers are always looking for new possibilities to grow their business. When it comes down to it, they have a choice – expand in the women’s market, expand in men’s or shift the emphasis to kids. The women’s business is saturated, and many of them tried the kids’ market just a few years ago and that flopped. So now we’re seeing a surge in companies focusing on becoming male-centric for growth.”

C. Britt Beemer, CEO and founder of America’s Research Group, says a lot of men “deferred buying in the face of the recession. Now they’re starting to wade back in.”