Lack of new products slows down H&BA sales

Drug Store News, August 20, 1990 by Alan Miller

Lack of new products slows down H&BA sales

During the 12 weeks ended March 23, 1990, nationwide unit sales in 59 health and beauty aid categories tracked by SAMI fell 1.6 percent in food stores and 2.0 percent in drug stores. A report just issued by SAMI on new brand introductions during the 52-week span provides a clue as to one of the reasons for the weakness of health and beauty aids categories. There were only 21 new brands launched during the year with volume of $1 million or more in the nation's food stores.

Of these 21 brands, there were only three with 52-week dollar volume in excess of $10 million: Motrin IB (Ibuprofen), Co-Advil (also an Ibuprofen ingredient cold remedy) and Chesebrough-Pond's Rave shampoo. The highest 12-week dollar share attainment was provided by Gillette's new Sensor razor sets, which accounted for 55.1 percent of category volume. Gillette Sensor razor blades had year-to-date food store volume of $4.2 million in this category. Another brand with strong sales performance was Faberge Power stick antiperspirant, introduced nationally in June 1989 and accounting for 4.4 percent of 12-week category volume for the period.

Among deodorants and antiperspirants, Helene Curtis' Degree Spray held a 2.8- percent dollar share and its roll-on product accounted for more dollars than the spray, but the share level was lower (1.9 percent). Two categories had as many as three new million-dollar brands: stick deodorants and pads, and shampoo. Another new million-dollar brand with good performance was S.C. Johnson's Soft Sense shaving cream, which reinforced the company's franchise in this category as a companion product to Edge.

All of the 21 new million-dollar H&BA brands combined accounted for $83.8 million, or just under 1 percent of total annual food store sales in all monitored categories combined.

There were 373 new H&BA brands introduced during the year with volume, to date, of less than $1 million. Combined, they accounted for $16.4 million, or less than 0.2 percent of total health and beauty aids annual volume in food stores of nearly $9.1 billion.

The average retail sales among these 373 new brands was only $44,000, and in many instances, their 12-week share was less than 0.005 percent. In a number of instances, new brands were no longer being marketed in any of SAMI's 54 major markets as of the 12-weeks ending March 23.

There were four H&BA product categories with more than 20 new brands introduced in food stores during the 52-week interval, paced by shampoo, with 40 brands appearing in one or more SAMI markets. The other three categories with more than 20 new brands were hair conditioning rinses (32), hair setting needs (24), and hand and body creams/lotions (22). There were four H&BA categories with no new product activity: denture adhesives, chest rubs, home permanent kits and proprietary tranquilizers.

Anyone wishing to obtain the comprehensive Arbitron/SAMI new product introductions report should contact Celeste Monte, director of corporate development, at 41 East 42nd St., New York, N.Y. 10017, (212) 297-1176.