As male grooming becomes more trendy, the competition heats up

When Scottish native Austin Lally, president of Global Braun and Appliances GmbH, a German electronic shaver producer, makes his annual visit to China, he likes to check out local department stores, starting with the skin care section.

The high quality and prestigious shopping environments in the country often amaze him.

"I think Chinese department stores are leading the world when it comes to quality of execution. And I want to see that quality of execution with brands such as Braun," said Lally, 48.

China represents more than a quarter of the global market for electronic shavers so it is crucial for the company to understand local customer needs, said the president of the brand that dates back to 1921 and has been owned by Procter & Gamble Co since 2005.

Braun's products range from shavers, body groomers, hair care appliances and even the cooking appliance hand blenders.

The Chinese market ranks as the leading market worldwide for Braun with sales rising in a stable fashion, the president said.

Compared with the gradually maturing overseas markets, retail of the products in China have achieved more remarkable growth in recent years and at a higher speed.

"We regard the Chinese market as a business with a lot of potential," said Lally.

"I don't want to estimate what percentage it will be. I want to make it as big as possible."

The brand entered China in 1994 and has expanded to 71 cities with 615 concessions.

Men's grooming saw slower yet still high-value growth of 17 percent in 2012 in China, according to the report by Euromonitor International in April.

P&G's net sales in 2013 in terms of health and grooming globally have reached $17 billion. The group has more than 20 percent of the male shaver market and more than 40 percent of the female epilator market.

In the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2013, net grooming sales of P&G decreased 4 percent to $8 billion.

Lally said 70 percent of Chinese men are using electronic shavers. He wants to bring his company's latest, high-tech products to expand its market share. Most men are using low-end shavers, so there is scope for developing the market.

One of the new products is called CoolTec. It was recently launched in China and cools the skin during shaving, also removing any irritation caused by the removal of hair.

"This is an important problem for Chinese men because they are very focused on their skin," he said.

An excellent appearance and the well-being of their skin are very important to Chinese men, said Lally.

The company spent time conducting customer research and invited their German scientists to China to understand male buyers' user habits and preferences.