Hansgrohe to expand bathroom portfolio

livemint.com:

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.