Chennai: Pursuing its strategic goal to emerge a total bathroom solutions supplier, Chennai-based Parryware Roca Private Limited has lined up a slew of plans that include an entry into the bathroom furniture segment and expanding its premium sanitaryware range.

It may be recalled the company entered the branded mirror segment couple of months ago and the taps market couple of years ago.

Says A Vellayan, chairman, "We will launch the bathroom range of cupboards and cabinets some time early 2008." This would involve, he says, importing as well as sourcing domestically the furniture range.

Parryware Roca, an equal joint venture between Murugappa group's EID Parry (India) Limited and Spain's Roca Sanitario, will shortly launch its Crestia premium sanitaryware range.

The new range will be in addition to the company's existing brands viz Roca (ultra premium), Parryware (premium) and Johnson Peddar (mid range) and priced in the Rs8000 - Rs.25,000 band between Roca and Parryware brands.

According to K E Ranganathan, the market size in the top end ultra premium and premium market is estimated around Rs.130 crore. Through the launch of Crestia, the company intends to increase its market share in the top end sanitaryware market by 5 per cent to 15 per cent, for which steps were being taken to make the products at the company's plants in Alwar, Rajasthan and Perundurai, Tamil Nadu, Ranganathan said.

Launched a couple of months ago, the Roca brand, currently being imported, has achieved a market share of around 7 per cent in the ultra premium market.

Vellayan says consumers were willing to spend an additional 25 per cent to get a good bathroom. Earlier the average spending on a bathroom was around Rs.50,000.

Discounting the possibility of launching bathroom tiles in the near future, Ranganathan says the sales of Parryware-branded mirrors has been encouraging so far.

With the booming real estate market and the resultant increase in demand for sanitaryware Parryware Roca products, the company is expanding its Parryware and Roca dealer network across the country.

According to Ranganathan, the company is opening new dealerships and also encouraging existing dealers to revamp their showrooms.

During the current fiscal the company has opened and refurbished around 60 Parryware dealerships.

"We have opened 30 Roca dealerships and plan to add 20 more before the end of this financial year," explains Ranganathan.

He also said that the company had budgeted around Rs45 crore this year on brand building and plans to raise it it by Rs.50 crore next year.

With around 30 per cent of revenues coming from institutional sales, Parryware Roca has signed agreements with most of the major builders in the country.

"We hope to close this fiscal with a sales of Rs.350 crore," says Ranganathan.