India Volume 12

66 SUPERBRANDS 2020 Market “The best rooms have something to say about the people who live in them.” This could well be describing the modern Indian bathroom. A place that has been a major beneficiary of changing mindsets and lifestyles. Bathrooms have become fine living spaces that amalgamate the design language of various products like bath fittings, sanitaryware, wellness products and even accessories. Today, bathrooms are becoming bath suites. This change in mindset and aesthetics has spawned a whole new genre of bathrooms that now marry convenience, functionality, luxury, technology, colour and shape into a magical world. Builders, architects and home-owners know that a good bathroom enhances not only the desirability but also the value of a property. Based on the end use, the market has been classified into the residential, institutional, commercial and other sectors. Amongst these, the residential sector exhibits a clear dominance. The bathroom fittings market is divided into faucets, shower fittings, thermostats and others. At present, faucets represent the most popular bathroom fitting in India. The products in this category are undergoing rapid transformation due to numerous innovations in the industry. For instance, motion sensors have been incorporated in taps, flushes and toilets so as to make bathrooms hygienic and hassle-free. Another type, faucets with sensors which employ short-term timers for efficient water usage. With approximately 60% of the market (Source: internal estimates), Jaquar is a leader of the organised bath fittings category in India. It also has a sizeable international presence with its own Jaquar World stores in the highly complex markets of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia, and has attained leadership in the complete bathroom solutions space. Achievements Jaquar has led the market for over half a century. It has brought new technologies to India, developed new concepts and introduced a slew of new categories. Such is the dominance of this powerful group that it manufactures and sells more than 28 million bath fittings each year (1,25,000 faucets a day) and delivers more than 2,000 brands surveyed by Superbrands, across all categories in India. History The Jaquar Group began life as Essco in 1960 in a market that was, at best, tepid. Soon Essco became the benchmark for the value segment of the organised bath industry in India and, today, defines base quality standards. It was not until 1972 that the company shifted gears and built India’s first integrated manufacturing plant for bath fittings. Fourteen years later, it launched its premium brand, Jaquar and later renamed the company after its most successful brand introduction. Soon after, its better-engineered, superior flush-valves were introduced into the market, followed by a customised range of bath fittings. By the turn of the century, the market had matured sufficiently for the company to launch its wellness division. A wide portfolio of products – whirlpools, shower panels, showers, steam cabins and spas – bearing the Jaquar logo came into being. In quick succession it expanded its range and developed a series of innovations: the display and orientation centre in 2001, which it rapidly scaled up to 21 cities across India; a shower enclosure division; two advanced manufacturing plants in Bhiwadi, Haryana; a water heater division and, the launch of its luxury brand – Artize in 2010. The following year, it launched its sanitaryware division with designs coordinated with Jaquar bath fittings. Jaquar has evolved into a complete bathroom solutions brand, with five state-of-the- art manufacturing units in India, and one in South Korea, spread over 3,29,000 square metres, equipped with modern machines and processes, including robotic operations. Adhering to global quality certifications, Jaquar Group’s LEED Platinum certified manufacturing set up is a zero-waste plant recycling 5,00,000 litres of water every day and 4,221 metric tonnes of brass every year. Embracing a green philosophy, Jaquar’s flagship plant generates 6.23 MW of solar energy. Capping it all is the company’s global headquarters in Manesar in the 2.4 million bathrooms annually. To let people experience the luxury and magnificence of Jaquar products, the company opened 21 Orientation Centres across the country and fifteen Jaquar World destination showrooms in Milan, London, Singapore, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, Sousse, Riyadh, Kinshasa, Dhaka and Addis Ababa, among others. All Jaquar World showrooms offer an extensive choice of unique bathroom products, as well as all the latest bath innovations. The well-trained, specialist consultants at these showrooms guide customers through the entire range of Complete Bathroom Solutions as well as provide expert advice, design consultation and customer service. In India, sitting at the helm of the branded bath fittings industry, Jaquar has had the privilege of being accorded the highest respect by people. In an analysis shared by Google it was discovered that Jaquar is the most searched bath brand in the country (Source: Google trend search January 2012 to January 2015). ACNielsen accorded it the status of the Most Trusted Bath Fittings Brand in studies carried out by it. Not surprisingly, consecutively, for fifteen years now, Jaquar has also won the internationally recognised Superbrands accolade. In the 2019-20 survey, receiving an average consumer score of 8.1 out of 10 suggests that Jaquar is ranked amongst the top 5% of The Jaquar Group was built on a platform of the highest quality standards and aesthetics, and with the intent of providing world-class products. Conceived way back in 1960, today, the Jaquar Group is one of the fastest growing bath brands globally, and of course, India’s most trusted bathing fittings brand, controlling 60% of the domestic branded market. It caters to various socio-economic segments with brands such as Artize in the luxury niche, Jaquar in the premium category and Essco in the value segment.