Don’t Let Bath Sales Slip Away

Rub a dub, dub, slips often occur in the tub — and all throughout the bathroom. According to the National Safety Council, 220,630 bathroom injuries required medical treatment in 2002, the most recent year for which data are available. So it’s no wonder that manufacturers are continually striving to develop better products that make bathrooms less of a danger zone.

Bath equipment manufacturers say they want to decrease the hazards associated with the unfortunate combination of wet, slick surfaces (on sinks, tiles and tubs), heat (from hot water) and toxic substances (from medications often stored in the cabinets). There were 194 bathroom-related deaths in 2002, more than in any other category tracked such as sports, home, yard or garden equipment, or children’s products, NSC figures indicate.

Little Reimbursement, But Lots Of Potential

Despite the need for bath safety products, the category is plagued by low margins and high competition. Home care companies often discount products in light of competition to get the sale, manufacturers say. Providers also give bath products less attention and shelf space because, in general, they do not qualify for insurance reimbursements, manufacturers note.

“The bath safety market is kind of slow right now,” laments Janet Lippa, medical consultant for Clark Medical Products. “Dealers have so many other products that move all the time … that they don’t promote [these] products more or carry them in their stores.” She believes that, overall, the bath safety category — and providers’ sales — could benefit if more products were kept in stock and customers had an opportunity to see and try the products in showrooms.

Kevin Jones, senior product and brand manager for Home Care by Moen, agrees that HMEs need to raise awareness of bath products and let customers know they can live “independently with style. [Patients] don’t have to lose any independence or dignity in purchasing and using these products.”

The challenge in educating both consumers and HME providers makes the bath safety category a “diamond in the rough,” Jones notes. “Everything up to this point has been reimbursement, reimbursement, reimbursement,” he says. “Non-reimbursable items such as bath products have been overlooked in how to sell them and how to bring innovation to the end-user.

“One day, though, as the huge baby boomer generation ages, we think the prevalence of this category will explode.”

Safety — and Style

When that happens, Jones says providers who have paid attention to patients and done consumer research will be the ones who benefit. Moen and other manufacturers believe products that provide stability, safety and ergonomics with style and portability will flourish.

“We’re doing everything we can to bring functional innovation and style to the category,” Jones says. “Most of the innovation will come in terms of how closely we as manufacturers can weave ourselves into the lifestyles of the end-users of our products.”

For example, Jones sees a trend in customers seeking products that are sturdy but lighter in weight, portable and more attractive. In response, Moen recently introduced grab bars with a new, secure wall mount that is easier to install and that come in upscale finishes such as brushed nickel to match the current look of other bathroom decor. The company also is working on a travel bath chair that weighs just a few pounds and can fold to fit in the trunk of a car.

“Baby boomers like style,” Jones notes. “They’re typically more demanding and do more research, and are willing to pay more for a more attractive product as long as you deliver helpful information in the form of showrooms and catalogs.”

Michael DiFranco, product manager of bariatrics for Invacare Corp., says in the past several years there has been a big change in product expectation regarding stability and safety. The company’s roll-out of its bath safety and commode products with Microban antimicrobial protection began last August. Because these products are susceptible to the growth of organisms due to the damp environments in which they are used, the new technology, formulated into the design material, resists the growth of stain and odor-causing mold, mildew and bacteria.

And recently, DiFranco notes, there has been increasing demand for bath products that are comfortable, ergonomic, convenient, highly designed and in different colors. “Baby boomers and the elderly grow to see bath safety products as an extension of themselves,” he explains, “so style is a critical element.”

Additionally, as the population of those who are morbidly obese grows, consumers are looking for higher-capacity bath aids and safety products that still fit comfortably in the home. “In the past year-and-a-half, we’ve seen a surge for higher capacity and bigger dimensions on products like tubs and benches,” he says.

With bariatric bath safety equipment, “not one particular feature makes it innovative,” he continues. “It’s a compilation of what makes a person say, ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool; I fit,’ instead of another chair where their posterior is hanging off the side.”

According to Barry Cleveland, East Coast regional sales manager for Tuffcare, bath products that incorporate portability and better design have a better chance for success. Users often want products that are durable but that can be put away when not in use, like a bath bench they can fold away out of sight if they have company or put in the car if they are traveling.

“Safety is the first priority. Then [consumers] want the lightest thing possible they can transport and store,” he says. As for looks, Tuffcare’s products are polycoated white because “most bathrooms have white tile and white toilets and sinks,” he suggests.

One hurdle to getting people — whether they are home-based patients, seniors trying to stay independent and at home or baby boomers refitting their homes — to buy bath safety products they might need is the difficulty and cost of installation, Moen’s Jones believes. The company’s tub grips attach with motion clamps made of rubber and plastic to reduce extensive twisting during installation that could damage tubs, and its raised toilet seat has a locking device designed to provide stability yet allows the product to be easily attached — or removed before company comes over.

“It’s all about creating something that’s seamless for the patient — and the patient’s family,” he says.

Here Comes the Competition

Once HME providers stock attractive, portable bath safety products, they then must pay attention to the showroom floor, manufacturers say. That’s because they are competing for sales with retailers such as drug stores, mass merchandisers and home improvement stores.

“Products are in stores like Lowe’s and soon will be everywhere,” Jones says, noting that falls are the leading cause of death among the elderly, and the bathroom is a prime place for such accidents.

“The interesting thing about bath safety is it’s really the only DME category in retail,” points out Invacare’s DiFranco. “Bath safety translates so well because price points are so good.” Products are often impulse purchases, and manufacturers are responding to that, he says. Additionally, “the customer is tending to buy products in new venues because the caregiver is often a son or daughter who wants to be able to pick up a shower chair while they’re making other purchases,” he says.

“Our history is with the DME. We’re not turning our backs on that,” DiFranco says. “But as a manufacturer we can’t ignore the migration into the retail arena.”

So how can providers compete when products are being sold in more outlets? Home care stores need to be more retail-oriented, DiFranco suggests.

“Ask yourself if you are growing with the times and making your store easier to shop in,” he advises. “You can’t have a cold mausoleum of medical devices and expect to keep up with Mr. Wal-Mart.

“But what HME providers bring to the table is onsite professional staff who can give advice — and Wal-Mart can’t offer that because it’s self-serve.”

Packaging also is important in conveying product features and benefits to consumers, say the experts. Some manufacturers, such as Moen, offer selling aids like free floor merchandisers. And packaging for Invacare’s personal care products has been refreshed with a new color palette and photos that allow consumers to visualize themselves using the products in a home setting.

But even “if the product comes in a brown box, take it out and show it to the person,” emphasizes Tuffcare’s Cleveland. “Demonstrate how it works or show the customer a picture in a book and explain how they can take it home and do this and that.

“Whether it’s a $1 or $100 item, you want to make sure the customer is buying something that’s going to last and understands what they are buying,” Cleveland says. He recommends that, in addition to product variances, providers should be aware of warranties.

Adds Jones, “If HME providers simply asked every customer that bought a cane, ‘Do you have grab bars?’ and suggested they put one by the shower and the toilet, it’s an easy way for them to make an extra [sale].”

Market Growth Ahead

Despite the work involved in making a bath product sale, the category can pay big dividends, manufacturers say.

“As the huge baby boomer generation ages, once they start declining in physical abilities, the first thing they will need help with is mobility and [bathroom activities] like showering and getting up,” Jones says.

The nation’s obesity epidemic also will increase bath product sales, Invacare’s DiFranco says. “If you’re looking at obesity, the largest age group for the morbidly obese is middle-agers and baby boomers,” he says. “And if you’re 400 pounds at 40, you’re likely to be 450 pounds at 50 and not lose the weight unless you get surgery. We’re focused on bariatrics as a [sales] growth area.”

Moen estimates the bath safety market currently has been growing 6 to 8 percent annually, and expects the growth rate to be in the double digits by 2008. “We’re expecting about 10 percent, and potentially 15 percent, as baby boomers age,” Jones says.

“I think that number is skewed conservatively because as more retailers carry these products and they become more prevalent and ubiquitous, consumers will become more aware of them. The market could grow twice or three time as fast.”

And Cleveland points out that sales could increase even faster in areas with large populations of seniors, such as states like Florida.

According to Erika Feinberg, CEO of ActiveForever.Com, which offers accessibility and convenience products through a Web site and a retail store, “Most companies don’t put a lot of thought and energy into this area because it’s not heavily insurance driven. This is still an insurance-centric marketplace.”

Despite that mindset, bath safety products represent great sales opportunities, she says. “People want to keep living … and doing the things that they like to do. The thing that slows them down is that they are reliant on certain products and can’t fold [them up and put them] in their purse. No one is going to travel around with an elevated toilet seat.”

Yet it appears, at least from the manufacturers’ standpoint, there will soon be more products to solve that problem.

Experts Interviewed

Barry Cleveland, East Coast regional sales manager, Tuffcare, Anaheim, Calif.; Michael DiFranco, product manager, bariatrics, Invacare Corp., Elyria, Ohio; Erika Feinberg, CEO, ActiveForever.Com, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Kevin Jones, senior product and brand manger, Home Care by Moen, North Olmsted, Ohio; Janet Lippa, medical consultant, Clark Medical Products, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.