Villeroy & Boch looks at India to boost sales

Attracted by the Rs780-crore branded luxury snitary product market, European premium tableware, bath and wellness brand Villeroy & Boch plans is looking at India to introduce its bathroom concepts. 

The Deutsche Borse-listed German manufacturer has entered India directly with the launch of its Indian subsidiary, Villeroy & Boch Sales India Pvt. Ltd, and plans to offer its lifestyles products and product range, in the high-growth Indian market, which in volume terms is at around 40 million pieces, growing at between 12 and 15 per cent year on year.

The product range in the company's bath and wellness category includes sanitary ceramics, bathroom furniture, bathtubs, whirlpool systems, shower systems and trays, steam cabins and taps in four quite distinct lifestyles, ''Metropolitan'', ''Classic'', Country'' and ''Easy''. These lifestyles are aimed at different tastes and target groups.

Andreas Pfeiffer, head, bath and wellness division, says, ''Our brand with the value of tradition, authenticity and innovation is the key for our international growth. It is a capital that works for us worldwide, especially in India with its discerning, quality and design orientated consumers. Our market experience has been very positive.''

Villeroy & Boch plans to target a substantial share of the market in the next three years and plans to invest in facilities to achieve a double-digit growth in India. It has planned 15 to 18 Showrooms in 2009 through Shop in Shop and Flagship stores as part of 18 outlets in 15 cities to make inroads into residential projects as well as capture some market for the renovation segment as well.

Accordingly it will focus its marketing though the business-to business and business-to-consumer models.

To showcase its quality it will also open its unique concept outlet, ''The House of Villeroy & Boch'' in India in 2009.

According to Rahul Kher, country manager, Villeroy & Boch India, there is a strong need for a premium brand in the ''Bath & Wellness'' ceramics category in India, as consumers have started taking bathroom space more seriously than ever.

Kher says, "Our biggest challenge will be to champion the concept of lifestyles for bath and wellness category and also to reveal the good price-performance ratio,''as consumers at the top end are sophisticated and opt for innovative lifestyle products. 

A distinguishing feature of the brand is its highly diversified product-range. The concepts of ''the single-source bathroom" and "The completely laid table" enable the company to offer solutions in interior-design problems and a high degree of product coordination corresponds with the large variability, so that the consumer has a wide range of choice and combination alternatives.