The collection of 21 products is aimed at providing all the tools men need to experiment with their look in order to express their own unique style and identity. According to L'Oréal, the House 99 brand takes a holistic approach to grooming, "merging British barbershop culture and style with hair, skin, beard and tattoo creativity to build a home for every man’s next look".
Beckham is reported to have played an active role in every element of brand development, from testing in the L’Oréal labs to picking product names, fragrances and logo designs, in addition to shaping every detail of each product in the range.
The word 'House' refers to the soccer star's goal of building an inclusive community of "grooming aficionados", while the number '99' refers to a year that holds great significance to Beckham both personally and professionally – he married Victoria, his eldest son Brooklyn was born, and Manchester United won the treble.
“I’m so excited to finally share House 99 with everyone around the world! For me, grooming is not only about how you look, but how you feel. It’s about being comfortable, trying new things and shaping your next look. I created House 99 to give people the inspiration as well as the right products to experiment and feel completely at home doing so. House 99 is here to support men, to give them the tools they need to create whatever look they are going for,” says Beckham.
The new grooming brand will launch in the UK, exclusively at Harvey Nichols, on 1 February 2018, and will roll out to other British retailers and in 19 countries from 1 March 2018.
According to a beauty and personal care analyst at market intelligence company Euromonitor, unlike most of its key competitors, L’Oréal has an exclusive beauty industry presence, and thus benefits from a targeted focus, and an in-depth and well-segmented portfolio across age and income groups.
"Men’s toiletries is a key growth area in L'Oréal’s diversification efforts. It has made a number of launches under the L'Oréal Paris and Garnier brands globally such as L'Oréal Paris Moisturising Body Lotion Tattooed Skin Reviver, which it claims to have pioneered in tattoo care, and the Hydra Energetic shower gel range for active men. Excluding shaving and men’s fragrances, deodorants and skin care are expected to post the highest CAGRs over 2016-2021, both at 4%, with Latin America and Asia Pacific respectively, leading the pack.
"L’Oréal is resorting to innovative ways to reach out to men. In 2016, at Singapore’s Changi Airport, it collaborated with Philips (in shavers) with a pop-up barber shop, where men receive a professional shaving and grooming service, rounded off with L’Oréal’s Men’s Expert skin care products.”
The analyst continues, “L'Oréal has recognised the need to revamp its mass beauty operations, given growing competition from a number of quarters, including local players, smaller trendy brands in Western markets and the growing propensity of consumers to upgrade to premium brands. The company’s strategy to turn around its mass portfolio is well on track.
"Crucial to its turnaround is investment in masstige, especially as consumer trends in regions such as Asia point to greater credit to lower-priced mass brands, with high-functioning formulations, especially those with Korean heritage, signalling that premium labels now compete with masstige brands on count of efficacy but of course, lower price.”
