American bathroom fixtures maker Kohler which completed 20 years in India this year, plans to invest Rs 800 crore over the next three financial years to expand its manufacturing, and engineering capacity, while also growing it’s retail presence. Chris Ball, President of Kitchen & Bath International at Kohler, speaks with Anees Hussain about the company’s ultra-luxury push, and localisation strategy for the Indian market.
Q: What does your investment pipeline for India look like?
Ball: We have invested around Rs 312 crore over the last five years towards growth and modernisation in India. Over the next three financial years, we will be investing Rs 800 crore to expand manufacturing capabilities at our existing plant in Gujarat, growing our engineering team, and launching new experiential stores and studios. We now have three Kohler Experience Centres and four Studios across the country, with more coming. About 70% of our production is local for local consumption, with the balance being exported. We expect the majority to remain local for local.
Q: How significant is India in Kohler’s global portfolio?
Ball: India is one of our top three markets globally. The potential for growth here is unparalleled. Indian consumers are also one of a kind, in terms of tech saviness and being quick to adopt innovation. We aren’t just looking to apply our global playbook in India. We can only win here by understanding the Indian consumer and building products specific to this market. At the same time our growing engineering team here in India, are making global decisions.
Q: How does your India business split between retail and projects?
Ball: About 60% comes from retail consumers, 40% from projects—builders, hospitality, and government establishments. Both are growing double-digit. Southern markets tend to have a higher project index due to high-rises, while northern markets tend to skew towards retail with more number of independent bungalows. Currently, we have 828 dealers across 83 cities. We expect to add another 20 cities in the near-term. However, our top focus is on closing the headroom in existing cities, which we believe is very large.
Q: You’ve launched Kallista, your ultra-luxury brand in India. What’s the outlook?
Ball: Anyone in the ultra-luxury segment wants something truly bespoke. Kallista has been in our portfolio for decades globally. We’re just bringing it to India now. The level of refinement on these products is a lot higher than our premium products. To support this, we had acquired Klafs, a German company making ultra-high-end bathroom products. Our presence in India now covers everything from premium to design-leading luxury. We don’t see ourselves ever getting into the mass category. Our strength remains in the luxury and ultra luxury, for which there is an ever increasing appetite in India.
Q: What are your service capability expansion plans?
Ball: The Indian consumer has expectations that are truly world-leading. We get emails at the executive level when something isn’t resolved within a couple of hours, which doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world. This is truly one of the most demanding markets globally. Currently, we have service capability across 710 pin codes. Over 95% of requirements are completed within 24 hours, same-day resolution has moved from 60% to 86%. We’re now targeting a 4-hour turnaround in India, something that has never done before in this industry. We see services like quick commerce play a huge role in influencing consumer expectations in terms of convenience here in India. The grit, and refinement required here is unparalleled.