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New Delhi: German plumbing materials and sanitary fittings manufacturer Hansgrohe, known for its premium faucets and showers, is set to expand its presence in the Indian bathroom solutions market with the launch of new ceramics line.
In an exclusive interview, the German brand’s India managing director, Gaurav Malhotra talked about the company’s plans to introduce 64 new ceramics designs to the Indian market by 2023-end, as a part of its strategy to provide a full range of bathroom solutions to Indian consumers.
While faucets and showers constitute the bulk of its business, Hansgrohe sees opportunity to leverage its brand reputation for luxury fixtures catering to aspirational consumers. This also aligns with the evolving preferences of Indian who are increasingly investing in bathroom renovations, Malhotra said.
The ceramics portfolio will enable the company to access new customer segments, and drive market penetration. The company also aims to improve its price positioning through a new assembly unit set to open in India by late 2023. The unit will initially assemble faucets to reduce import duties. In the long term, it hopes to lower the costs further by sourcing and manufacturing locally. It has over 160 dealer showrooms across India’s major cities.
The luxury segment constitutes 4-6% of the Indian market, compared to 40% in developed markets like Germany. In China, it’s 15-20%. “In India, we have a lot of space to penetrate deeper into our categories, and offer a range of bathroom solutions in ceramics.” said Malhotra.
He added that the company has seen remarkable growth over the last decade. “Since becoming a full subsidiary in 2012, Hansgrohe India has grown aggressively with a sevenfold jump in the last 5-6 years alone. In terms of distribution network, we had a presence in just 13 cities in 2018, which has now grown to more than 72 cities, operating over 160 stores. Our market share has also tripled in India,” added Malhotra.
The company is also looking to tap newer growth opportunities beyond metro cities through expansion into tier 2 locations and focus on the projects segment.
“While metros like Mumbai and Delhi remain important, and even for project developments, I think our larger share still comes from the top eight to 10 cities, there is a large potential for sales growth in smaller cities and towns across the country. We will have customised dealership formats and marketing initiatives,” he added.
While Hansgrohe primarily operates in the business-to-business (B2B) space, it acknowledges the importance of a growing consumer presence. The company is gradually increasing its visibility in the business-to-consumer (B2C) domain, recognising that consumers play an influential role in the final product selection. Currently, it has partnerships with architects and designers for B2B sales and this retail brings 85% of its business, with 15% coming from the hospitality industry.
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