With more customers demanding their sanitary ware should be `environment friendly’, the sanitary ware sector now focusses on such products with emphasis given to `water conservation’.
The hitherto associated images of bathrooms and huge water consumption was changing with sanitary ware manufacturers coming up with designs aimed at water conservation, Emilio Salazar, Deputy Managing Director of Parryware Roca Private Limited, leading player in the sanitary ware business, told PTI.
``With consumers becoming more and more water conscious, there is now a demand for designs that consume less water,’’ he said.
Keeping in with the demand, Roca, has launched products that consume less water - including the ones with strategically located water jets and a dual flush system.
Water conservation
The focus was on products that use less water as opposed to the older products that consume several litres of water, he said. ``It was not just environment friendly products that were in demand but products that were no longer just functional but visually appealing as well,’’ said S Srinivas, General Manager, Sales of Parryware Roca Private Limited.
The total sanitary ware market estimated to around Rs 800 crore with the premium ware segment tagged at Rs 100 crore, he said.
"Few years ago people opted for the standard EWC and the two piece cisterns, but now there is a demand for single piece cisterns, wall mounted cisterns, closed cisterns and designer cisterns which appeared classy" Srinivas said.
Sanitary ware has stepped out from its functional domain to be part of the classy interior decor of the house.
``The bathroom-toilet area is now being given as much attention and taken into consideration when discussing the interior decor of the house,’’ said Srinivas.
Magazine bathroom
With affordability no longer being a major constraint, people are keen to effect the `magazine bathroom look’ in their apartment.
An average Indian household is now ready to shell out nearly Rs 40,000 to Rs 75,000.
In the upmarket segment, the figure ran somewhere in the two lakh plus category with consumers spending hours on finding the right combination, look and colour for their bathrooms and toilets.
With greater number of Indians being exposed to the international look in this domain, when they travelled abroad, there was an aspiration to replicate these designer bathrooms back home in India.
The entry of foreign players in this segment also had fuelled the market, with consumers now having access to an Italian bathroom, a German bathroom or a European styled bathroom.
``The trend in the sanitary market keeps changing.  The individualistic taste of consumers also vary.
One stop solutions
Some want it simple and functional, some want it more romantic and some just want it looking good,’’ he said. Consumers also look for a replication of the departmental store experience: people prefer `one-stop solutions’ for their sanitary ware as well. 
They are no longer keen in hopping shop to shop searching for taps, cisterns and mirrors in different corners. They wanted everything under one roof, he said.
It is not just bare necessities in this category that have picked up sales, but bathroom accessories are also finding their way into homes too.
``Customers wanted designer taps, towel rods, flower stands, mirrors, cabinets and even specialised lighting for their bathrooms,’’ said Srinivas.
Interestingly, even the jacuzzi is no longer viewed as an ultimate luxury symbol. ``While earlier just one out of 20 customers wanted to buy a jacuzzi, now it was four out of 20 customers, who did it.’’
The European trend of a wet and dry area in the bathroom is also picking up in India. ``Gone were the days when an Indian stepped out of his bathroom wrapped in a towel. Now he has the wet area where he or she can shower and a dry area where he or she can change.’’
A bathroom is no longer just a room to bathe and change but has now become a status symbol to flaunt. It has now come to reflect the ego, said Srinivas.