“We are confident that this decade will be game changer for the world of interiors…”
In an exclusive interaction with Washrooms and Beyond, Rahul Kher, Founder & Director, Zalur Lifestyle Private Limited talks about the product-centric as wells as trends and bathroom concepts and elaborates on the strategies the company has adopted, to Mrinmoy Dey
Having spent more than a decade in the bath products industry, you started Zalur Lifestyle in 2017. What prompted you to get into the retailing of luxury bath products?
Well, having invested around 10 years managing & building KEUCO within the Indian sub-continent, understanding the interior design aspects of the bathroom space, we sensed an opportunity to champion the vision of bringing the best in bathroom products to the discerning Indian customers. I also had the great fortune of working with some amazing interior designers, developers and on some great projects, which gave us the confidence that we, at Zalur Lifestyle, will be the disruptor and will bring a quality change within the mid to high-end bathroom segment.
Further, we wanted to break the unidimensional mindset which is associated with the bathroom space and address the gaps, the areas which no other Indian brand or Indian retailer and the market were addressing. Within the Indian high-end bathrooms, the points of differentiation were lesser and we as a company wanted to offer bathroom concepts and products with high points of differentiation which will have a clear design language and bathrooms brands which have a strong character.
What are the product categories you are dealing in and what are the brands that you have tied up with?
We are experts and specialists in the category of bathroom furniture, light mirrors, mirror cabinets, cosmetic mirrors, fittings (faucets + shower products), washbasins, accessories, bathtubs, shower trays, towel warmers & hand dryers. We as a company offer the largest range of bathroom furniture, light mirror, mirror cabinets and accessories across India.
Our flagship brands are KEUCO & BETTE from Germany, both have absolute product leadership in their respective categories with great quality and clear design language. Then we have NIKLES from Switzerland, one of the biggest manufacturers of showers, bringing in great innovations within the shower category; RAMON SOLER from Spain known for its Spanish warmth and passion, again one of the biggest fitting producers in the world; Dubiel Vitrum from Poland for light mirrors and decorative mirrors; VELTIA from Spain for hand dryers, with the best hand dryers in the world and HOM with Italian design sensibilities which are bringing in great innovations in the category of towel warmers.
The idea is to bring in brands which have clear product leadership in their respective category. We as a company do not want to be a generalist company offering everything and anything. We want to be a specialist company offering products which add great value to any bathroom space across market segments, be it private residential, residential projects, hospitality, hospitals & public spaces or commercial/offices spaces.
You also set up a showroom in Pune in 2017. What sort of ambience did you want to create in your showroom and why?
We wanted to create a certain atmosphere within our Pune showroom for customers, interior designers and architects to feel and experience living bath spaces. The idea was to combine storytelling with elements of surprise within the product displays so that the visitors can appreciate the nuances of bathroom design and can see materials which can be actual differentiators in a bathroom space.
Therefore, you will see full concepts and the visitors can visualise their own bathroom with our products. The idea was also to uncover all-important interior aspects regarding bathrooms and highlight the interplay between the light, material, and space.
Fortunately, the response has been great from interior designers and customers alike and the visitors are pleasantly surprised with the kind of product presentation we have within the showroom and how we demonstrate the key interior elements of a bathroom within the showroom. We also have design workshops with interior designers on their projects and how they can design their bathrooms in an efficient manner.
Experiential retailing is a hot trend in the bath products industry. What is your plan on this front?
Experiential retailing has been and will always be in big demand as every educated, discerning customer seeks an experience while visiting a showroom or any retail space. It is no more about just the products; it has been and will always be about the storytelling. It’s about offering a sensory experience to the visitor and our Pune showroom is based on these principles.
The narration about the brand is especially important and how emotionally the customer feels connected to that story. End of the day, the bathroom space is a living space, it is a very specialist and a private space, so building a retail space which is emotionally relevant to the user is critical to the success of the brand.
Within our showroom, we try our best to demonstrate the interplay between light, colour temperature, space, and material. It is this interplay which makes an emotional impact on the user, so that they make everyday memories and appreciate that it is not the form, it is the experience, which matters within a space.
In the luxury segment, it is all about marrying the design with the technology to offer best in class products to consumers. How are you accomplishing that goal?
In the high end, luxury segment, it is especially important to understand the emotional side of the customer. One must understand the lifestyle quotient of the customer and what they are seeking in terms of their bathroom spaces.
At Zalur Lifestyle, we look at three key areas i.e. Emotion, Experience and Engagement to address the ever-demanding high-end customers. Since, our product portfolio is built around high quality, leadership products; it’s somewhat easier for us to suggest the right mix of products to the high-end spaces. We have the best-in-class products, which are awarded the best design awards to offer an absolute signature luxury experience to our customers.
Our approach is very customer-centric, so if the user is a young lady, we have a specific product portfolio to take care of her beauty care/grooming needs. If the user is an old lady, then we bring in more safety, care, and comfort into the space. However, if the user is concerned about efficient storage within the bathroom, then we bring in great choice on storage, vanities, mirror cabinets etc.
“We are confident that this decade will be game changer for the world of interiors. The market will see some path-breaking innovations in the coming years and brands who have character, emotional connect to the users with clear design & product focus will come out as winners.”
Washrooms are entering into the realm of home spas driven by wellness and a sensual experience. What is your take on this? How are you addressing this demand through your offerings?
Bathrooms are fundamentally living spaces which seek a unique blend of well-being and wellness. KEUCO & BETTE and our other brands have an incredibly unique mix of sensibility and sensuality across their product categories. Within our product portfolio, we can offer a very spa-like complete bathroom concept ensuring the user has a very individualised and personalised bathroom experience across all zones of the bathroom space.
KEUCO is the only brand in the world which can offer you a complete bathroom solution which is also Dali system-based which means from the washbasin area, cosmetic mirror, and showerhead, one can set the lighting from 6500 kelvin (morning light) to 2700 kelvin (warm light) for the entire bathroom, therefore setting an atmosphere, mood and ambience which goes beyond the traditional definition of form and space for the bathroom.
BETTE with its range of wellness products and bathtubs made of glazed titanium steel offer 30 years warranty on all its products ensuring the user has a hassle-free, unique bathing and well-ness experience for an exceptionally long time.
A new trend that was highlighted in the last edition of ISH Frankfurt was the colourful sanitaryware and bath-fittings ranges. What do you think about this trend?
The preference for individualism is growing and consumers are liking more individualised and curated bath spaces. Yes, colours and finishes are making a huge impact within the bathrooms, as the design language has stayed monochromatic and white for an exceptionally long time. You will see a great change in the bathrooms in the coming years and the finishes are here to stay for the next decade.
Colours are basically moods and they help in setting up a great story within a bath space which can emotionally have a deeper connection with the user. With Bette, we offer more than 400 colours with 4 unique effect colours, which transform any bathroom space into a personal Spa.
With our expertise in bathroom light through light mirrors, mirror cabinets coupled with our “colour my world” colourful washbasins, bathtubs, and fittings in both PVD finishes, matt finishes and galvanic finishes, we offer an unmatched “bathroom design” to the discerning, experience seeking customer across India.
Rahul Kher
Founder & Director, Zalur Lifestyle Private Limited
“In the high end, luxury segment, it is especially important to understand the emotional side of the customer. One must understand the lifestyle quotient of the customer and what they are seeking in terms of their bathroom spaces.”
While accessories are a key element in shaping the user’s day to day experience, certain aspects are often overlooked. How are you addressing this issue?
I am glad that you have brought up the aspect of bathroom accessories design, as it’s always overlooked. For us, the topic of accessories is very integral to the overall design of the bathroom. It is forethought and not an afterthought as we understand that accessories always make a bathroom complete in terms of functionality, efficiency, and pure smartness.
KEUCO has been an absolute master and years ahead in the market to anticipate the needs of the customer when it comes to accessories. Balancing any bathroom space with the right accessories is an art that KEUCO understands very well as it demonstrates how attentive we have been as accessories producers to the minutest detail. No wonder we have 600 accessories only under one series Plan and we offer the largest range of accessories across design languages, be it modern or classic in the world.
Also, it is never one aspect of the product which makes a bathroom smart, it is a combination of quality, design, functionality, ergonomics, longevity, efficiency and how easy and minimal it is to install and later maintain, which makes a bathroom efficient and smart.
The role accessories play is far higher than most the interior designers think and that is the reason our bathroom in India is always under accessorized. We have accessories which have a definite role within the bath space, be it a master bathroom, powder room, parents’ room, guest room or any bath space for that matter.
In the new normal, there is increased focus on hygiene, safety, and touch-free solutions. How are you addressing that demand?
Pandemic has pushed the market towards being more hygienic and safer products and now there is a broader awareness to have products which can offer safety, hygiene, and care to the users. But we have always been promoting hygiene, safety, comfort, care, and cleanliness within the bathrooms through our product portfolio as we understand that the bathroom space needs to be safe and hygienic, due to its usage in general. KEUCO has a whole product dedicated to care & hygiene products for residential, hospitality and for public areas with special attention paid to heavy-duty quality with timeless design.
Further, we also have a focused range of touch-free products for the washbasin area, WC and the Urinal area. In fact, we offer the world’s best touch free faucet integrated with a soap dispenser and hand dryer from Veltia. With Ramon Soler, we almost have a solution for every requirement for high quality, touch-free fittings.
Our offer for Public Areas be it in the hotels, hospitals, and office spaces is the best as it covers each zone of the bath space efficiently with touch-free faucets, hand dryers, soap dispensers, and paper towels dispensers and sensor Urinals as well.
“We are experts and specialists in the category of bathroom furniture, light mirrors, mirror cabinets, cosmetic mirrors, fittings (faucets + shower products), wash basins, accessories, bathtubs, shower trays, towel warmers & hand dryers. We as a company offer the largest range of bathroom furniture, light mirror, mirror cabinets and accessories across India.”
Increasing digital presence and improving the consumer buying process through virtualisation is a key trend. What are the initiatives that Zalur Lifestyle has taken?
With limited face to face interaction and meetings, it has become important to offer a virtual product /showroom visit to the customers or interior designers. We give a virtual tour of our showroom to customers or interior designers over a zoom call to offer them an overview of our product portfolio. However, we were also offering it to our customers from other states even before the pandemic.
We will be soon coming up with our website which will be more product story and category driven than purely product-driven. For a year now, we have been focused on building brand awareness through Instagram and we have been getting a good response on our Instagram account. We were also fortunate to close some sales through Instagram in the last 5-6 months.
How do you see the market moving in the next 5 years? What are your future plans?
We are confident that this decade will be game-changer for the world of interiors. The market will see some path-breaking innovations in the coming years and brands that have character, emotional connection to the users with clear design & product focus will come out as winners.
We are trying to consolidate our leadership position in the category of Light mirrors, Mirror Cabinets & Accessories and the private residential, hospitality and hospital markets will be our area of focus. We are still building our sales team across India as last year has kind of put brakes on that, but we are back with implementation plans and will have sales representation across all regions. From a retail footprint standpoint, we will have two more showrooms, one in Gurugram and one in Bengaluru, offering a real scope of choices to the interior designers and users.