Quick Factoids About Men’s Grooming

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Haircutting is a $59-BILLION DOLLAR industry.

Men’s grooming is THE FASTEST GROWING SEGMENT of the entire hair care/grooming industry.

HIGH FREQUENCY – men get their hair cut every 2 to 4 weeks.

GQ MAGAZINE points out: men are under more scrutiny and pressure than ever before, regarding their personal appearance – in social and career/business environments.

Almost 90% of men over age 15 shave in America, according to Gillette.

Although very traditional, shaving is also THE NEW, HOT SKIN CARE MARKET. Sales of upscale shaving foams and products and men’s skin care products is up $22-Million in just the past 3 years….with growth of another $10-million to$12-million projected in 2008.

Demographics As Destiny

Harry S. Dent Jr., a Harvard MBA, consultant to the Fortune 100, and author of a number of bestselling books including THE NEXT GREAT BUBBLE BOOM, is a highly celebrated and respected expert in forecasting societal and financial trends based on analysis of demographics. He has demonstrated time and again, that the marketplace follows changes in demographics as certainly as night follows day.  The biggest and most important demographic trend has been, is, and for next 7 to 10 years, continues to be, explosive growth of the mass-affluent and affluent consumer groups. Essentially, the middle class is disappearing, with more moving up than down. What has been documented as “the new middle class of millionaires” has emerged, and even though temporarily wounded by the real estate reversals, promises to rebound and keep growing. Within the increasingly affluent spending classes, there are several groups of especially high value to Kennedy’s™.

Some of the major trends favoring Kennedy’s All-American Barber Clubs™ are:

•Concentration of discretionary spending power in the hands of “boomers.” 

Boomers hit their peak of our population in 2008 and into 2009, and they will be a dominant consumer group for the next 10 to 12 years. In terms of psychology, and therefore, spending, they are different than any previous generation hitting the same chronological point in their lives. While previous groups tended to sharply reduce spending, shrink lifestyle, and preserve money for those who would inherit, this current population of boomers is demonstrating a propensity for continued spending on themselves, including lifestyle and luxury goods, services and experiences. Financially, a greater percentage of boomers, than any previous such group, have greater discretionary spending power than ever before. On top of that, they are poised to inherit the greatest transfer of generational wealth in American history.  This is all summarized in Chapter Six of the book NO B.S. GUIDE TO MARKETING TO THE AFFLUENT. The “boomer male” is an ideal Member for Kennedy’s™. He is old enough to have nostalgia for the classic men’s barber shop; he has a strong desire to be treated with respect, civility, and courtesy; he is uncomfortable in other hair-cutting environments; and he has the affluence to easily afford our memberships and services.

Kennedy’s™ is literally made for the mass-affluent and affluent boomer!

•The unique group of “those who’ve gone from poor to rich.”

The majority of successful business owners, entrepreneurs and sales professionals have gotten where they are from the ground-up, through self-motivation, determination, persistence, hard work, and salesmanship. They are great admirers of those virtues when they identify them in others, and tend to respond well to businesses marketed in a way that represents those virtues. They also feel they deserve a lot more recognition than they get, and have a learned behavior of rewarding themselves in various ways, including those symbolic of status and providing upscale experiences. This segment of the mass-affluent and affluent populations, age 40 and up, has roughly doubled just in the past 5 years and promises to again double in the next 5, despite disadvantageous governmental tax policy. . . the opportunities available now are so enhanced by technology, removal of geographic boundaries, reduced barriers to entry into many businesses, and the explosive growth of the mass-affluent and affluent populations to sell to, that the number of entrepreneurs rapidly rising from “poor” to “rich” cannot help but keep growing.  This target group is further described in Chapter seven of the book, NO B.S. MARKETING TO THE AFFLUENT.

•Those who “trade-up.”

Within the mass-affluent, there are many “aspirational buyers,” meaning that they buy things that reinforce their image of who they intend to be and the lifestyle they hope and want to live. Because that reach exceeds their grasp, they can’t simply change the luxury-level of everything they buy, so they “trade-up” on relatively minor things. Such a man may not yet buy a top luxury car, but if traveling and renting cars, may rent the luxury auto rather than the ordinary full-size or mid-size one. He may not buy a $5,000.00 custom-made suit, but he may very well have his dress shirts custom tailored. This buyer and buying behavior is described in Chapter 16 of the NO B.S. MARKETING TO THE AFFLUENT book, and that chapter is sub-titled: “Their Little Indulgences Equal Big Profit Improvements.” In many respects, Kennedy’s™ is a “little indulgences” business, which enables us to successfully sell services at premium prices (and superior profit margins).

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