Chinese men look set to become new focus for cosmetic producers

05-Dec-2006 - Last updated on 19-Jul-2008 at 09:21 GMT

Related tags Cosmetics

With world leading market growth China has long been the focus for
international cosmetics producers. But as the market there evolves,
it seems that a new-found confidence amongst rban Chinese males is
causing them to spend more and more and more on cosmetic products.

According to a report by the Xinhua news agency, Chinese men are now spending an average of 8.6 minutes admiring themselves in the mirror and around RNB80 (€7.50) a month on grooming products.

The survey was conducted by interviewing men aged 18 to 60 in seven major Chinese cities and was conducted by Horizon Research Consultancy Group and a Shanghai fashion and media company.

The results also showed a certain amount of disparity amongst different urban areas. Beijing, the most affluent urban area in the country showed an average expenditure of RNB 118 a month - the highest of all the cities.

Likewise, it appears that males in Shanghai are the vainest, with the average guy there claiming to spend a whopping 17 minutes a day in the bathroom.

Only a few years ago expenditure on personal grooming was extremely limited in China, and although this remains so for rural dwellers, the urban Chinese male is rapidly developing increasingly sophisticated tastes in their personal grooming habits.

This falls in line with increased spending power, brought about by the rapid economic development in urban areas.

This figure compares very favourably to expenditure in the US - the world's most developed market - where the average male spends around €3.40 on mail-specific personal care products a month, together with additional generic toiletries.

By western standards the China market as for cosmetic products as a whole is still relatively undeveloped. This is because, at the same time as the rapid development of the urban consumer landscape, the picture in rural areas remains very different.

This is because males living in rural areas have done little to change their buying habits for male grooming products, rarely spending more than a few yuan on the bare essentials - such as shampoo, toothpaste, razors and soap.

The market for cosmetics and toiletries in China is currently valued in excess of $10bn and is continuing to race ahead with growth well into double figures.