As more Indians travel abroad and become familiar with iconic lifestyle brands, the desire to own them in India, too, seems to be growing. This is not restricted to what they could flaunt to people outside like automobiles, watches or jewellery, but seems to extend to houses.

How else one could explain the wave of global brands in products like tiles, crockery, cutlery, bathroom and wellness products?

This desire seen only in big cities or among the affluent sections of the society, if the experience of Villeroy & Boch, an international brand in bathroom fittings and wellness products, is an indication. In the three years since its entry, it has established roots in big cities and in a string of Tier-II cities, the latest of which is Coimbatore.

GREAT POTENTIAL

According to Mr M. S. Nair, Country Manager, Bathroom & Wellness Division, Villeroy & Boch Sales India, the market for the bathroom and wellness products was estimated to grow to Rs 1,800 crore by 2014-15.

Of this, the premium segment would be around Rs 1,000 crore. His company hopes to have about 25 business partners to market its products across India by June.

He said his company's presence, apart from the four metros and big cities like Bangalore or Hyderabad, extends to smaller cities such as Kochi, Indore, Kozhikode, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Coimbatore and Thiruvananthapuram.

While some are already open, some others would be in place by June, when it hopes to have more than 25 business partners to market its range.

Countries like India and China offered great potential, and since Villeroy & Boch was an ‘aspirational brand' and customers used to a luxurious lifestyle would look for products that suited their taste. The company had a range of products in its portfolio like sanitary ware, sauna, tiles and bathroom fittings, apart from tableware-high-end crockery/cutlery.

Brand recall

Explaining the high brand recall of Villeroy & Boch, he said when the famed Bolshoi theatre in Moscow wanted to renovate the building, it wanted the identical tiles the company had originally supplied, which the company delivered. The brand had a total recall in Europe and it hopes to replicate the success in India too.

He said there were no definitive numbers for the high-end market for sanitary ware, since both organised and unorganised sectors have a presence in the segment. The CAGR of the market could be around 12-15 per cent even in difficult times.

He would like to get 20-25 per cent of the market share at the top-end of the segment.

REASON FOR EXPANSION

Mr Nair said as the average Indian was more travelled now, the company wanted to reach out to the discerning customer, which was the reason behind expanding its network to smaller towns as well.

The price of WCs start at around Rs 12,000, and go on to more than Rs 1 lakh, wash basins are available in the Rs 7,000-Rs 1 lakh price range. The bathtubs/whirlpools are in the price band of Rs 6-7 lakh, all at the retail level.

It may not be possible for a retailer to stock all the products. It works with dealers for optimising the impact, by working on concepts. He said his company is also working with developers of luxury apartments in promoting its products, as part of its strategy to generate volume.

He said 22 outlets have been established across the country and was seeing greater growth in smaller towns as people are willing to spend more.

At the moment, the replacement market may be limited. But he saw growth to come when families go for renovation of their homes.

Imports for now

On the option of manufacturing its products in India itself rather than importing them, its nearest plant is in Thailand, Mr Nair said, and added that it would require economy of scale.

But the availability of raw materials for manufacture wasn't an issue since they could be sourced from within India, available in plenty. Some of the competitors' products were available at very low pricing levels, and his company wouldn't be able to compete with them.

On when the company would take a call on putting up a manufacturing unit in India, he said the economic situation ‘wasn't very stable' and the company was a little cautious.

The other issue was volume which at present levels does not make a compelling case for a production unit in the country.

Moreover, imports from Thailand may become competitive once both India and Thailand agree to favourable trade terms.

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