QUEO forstylish bathrooms [Dec 2011]

QUEO forstylish bathrooms
Hindustan Sanitaryware and Industries (HSIL) acquired UK-based boutique sanitaryware manufacturer Barwood Products and announced the launch of its luxury brand – ‘QUEO’ in India. V Krishnamurthy, Vice President, HSIL shared the details on these products
Mr. Krishnamurthy, what are your prime objectives behind acquiring Barwood and launching QUEO brand?Looking at the growing Indian market, we see the luxury end of the bathroom segment is also growing and the products are in demand. HSIL had acquired UK-based boutique sanitaryware manufacturer Barwood Products in 2010. We have launched its luxury brand ‘QUEO’ in India. HSIL will exclusively import and market the luxury bathspace products of QUEO in Indian market.
What about the manufacturing of these products?Barwood Products has state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Europe. All the luxury and high end products are designed by the top designers of Italy. The ranges of products are designed by the reputed European product designers Federico Tombolini, C Valeri and Romano Andolini.  Roman Adolini from Italy has designed the F Morwan series and Federico Tombolini has designed F 50 series. 
How do you find the acceptance of European products in Indian market?Indian market is growing and we have observed that Indians are really looking for such luxury products to design their bathrooms.
Are you planning to customise any products in an Indian style?In terms of sanitary products, there is no need of customisation. Indians have adopted the European designs and there is no specific requirement of customisation for them while buying European products.
Could you explain about the range of products and its pricing?The QUEO product range consists of 3 products series designed by these international designers: F-Morwen series, F-50 series and F-Concept series. The F-Morwen series has been designed in a way that the angularity of the products is evident, symbolising a modern design. The F-50 series highlights alluring edges in the products with minimalistic curves. The F-Concept series displays the shapely, curved projections of the products to bring alive the interplay of light and dark. Other QUEO products include stylishly designed series for contemporary bathrooms, viz. Felisa series, Zinnia series, Orca series, Alla Moda series and Al Bano series.
QUEO products are available in the price range of Rs.15,000 to Rs.1 lakh. 
How is each product different from other?The product design differs from each other. F- Morwen, F-50, F-Concept designs are very unique and not the typical ones, they are modern, contemporary designs like angular shape, soft load seat covers in terms of mechanism. Everything is designed in a new way. The designed element plays an important role; we have taps sourced with crystals on the top. As we are talking about the luxury end market, design is the most important element. It would be key selling factor for the QUEO brand.
Are you targeting any particular market in India?We are focusing more on metros and mini metros as it’s the largest markets where the luxury is also an important part of the life.
What can be the market size for luxury end products?Luxury market is a great market but of small size and is growing at 25 to 30 per cent. On an average the central market is growing around 10 to 15 per cent.
In terms of market sharing for luxury end, what is your market share?We just launched the product and we are targeting the market share of 10 to 15 per cent in two years time.
What about the sales and distribution?QUEO will be available at select showrooms across India. QUEO products will be serviced by HSIL’s capable service team of over 250 tech-experts, well established logistics and a dedicated customer helpline.
We have some exclusive dealers of HSIL who would be working with QUEO brand also. We would be appointing few dealers from our current distribution network and few new dealers will be part of the team for QUEO’s sales and distribution.
Do you have any plans to start a manufacturing unit in India?Currently, we are importing complete series of products from Barwood and are not planning to manufacture any product in India. The products are manufactured in Europe and right now our plan is to import them to India.
What about the costing of products?For the mid and luxury end products, costing is not important. Quality is the most important factors what customers look at; the design of the products also plays a crucial role. As I said earlier these are high end products with the cost of minimum Rs.15,000, so we keep giving special attention to the quality and the design of the product as it gives the elegant look to the bathroom.  As the volume grows, we will think of costing but for now our main focus is on the production in Europe.
What is the growth you are expecting for QUEO in coming two years?QUEO is a product which is in its launch phase. After the launch and preview in Mumbai, there is a preview of QUEO in Delhi. HSIL is expecting a very good amount of turnover in a year or two. We want to target 10 to 15 per cent of market share in near future.

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