Supermarket sales of grooming products are on a slippery slope, with volumes sliding in all of the key categories bar liquid soap.
Meanwhile, with growth of 35.6% in health and beauty, Aldi and Lidl are coming out smelling of roses. A shift in deal strategy, the growth of the round-pound stores and a move towards multi-use products have also affected volumes in the supermarkets.
It’s not all bad, of course. In facial skincare, Unilever’s Simple is up 3% on volumes up 9.2% thanks in part to a big marketing push and deals that have lured some away from pricier brands such as P&G’s Olay Total Effects, down 6.5% on volumes down 16.6%.
Overall volumes have also suffered from a shift to multifunctional products and the growth of discounters, which stock a smaller range of products, meaning non-core products “are simply falling off the list”, says Unilever category expert Peter Embleton.
To compete with the discounters, the supermarkets have shifted away from multibuy to single-unit price promotions since mid-July.Embleton suggests a better strategy would be to champion superior products, rather than compete purely on price. “Whilst discounters focus on core items, grocery channels are able to attract shoppers with unique product offerings,” he says.
Top launch: Nivea In-Shower After Sun Beiersdorf
To think we used to shower and then moisturise… Nivea sought to change all that in 2013 with the launch of its In-Shower Body Moisturiser.
It was such a success, says Nivea, that in March the brand backed it up with an In-Shower After Sun Lotion.
The product has been formulated to give the cooling and soothing effects of traditional aftersun products, but without the “greasy feeling,” explains brand owner Beiersdorf. Let’s just hope the sun shines next summer so we can make the most of it.
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