In-depth with GROHEs heads

ArabFinance: Egypt is considered GROHE’s, the global home appliance brand, fastest-growing market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and the largest in Africa. Company executives thus consider the country as an investment priority in the coming phase.

Part of the company’s commitment to Egypt and its sustainability will see the launch of their Green Hospital initiative, where GROHE will donate self-closing taps and infrared technology products to hospitals to make them water efficient. The following phases of this campaign will include educational institutions across Egypt.

GROHE is part of the Japan-based home appliance company LIXIL, which is also the parent of American Standard, INAX, and TOSTEM.

To get a better understanding of the company’s investment strategy and outlook for the Egyptian market as well as the role their design plays in achieving sustainability, Arab Finance sat down with company heads: Leader, LIXIL Global Design EMENA Patrick Speck; Leader MENA, LIXIL EMENA Renu Misra; Leader, LIXIL EMENA Jonas Brennwald.

How did GROHE’s design journey and vision allow it to become one of the market leaders?

Patrick Speck: Our purpose at LIXIL, whose iconic brand portfolio GROHE is part of since 2014, is to design pioneering water and housing products that make better homes a reality for everyone, everywhere.

Our goal is focused on creating designs and products that add value to people’s lives. I would describe a good design to be all about understanding people and about translating a user’s requirements, desires, and expectations into a product or service that they love to use.

For that we invest a substantial amount of time tracking, identifying, and exploring trends as well as an ongoing observation, analysis, and exploration of cultural references and their sources. All of this allows us to predict future trends in consumer behavior.

In addition to this, consumer-centric understanding of products, all GROHE solutions reflect our design value: easy, human, and performance. We intend intuitive experiences, which offer an approachable inviting interaction with an optimum balance of aesthetic and function.

How does the brand promote an environmental and sustainable future through its products and operations?

Patrick Speck: An environmental and sustainable future has been a vital element of GROHE’s strategy for the past 20 years. We follow a 360-degree sustainability approach which takes the redesigning of the way water is used by applying innovative technologies into account.

Since last summer our production process has been carbon-neutral, we are very proud of that.

We are working on new methods like 3D printing which have long been regarded as the manufacturing technology of the future. We utilise advanced 3D technology process to meet the unique challenges of metal printing, enabling a fascinating symbiosis of the latest high-tech and skilled craftsmanship, which redefines the possibilities in product design and offers sustainable advantages.

The energy used for producing a 3D metal-printed faucet is about 20% lower compared to the energy used for a brass cast body.

We are also using water-saving technologies, such as GROHE EcoJoy, developed to reduce water consumption from 10 liters per minute to up to five. Another sustainable GROHE product is the GROHE Blue water system which offers both still and sparkling water directly from the kitchen faucet. The aim of this solution is to help encourage consumers to switch to drinking tap water in an effort to decrease the usage of bottled water and plastic waste.

What are GROHE’s current operations and investments in Egypt?

Renu Misra: Egypt is considered one of the fastest-growing markets in the region and our biggest market in Africa, introducing partnerships with a various number of developers and stakeholders—both public and private—to increase investments in hospitality, commercial and residential projects in the past five years. As a global brand and supported by LIXIL we are always looking to invest in high potential markets and Egypt is on top of our investment priority.

How does Egypt compare to other markets in Europe and in the MENA region?

Renu Misra: GROHE’s journey in Egypt has been a very exciting one and is considered one of our fastest-growing markets in MENA. The brand is very focused on market growth and has committed partners within Egypt expanding in every corner of the country. With focused investments, this ensures that our products reach consumers throughout the country increasing our share of wallet. With GROHE’s dedication towards the community and its consumers, throughout the pandemic we were able to continue supplying to all projects, contractors & partners. The Egyptian market is a very consumer-focused market and as a brand, we are dedicated to the needs of our consumers through our presence, our partner’s network, and future investments.

What are your expectations for the market during 2021?

Renu Misra: GROHE is focused and committed to growth in Egypt through its partner network and reaching consumers across the country. We have a strong pipeline of projects in the country and are actively working with architect and designers to be specified as brand of choice.

GROHE’s 2021 plans in Egypt also include working towards building a concept of Green Hospital on the lines of the Green Mosque campaign where we will be donating self-closing taps and infrared technology products to hospitals to make them water efficient. Yet, GROHE’s plans for the market do not stop at that, we are also planning on taking the green initiative towards educational institutions across Egypt.

How has the pandemic impact GROHE?

Jonas Brennwald: The year 2020 has left a major impact on many industries across the world. It has been a big challenge for us business-wise, and for society as a whole. We started taking immediate actions as soon as we realized that the pandemic was gradually impacting the EMENA region. It was a priority for us to take care of the safety and health of our customers and our people. Despite the challenging events, we closed our last year with a very positive result. Being a full bathroom solution provider and having a huge product portfolio in terms of design and price segments gives us a big strength and flexibility to meet the consumers’ needs. We can say that we are especially experiencing a higher demand for our hygiene-enhancing products.

In your opinion, has the pandemic changed the way people see housing products and design?

Jonas Brennwald: The global pandemic brought many changes to everyone’s life on a business and private level. As people started to spend much more time at home this lead to a change in how we view houses. From now on, homes will be more than just a living place. The pandemic accelerated the health and wellbeing evolution with the “hoffice” (home office) and heightened hygiene awareness and requirements.

People were locked in their homes during quarantine trying hard to transform their spaces to satisfy various needs at the same time, they started to invest more in upgrading their living space, their bathrooms, and their individual spa. They started cooking more at home and when you start using your sink and kitchen mixer more, then you start considering updating it to a better one with more functions. People started demanding our GROHE Blue much more than earlier because maybe they couldn’t go out for shopping to buy bottled water or sparkling water during the lockdown days. They also started to demand more integrated solutions in their bathrooms since they couldn’t go out to the spa or massage. Having a better shower experience in your residential bathroom, became more important than before and we saw an increasing demand in these areas.

We have always been the market leader for the residential segment. Besides our well-known quality, technology, and design, the fact that we are a full bathroom solution provider brings us a big advantage in this segment.

What is your advice to people interested in building environmentally friendly and sustainable homes?

Jonas Brennwald: Consumers want to take good care of their health and live a better life, which is more sustainable and better for the environment.

The bathroom is understood in people’s minds as an escape from the hectic world. Some may say an oasis of well-being and a retreat for the body, mind, and soul. Second, consumers expect a lot from their bathroom products. They are searching for eco-conscious products which don’t compromise on performance but create those special moments at home.

Generally speaking, how can sustainable housing design be accessible to low-income people?

Jonas Brennwald: We at LIXIL striving towards the purpose of making better homes a reality for everyone everywhere. On the one hand, we do this with water-saving technologies like GROHE Eco Joy.

By changing one faucet, you can reach a reduction of water consumption by up to 50%. On the other hand, we take over social responsibility, for example by supporting the Make a Splash! the partnership of LIXIL and UNICEF which is tackling this global sanitation and hygiene crisis.