According to a data from Euromonitor International, sales of men’s health and beauty merchandise in China are set to overtake North America’s number this year and will probably grow about five times faster until 2014.
Shane Zhang, who sells advertising for lifestyle magazine Men’s Uno China in Shanghai, is a male consumer who applies face scrub, toner and moisturizer. Twice a month, Zhang treats himself to a facial using mud from the Dead Sea. He shared, “People say I look younger than my age. Since I’m a sales person, it definitely helps.”
Lynn Zhou, a Shanghai-based retail analyst at CLSA stated, “All the major cosmetics companies are focusing on this segment.” She further added, “China is starting from a small base — it has huge potential.”
Moreover, a lot of fashion magazines such as Chinese editions of Esquire and GQ have prompted men to find a competitive edge at work driving them to acquire for men’s skin care products. Shaun Rein, managing director of Shanghai-based China Market Research Group said, “Chinese men are now more concerned with appearances and projecting an image of success.” Rein further explained, “First, they were spending on watches and pens and shoes as a status symbol, then five years ago they were focusing more on apparel, and in the last three years there is a real upsurge in male cosmetics.”
Now, in the men’s skin care market, there are more face creams in all kinds and brands, anti-aging gels and cleansing lotions on the shelves compared to the number of razors and blades.
