Market

Sometimes a sanctuary, sometimes a spa and at other times purely functional a bathroom is the perfect place to unwind, a refuge from the daily grind. Increasingly over the past fifteen years, Indians have begun to look at bathrooms as decompressing zones that also make a lifestyle statement. The demand for bathrooms that combine convenience with functionality and marry luxury with technology is rapidly increasing. Builders and homeowners alike are now realising that a bathroom with a built-in wow factor enhances not only the desirability but also the value of a property. But amazingly, even as late as the 1990s, the bath fittings market was dominated by small manufacturers who focused on functional entry-level products, paying scant regard to design, aesthetics or quality. With the shift in market focus, several players joined the race, slowly pushing out of reckoning manufacturers in the unorganised sector. Such has been the leap in both quality and aesthetics that the organised segment now controls more than 50% of the Rs. 1800 crore (US$ 375 million) market by value year, no-questionsasked warranty, plus after-sales-service at the customers doorstep. It was also the first company to introduce four-colour packaging for bathfittings. These not only helped ensure product differentiation, they also reinforced its brand identity. Jaquar Orientation Centres are marketing innovations that provide the consumer (Source: Business Line, April 2009), with Jaquar its undisputed champion. with a plethora of ideas and solutions for bathrooms and interiors. As the largest exporter of bathroom fittings from India, Jaquar products come with a BSEN 200 certification the final stamp of quality. The brand is, today, acknowledged to be the undisputed market leader with a commanding presence across the country. Jaquar rewrote the rules and reincarnated the bath-fittings industry in India by creating products that were inspired by aesthetics and delivered reliability and quality. Its dominance and growth can be gauged from the fact that in the last three years the company has doubled its turnover.

History
Jaquar was established in 1986, by the late N L Mehra who ventured into the manufacture of bath-fittings in 1960 under the brand name Essco. Thanks to his emphasis on quality and design development, it soon became a major player in the industry and acquired a fine reputation for transparency. The success of Essco revealed the huge unfulfilled demand for world-class bath fittings in India. This singular fact led to the birth of Jaquar. Jaquar was a brand in a hurry. In quick succession it introduced a range of products

Achievements
Jaquar has been a key player in transforming the bath-fittings industry from merely utilitarian to the inspirational. The company has been able to achieve this by metamorphosing bathrooms from dull and drab spaces into sparkling facilities. In the process the brand has set several new benchmarks. It was, for instance, the first to offer a range of customised bath fittings that merged with the aesthetics of the house itself. It introduced the concept of a range and brought Indian customers face-to-face with a coordinated set of top-of-the-line bath fittings called the collection. The first in this series and one that laid the foundation for others to follow was Stealth. In another radical move, Jaquar underlined its confidence in its products by offering a seven106

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with quality and looks as the defining features. This had a telling effect on the industry and changed, for ever, the rules by which this business was run. As it continued to forge new ground, Jaquar entered into strategic marketing tie-ups with a number of global companies. These include Hansgrhe of Germany, a world-leader in bath and shower systems; AO Smith from the US for water heaters; Italys Glass Idromassaggio for whirlpool and shower units; Aquis, a pioneer in sensor technology; Breuer of Germany, manufacturers of a top-of-the-line range of shower enclosures; Docol from Brazil for watersaving taps and flushes; SIAMP from Monaco for concealed cisterns and Artemide of Italy and Holtkotter from Germany for lighting products. Effectively, Jaquar now operated in three distinct product verticals: faucets, high-end bath and shower systems and decorative lighting. Expansion into the home improvement segment has been just one of the reasons for Jaquars success. The company owes much to its high standards of quality and innovation driven by its research and development effort. Jaquar operates state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan. These plants constitute one of the largest, single-unit facilities in Asia comprising of two ultra-modern manufacturing units spread across 43,000 square metres with a manufacturing capacity of 30,000 units each day and a third unit that has recently gone on stream, covering an area of 48,000 square metres.

end, affluent market and for builders developing luxury properties, these creations are designed to take customers into a world of products that will shape their homes tomorrow. The Orientation Centres also serve another significant function: by association, they help Jaquar position itself as the countrys pre-eminent bathroom fittings and accessories brand. The company is in the process of signing several more collaborations and to bring to customers in India other award-winning products.

Promotion
Jaquar was the first bath fittings brand to advertise in the electronic media. Its TV commercial of thieves stealing the tap rather than other valuables, effectively reinforced the aspirational image of the brand. Its ad campaigns seek to highlight the inspired design of its products. The Stealth collection, for example, was showcased as being inspired by the concept of the high-tech stealth aircraft. The Angel range evoked the serenity of a waterfall while royal magnificence was the inspiration for the Queens collection. Jaquar has followed a multi-faceted promotion strategy that combines above-theline promotion with trade-related orientation activities. Jaquar Orientation Centres have been set up not just to display futuristic products, but to also provide guidance, education and trends to both customers and retailers. The company also undertakes initiatives to train technicians and architects in correct installation techniques and maintenance skills. The promotional campaigns for Jaquar have evolved with the company and have stressed reliability even as they have highlighted design sophistication.

the economy to the high-end Artize range of products. The Artize range has five designs under it all of which cater to the premium segment. The other upmarket range comprises of Kubix, Ornamix and Opal. The Rendezvous Crystal collection is the ultra chic range which uses original rainbow crystals from Swarovski and can literally turn a bathroom into a jewel case, while the conventional single-lever fittings are available in the Astra range. Jaquar Artize, the latest offering from the Jaquar stable is a range of unsurpassed aesthetics. In this collection, the designers have given free expression to their fantasies and have created shapes and designs of bath fittings that can only be termed as art that performs. Each one of these products is manufactured on fully automatic and semi-automatic, highspeed, high-precision machines using the advanced silica core technology. This guarantees an unblemished, defect-free product. Not satisfied with this assurance, Jaquar reconfirms the quality in its in-house testing laboratory, equipped with pneumatic testing and endurance testing machines.

Brand Values
Jaquar, the brand, was built on the platform of quality and aesthetics and with the intent of providing Indians world-class products. That it has succeeded in great measure is beyond doubt. What remains to be seen is how it will leverage its equity to reach other areas of the home that need the Jaquar touch. For the moment, however, it is watching markets evolve and planning other initiatives that will keep it firmly entrenched in its core area of competency the bathroom the place where people increasingly unwind.

Recent Developments Product

The range of products and permutation of finishes offered by Jaquar remain unmatched by any other manufacturer in India. The product portfolio consists of the most comprehensive range of bath fittings including faucets, showers, spouts, flush-valves, single-lever mixers, sensors, wall-basin-bidet and sink-mixers, diverters and more. The Jaquar sensor tap or the intelligent tap as it is widely called is manufactured with the worlds foremost sensor technology from Aquis. These taps sense movement near the spout and automatically regulate the flow of water, dispensing a pre-determined quantity. In public places such as hotels, hospitals and theatres, where such conservation is essential these taps have found instant markets. The companys thermostatic diverters provide water flow at uniform temperature set to individual specifications. This technology is currently in use in hotels and has the potential to find immediate benefit in homes to ensure that children are protected from a sudden spurt of hot water. Jaquar bath fittings come in more than fourteen ranges encompassing everything from As a dynamic company, Jaquar continues to source best-in-class products and technology for the Indian market. Its recent tie-up with SIAMP from Monaco has given its clients access to world-class concealed cisterns. Jaquar has also partnered Hansgrhe AG, the German major to showcase and demonstrate its top-end bath and shower product range in Jaquar Orientation Centres. Meant for the high-

www.jaquar.com
Things you didnt know about

Jaquar
The name Jaquar is derived from Jai Kaur the name of the grandmother of the companys founding director. Jaquar adds more than 2000 new customers every day The company owned Jaquar Orientation Centres dont sell any product but are only for guidance and education of customers, architects and specifiers Jaquar has the distinction of having sales-andservice outlets even in far-flung areas like the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Leh The prices of Jaquar products are uniform throughout the country

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