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.”