Over the last few years, premium bathrooms have seen a surge in popularity. The pandemic has simply served as fuel for this demand-driven expansion. Premier Agencies, high-end bathroom accessories and sanitaryware dealers in Chandigarh, is a retailer that has capitalized in this market segment.
Dealing in premium bathroom fittings, sanitaryware, high-quality tiles, pipes, and lighting, Premier Agencies began operations in 1962. Our next destination in Retailer Talk with BuildingandInteriors is this very Retailer.
Mr. Arjun Khosla, Premier Agencies, Sanitaryware Dealers in Chandigarh
Business timeline – Premier Agencies, Chandigarh
Premier Agencies, Chandigarh has been in the business for over 60 years now. We started in 1962 and I am the 3rd generation into the business of retailing in premium bath accessories and other bathroom-related building materials.
We have been running from this specific location in Sector-7 in Chandigarh as bathroom and sanitaryware dealers for the past 25 years.
The store has a ground-plus-two format with dedicated category and brand areas. The entire tile section is on the second floor. We keep the premium segment products on the first floor, separate from the mod-segment products that are retailed from the ground floor.
Premier Agencies, Chandigarh – Product portfolio & brand associations
Apart from bath fittings, accessories, and sanitary fittings, we are currently dealing in lighting from Jaquar, pipes from brands like Viega, Huliot, etc., and tiles from Nexion tiles, and more. We are the authorized distributors for Jaquar, Artize, and other such brands. Lighting one is the latest addition to our portfolio.
We look for exclusivity in our brand associations. For example, we are the exclusive dealers for Villeroy & Boch bathroom & sanitary fittings in Chandigarh. Similar is in the case of Artize bath fittings. In addition to offering exclusivity, we also deal in mid-segment products.
Evolution of the premium bath and sanitary fittings market in Chandigarh
It has evolved over time, actually. Before 2010, the market, in general, was booming. The market at that time was totally different from what it is at the moment. Moreover, post-pandemic, it has changed drastically.
Right now, the market mainly comprises high-end products. As far as bathroom dealers in the Tricity (Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula) are concerned, even after experiencing high demand for products, the pricing still becomes a challenge.
Although the customer prefers buying the premium segment products, they won’t be looking at exorbitantly priced options. Therefore, people are more inclined towards premium, but sometimes pricing is a problem.
There is a market trend to spend ‘that little bit extra’ because there is uncertainty about the future and people are still concerned about the pandemic. So, people don’t think much and settle for products 1-or 2- segments above their budget limits. This is especially true for premium brands.
Role of in-store displays in driving sales
The functionality of the units themselves and the way products are displayed on them have a significant influence over sales.
As I said, all our display material is segregated. So, there are dedicated areas for mid-segment as well as premium products.
In the case of Premier Agencies, on the first floor, we have the premium segment where we have displayed only two brands Villeroy & Boch and Artize. On the top floor, there is the tiles section, with premium tiles like Nexion.
The ground floor experiences the most traffic because it also has all the mod-segment products. So, for any customer that’s coming into the showroom, the first thing they have is medium segment material. Since most people think that we have only high-end brands, so for their benefit, we also have added this range of products. From the layout of the showroom, the customer gets to know that we are dealing with both high and medium segments of the market. It stays convenient for them and us.
Most of the time, we advise them to take a look on the 1st floor too, because we want them to see if, even if they don’t want to buy any high-end product. For such customers, our advice is that they go in for mid-segment products from regular rooms and premium bath accessories for powder rooms. Brands like Villeroy & Boch attract customer attention in such situations as well.
We keep changing the display every 6-8 months. We prefer to highlight those products that are in high demand. Changing displays gives the customer a new experience than their last visit. Even company persons insist on rotating products to create better sales. So, it is really important to keep doing that to make the store look fresh and up-to-date.
Customer perspective & purchase behaviour for premium sanitary fittings and bathroom products
Although the market is highly driven by the online trend, the customer still prefers to walk into the store to make the final decision. They research online for information on the products which saves time. Additionally, they want to see the design in person.
Another important factor that influences sales in the premium bath fittings & accessories segment is pricing. So, we have to take that extra step and give extra knowledge and reassurance to our customers about the quality before they buy anything. If we don’t do that, they won’t be convinced to buy it.
So, in our market they want the product, they will see the product, they will feel the product, then they will buy.
If you consider the project sales, architects and builders give preference to high-end products due to their high brand value. They prefer buying that product because they know the value and the quality of the product.
Project sales in the Chandigarh market
Right now, the project sales are comparatively very low compared to the retail sales. They are basically secondary here because, in the Tricity, many of the projects are still work-in-progress. In addition, the project business has a peculiar problem of long payment schedules. So, even the builders prefer buying it for the retail segment instead of going in the project segment.
In addition to that, the builders give us a particular number of houses in an area. So, we consider that as a project sale only. For example, a builder gives us around 4-5 houses in a year, it becomes around 20 to 30 washrooms. So, for our market, this is considered as a project segment only.
Factors influencing sales in the bath and sanitary fittings segment
If the customer comes directly to us without an architect or an interior designer, we guide them for their purchase by educating them about the products available with us. These days, the customer also does his research before he comes to the store. Accordingly, we tell them about the pros and cons of all the brands from which they intend to buy. We give additional suggestions since we have been running this business for so many years. There’s a certain level of expertise that comes, which we use to help the customer in choosing the right product for their needs.
Sometimes the appointed architect or designer influences the purchase since they are looking for particular products and particular brands. So, in that case, it depends on the customer and the architect. All in all, the power of choice is on the customer only.
Our association with Villeroy & Boch
It has been around 12-13 years of working with the German brand Villeroy & Boch. We started in 2007 the brand was quite new in this market. But the response has been very good. And through the years the product range has increased and they have amazing products for the Indian market. They have better-priced products and I would say that the product-price-features ratio is quite good with Villeroy & Boch.
Moreover, the best part is that all the material is ‘Made In Germany’. Unlike most of the companies in India, this is the only company manufacturing in Germany. The tag ‘Made in Germany’ is very important for making a sale with discerning customers.
Dealer interaction among other categories
We often come together with other category dealers apart from bathroom dealers in Chandigarh to work on a project. There are around 200 dealers for building material and bathroom products in Tricity, including Chandigarh.
It’s rare in this particular market for a customer to buy everything from a single showroom. This is because most of the bathroom dealers in Chandigarh don’t have all of the products. We did a project around 3-4 years back, where we supplied around 900 WC, basins, and sanitaryware while taps and other bath accessories were supplied by another showroom. So, it was a cordial affair. In this system, the customer has the flexibility to pick and choose from more than one store.
Acceptance of coloured sanitaryware in the Chandigarh market
We have been selling coloured sanitaryware for the past 2-3 years. The last time I visited the ISH exhibition in Germany, this trend started. Around 2018, in Chandigarh, we became dealers for the Italian brand Alice Ceramics which exclusively deals in coloured sanitaryware.
Only upon starting with that branding, did we realise the scope and demand of coloured sanitaryware in the market.
Some people want to put coloured sanitaryware in the powder room or even in the master room. Also, recently the market has started accepting the black matte finish, so these colours are in. Moreover, people are adjusting to this colour and texture change. But right now, the customers have accepted the black and white colours only, any other colour finish is not as popular.
However, there have been questions and concerns because the customer has the perception that maintenance of coloured bath accessories and fittings is much more than the normal ones. For that, we only educate them that the maintenance is the same for both – white or coloured sanitaryware. We also try and insist they use a black matte finish particularly because most of the time we have the problem of water stains. Almost every part of North India deals with hard water, even after the installation of water softeners the problem of water staining is rampant. In that case, black matte finish sanitaryware is very suitable, especially in powder rooms.
Upon explaining all the pros and cons of both traditional and coloured sanitary fittings and bath accessories, the customer intends to purchase it. Thus, information on its pro and con is necessary for both the seller and the buyer.
Get in touch with Mr. Arjun Khosla at:
Phone: +91 9915008351
E-mail: arjun@premieragency.co.in
