L’Oréal changes the face of men in China

©Getty Some have speculated that a shortage of marriageable women is spurring men to improve their looks

Chinese men are abandoning traditional notions of masculinity to become some of the world’s most avid consumers of skincare products.

The shift highlights the willingness of Chinese consumers to experiment with new products and the need for western brands to localise their product line, cosmetics industry experts say.

L’Oréal, the French consumer group and one of the leading cosmetics groups in China, says the market for men’s skincare products in the country rose 27 per cent last year and has been rising at a rate of 40 per cent this year – about five times the growth rate for women’s skincare products.

Jochen Zaumseil, managing director of L’Oréal Asia-Pacific says: “It’s huge, it’s one of the biggest surprises of this market”.

He says L’Oréal’s products for men, launched in China only three years ago, now account for 22-23 per cent of the Chinese business of L’Oréal Paris, the group’s flagship brand. In western Europe, men’s share of the skincare market is just 7-10 per cent

Shaun Rein of China Market Research in Shanghai, says: “Men’s cosmetics are soaring” .He said a large percentage of purchases was made by women buying skincare or other cosmetic products for men.

Underlining the market’s growth potential, per capita annual spending on beauty products in China is just €5 ($6.2), compared with €130 in France.

Unlike in Europe, Chinese couples often shop together for cosmetics, with the woman making the purchase decision in seven out of 10 cases, says Mr Zaumseil.

Paolo Gasparrini, chief executive of L’Oréal China, says: “I’m still surprised how easy it is for Chinese men to colour their hair or use the skincare products of their wives or girlfriends”.

He added that when the country’s top politicians gathered for official photos there was never a grey hair to be seen among this group of 50, 60 and 70-year-old men.

Chinese men are merely following the lead of their wives and mothers, say cosmetics experts, who note that the Chinese cosmetics market has long been dominated by skincare products, with make-up not widely used and frowned on or even banned for some occupations.

Women have been making their own skincare products in China for thousands of years, says Lin Xinrong, manager of L’Oréal’s skincare lab at the company’s research and development facility outside Shanghai. “In China, beautiful women always have more chance to win something,” like a good job or a good husband, he says.

Chinese men increasingly see appearance as a key to social and professional success, too, and skincare is part of that, L’Oréal researchers say.

Nivea and Metholatum, two other leading foreign cosmetics brands in China, have also launched new men’s cosmetics lines and retailers report that they are devoting more space to displaying men’s products.

Several new men’s fashion magazines have recently been launched, leading fashion industry insiders to speculate about whether the shortage of marriageable women in China due to the one child policy may now be fuelling competition among men to pay more attention to their appearance.

Either way, L’Oréal says the message is clear: cosmetics brands must be “relevant” to local consumers who may be very different from those at home. L’Oréal says 80-85 per cent of its cosmetics products in Asia are specifically developed for Asia.