Adgully Exclusive | Elevating the bathing experience: GROHE's Bijoy Mohan

GROHE, a renowned brand for sanitary fittings, designs and for being the leader in water technology; recently set up Mumbai's first "GROHE Live Center' Hiranandani Gardens. This is the second Live Center which has been launched in India by GROHE after Bangalore. Established in 1936, GROHE, working continuously for about seven decades has build the reputation for unrivalled quality, superior design and impressive technology.

GROHE India Pvt. Ltd. (GIPL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of GROHE AG and has completed five years of direct operations in India. In this time, GROHE has acquired a significant position in the Indian market as one of the largest selling foreign brands. GROHE being highly involved into technological advancement, have a renowned in-house design team and a customer promise with regards to quality that has stood the test of time and is setting the pace for the future.

On the launch of GROHE's first Live Center in Mumbai, Adgully, exclusively caught up with Bijoy Mohan, President, GROHE ASIAPAC,to get an understanding of the concept behind the GROHE technology and how they are looking ahead to 2012.

Briefing about the launch, Mohan said, "The launch of the LIVE CENTER will further reinforce GROHE as the fastest growing company in the industry, the World's No. 1 brand in sanitary fittings industry. In our commitment to grow the Indian market, we believe that Indian consumers need to experience the award winning design; technology, credibility and quality of the GROHE brand and this center will do exactly that. Furthermore, our association with Hiranandani, a trusted and highly regarded developer in India, is a step towards delivering on our promise of creating value for end users, and we look forward to partnering with other developers across India to help them add value to their customers." Adding further he said, "The GROHE Live Center is a medium for visitors to experience the unique way in which GROHE has synergized design, technology and quality into their products, allowing customers to truly 'Enjoy Water' through them."

GROHE India, recently launched the GROHE Spa Collection which offers an unrivalled range of products for unique bathing spaces matching personal lifestyle and preferences. The new GROHE Spa delivers personal moments of relaxation and regeneration. The product range is uncompromising in terms of both functionality and design, serving up exactly what each individual needs to create their own unique spa experience. The bathroom provides the architectural space; it provides the experience ' adapted to suit personal preferences yet clearly structured. "Unlike a commercial spa, your home spa can be tailored specifically to your needs. Indulgences like your ideal water temperature and pressure just as you like it are at your disposal, and the best part is you can take as much time as you wish. With this new Spa collection we aim to help you escape to your personal sanctuary every day and Enjoy Water", he added.

The enticing Spa collection is available in four design styles- GROHE Ondus & Ondus Veris, GROHE Allure and GROHE Atrio, bringing balance and harmony to today's cosmopolitan bathrooms through exploration of three simple geometric forms: lozenges, squares and circles. And to match up with the lifestyle that people would want to live, there is a growing fascination for faceted shapes in architecture and industry alike. Whether it's modern buildings, futuristic furniture or the latest electronic products - designers are going for the "perfect cut".This self-confident style now enters our bathrooms in the form of Allure Brilliant, the new line of premium faucets from GROHE. With its clean, angular shapes, the Allure faucet line clearly determines the style of GROHE SPA. Allure Brilliant lends the bathroom a unique identity and an exclusive aura.

Speaking about the bathroom fitting sector in India, Mohan explained, "India is a highly lucrative and a fast growing market for premium products and is expected to maintain these growth rates for the next few years. Currently, the total Indian Sanitary market is worth around Rs. 2500 crore with a growth rate of about 10-15% per annum. Of the total sanitary fittings market size in India, the premium segment constitutes 10%. With evolving market and consumer demand, we believe it is the right time to showcase this industry's current market trends including complete bathroom solutions, water conservation technology, distribution strategy, market potential in Tier II cities and growing popularity of imported fittings."

GROHE today stands for its state-of-the-art, design-oriented solutions and innovative sanitary fittings. Explaining about GROHE's brand value in the international and national market, Mohan stated, "Today, Indian consumer is becoming increasingly globalized. Many are already familiar with our brand and have been exposed to the core brand values. In the last five years since the direct entry of the company into the market, GROHE has carved out a leading position in the premium segment on the back of superior product quality and customer service. GROHE products are universally known and accepted and have also been tested to outlast and outperform competition even in Indian conditions."

Design is a fundamental pillar of the GROHE strategy to deliver "the perfect balance of superior quality, technology and design'. GROHE believes good design surpasses form and function. It is an emotional link with a product which creates another dimension and users become attached to the object like a friend. Being conscious of its customers for whom products are designed, it enables GROHE to create a total user experience. The quintessential GROHE design revolves around the concepts of 'Easy' - From product packaging to the user interfaces, GROHE ensures the customer's journey is as intuitive as possible, 'Human' -GROHE aims to produce products that are inviting, approachable and facilitate interaction, encouraging consumers to use them more efficiently and keep them for longer and 'Performance'- GROHE has achieved a balance between aesthetics and function, resulting in products that are beautiful to look at and perform to perfection. By using superior materials, revolutionary processes and enhanced engineering GROHE faucets and showers deliver a range of exhilarating experiences.These three brand values are at the heart of all GROHE products ' faucets and fittings that go beyond aesthetics by combining visually stunning designs with superior technology. Throughout the design process GROHE constantly refer back to these three words to ensure GROHE designs are always relevant and user-centric.

"According to me", stated Mohan, "The philosophy behind creating unique designs in the range of products, is our stunning creations, though each unique, are all an embodiment of GROHE's signature elements of the Ring, 7 degrees and Lozenge which lie at the heart of every design. These three signature elements bring continuity to GROHE product portfolio. This visual DNA is a design language unique to GROHE ' one that allows its customers to intuitively identify quality and value at a glance. Throughout GROHE's ranges one will find perfect circles, which add a string sense of harmony to its designs."

Seven degrees is the angle at which the levers of GROHE new faucet collections are pitched. Research has led to discover that this subtle incline enhances the user experience and facilities product interaction. Ring & Lozenge shapes visually interpret the GROHE 'Sensual Minimalism' philosophy, which takes the traditional concept of minimalist design to the next level and makes it more approachable.

"Our process has even been recognized by the experts proving this has worked for us consistently through years of perfection. The GROHE in-house design team was recently awarded "Reddot Design team of the year 2011', seeing us join the prestigious ranks of design innovators like Apple„¢, Sony, Audi and Nokia", added Mohan.

India has been the fastest market for GROHE for the past five years. GROHE's focuses in Tier II and III markets since they see potential in that market and they believe that consumer's in these market value best products and best technologies.

On this occasion GROHE in association with Hiranandani will be kick starting their "Customer Centric Initiative' for the residents of the Hiranandani complex. The scheme provides residents an opportunity to bring home the world's best designed bathroom at delightful prices. The residents can avail a 30% discount on any GROHE product to upgrade their bathrooms.

Commenting on the association with GROHE, Surendra Hiranandani, Co-founder &Managing Director, Hiranandani Group said, "At the House of Hiranandani it's always our endeavor to bring the best value to our customers. The GROHE - Hiranandani week is a step in this direction. This is a unique initiative from GROHE and a great opportunity for the residents of the Hiranandani complex to get acquainted with this globally renowned brand. Speaking about our collaboration, it will be a pleasure to work with GROHE and reinforce our commitment to provide only the world's best products to our valued customers."

The shift to social media for ads, feedback, as customer engagement campaigns or talent search accelerates even as the internet user base in India expands. Sharing his thoughts about how he looks at the digital space today, Mohan said, "India is an important market for us and we recognize the growing importance of digital space in India. To engage with our customers GROHE has created a Facebook fan page for architects, designers, key influencers and consumers and has launched various campaigns to keep up with the online people-to-people conversation. In 2010 GROHE launched its worldwide Facebook shower campaign. In its campaign to recruit 'Shower Ambassador' on Facebook, GROHE reached out to 20,000 people across the globe of which over 3,500 fans were from India. This campaign marked the appointment of real life ambassadors for GROHE chosen on the basis of their passion for the brand. Following its international recruitment of 2,000 Shower Ambassadors on Facebook, the company launched another campaign "Give me a reason to Shower' which was a unique GROHE online campaign to reach out to audience, globally. This website answered the question why people suddenly dive into mud holes or start dancing in puddles of water. They all have the same thing on their mind - a refreshing shower with GROHE. There were weekly & monthly prizes to win for the best rated entry by the viewers." Elaborating firther he said, "The GROHE shower campaign was ubiquitous on social networks - whether it's Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. More recently, to celebrate the spirit of ICC World Cup 2011, GROHE India developed a Cricket Desktop Widget for all the latest updates on the matches. The 24 x 7 live cricket score desktop widget was developed for all die-heart cricket fans to get latest scores. We foresee the social media to be a great tool to spread the word around for our products. We are happy to see more and more people increasingly participating in these contests from India."

Shedding light on his plans for 2012, Mohan said, "India is a focused market for GROHE and we aim to achieve Rs. 500crore revenue by 2015." | By Ranjana Gupta [ranjana(at)adgully.com]

Exclusives
@adgully

News in the domain of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Business of Entertainment

More in Exclusives