Marketers take note: the era of metrosexuality is upon us. The term surfaced a few years ago and is meant to describe heterosexual men who are keenly interested in personal grooming and shopping for
clothes but don't feel that showing such an interest is contrary to manliness. At first it was a sociological concept--now it's a booming product market. "With men becoming more involved with their
grooming habits and the explosive growth in the men's segment (dollar volume +49% in 2005), we saw a huge opportunity to introduce the male consumer to a new proposition in skincare," says Carol J.
Hamilton, president of the L'Oréal Paris division of L'Oréal USA, Inc., whose Men's Expert line was among the first to hit the mass market a few years ago. L'Oreal is not alone as many other
marketers have joined the trend with new product launches targeted to men. Walk through the aisles of any US drugstore, and you'll notice an abundance of male-targeted personal grooming products, such
as anti-aging eye-creams, shower gels and formula facial cleansers, slowly monopolizing the shelves. Research shows that younger men are at the forefront of the movement. In Europe, 24% of men under
30 use skincare products, compared with 20% of the population as a whole. In Japan, some 30% of men under 30 use a skincare product, and in South Korea the figure clocks in at over 80%.
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