Kaldewei's retail entry to India

The German sanitary brand, Kaldewei has opened its first showroom in Ahmedabad. The makers of steel enamel bath tubs and showertrays, eyes a turnover of nearly Rs 10 crore from India during the 2012 fiscal ending December 2012. The company, has been supplying bath tubs to hotels and this its first step into retail.

"Kaldewei replaced the old cast iron bath tubs in European households with its steel enamel tubs, and became Europe's number one brand in bath tubs. Ours is the only company to give a 30 year warranty on our tubs" said Nicole Roesler, global Marketing Director, Kaldewei.

These tubs are made from metal that is crafted using a proprietary formula which only Kaldewei has access to. "We use 3.5 mm steel enamel, which is thicker than the grade of steel used in cars", claimed Roesler.

It started supplying in India seven years back with Hyatt Mumbai being its first client. It has, in these five years, supplies 4000-5000 tubs. Mukund Patel, Sales Director, South Asia region of Kaldewei South Asia Pte Ltd. "In one year's time we are expecting retail sales to contribute to around 40 per cent of our overall sales in the country, while rest will come from institutional sales.”

Globally, nearly 70 per cent of Kaldewei's sales come from exports to 66 countries. "As a part of our strategy, the exports share will rise to 80 per cent in the coming years. Asia including India holds great potential for our range of products", Roesler said.