Male clients mean big business

Salons who ignore the potential offered by male clients are missing out on a growing and lucrative part of the market, suggests new research by Mintel. The latest report on the male haircare market reveals that while the men’s haircare market remained stable in the UK at £85 million between 2014 and 2015, it is forecast to grow 11% over the next five years to reach £94 million by 2020. Notably, sales of treatments in this market reached £14.9 million in 2015, up from £14.7 million in 2014. The potential for retail sales is huge, the research suggests, with many men keeping their haircare products close at hand for whatever the day throws at them. Indeed, one fifth (20%) of men who use haircare products keep styling products with them for on-the-go fixes, and the same proportion (20%) say they use styling products throughout the day. What’s more, many men turn to the professionals when they need to have their hair dressed to impress: 30% of men who use haircare products say that on special occasions they prefer to visit a barber or hairdresser to have their hair styled. When it comes to achieving the perfect look it seems younger men are the most image conscious when it comes to their hair, with as many as one third (33%) of 16-24 year olds who use haircare products taking time to style their hair in the morning, compared to an average of 23% of men overall. Additionally, over one fifth (22%) of the same group say they use heated styling appliances, up from an average of 12% of men overall.