'India biz doubled in a year,' says German home fittings maker Hansgrohe as it eyes further expansion

The $1.35-billion Hansgrohe group that manufactures luxury home fittings predominantly out of Germany eyes India as its top five strategic markets. Sales from the country have almost doubled since last year and tripled in last 2.5 years, according to the maker of smart living applications that include shower systems, bathroom and kitchen faucets, and other premium home solutions.

“We see a lot of momentum for our brand in India. We, as a company, are selling products for the home and therefore were a beneficiary of the pandemic because people operated out of home. Our target group luxury and premium are keen to see innovative products. As a company, we expanded into other cities 58 cities,” Hans Juergen Kalmbach, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Hansgrohe said. “Around 50 per cent of the business that we have today is coming from the geographical expansion we did in last 3-5 years,” he adds.

He added that the company in India plans to grow into more segments like sanitary ware, ceramics, furniture, mirrors, and shower segments, etc. and will also localise them to grow sales in the country.

Thomas Stopper, Vice President Sales (Asia), Hansgrohe says that Indians have taken to the design proficiency of its product portfolio. “The Indian market has become much more educated. There’s a lot of additional thrust for design innovation where our core strength lies. They are much more willing to spend on their homes now. It’s also about material innovation and using environmentally friendly materials that should last for 20-30 years. Design quality needs to be at play. That’s a constant focus for us with our designers,” he said.
 
Currently, the company has no manufacturing in India and 70 per cent products are made in Germany but it wants to localise more as it gets into more product categories in their 200 plus touch points. Digital sales, however, is not on the cards. “In European countries, DIY is much more advanced. That’s why people go online to buy our products. Installation here is a key topic. Our category is yet too complex to sell it directly to consumer. But the good news is that our new innovations are working perfectly for the Indian consumer. There are only few countries that adopt as quickly as India,” Kalmbach adds.

He says that the company’s next big focus is sustainable technologies like water recycling, water reuse and a reduction of water usage. “We are changing our portfolio to sustainable technologies. We are working on technologies that work on using water by 90 per cent. Some old technologies use up to 20-30 litres of water per minute. We want to reinvent the bathroom. We are constantly innovating for the future,” he said.

Also read: September Slowdown: Startup funding plunges 83% year-on-year, only 2 unicorns added

Also read: Premium vodka brand Grey Goose eyes India’s young cocktail-drinking population