"International Trade Fair for Furniture Production Technologies, Woodworking Machinery, Tools, Fittings, Accessories, Raw Materials and Products"
Congratulations! REHAU celebrates 25 years in the Indian market. How does it feel and how has your journey been so far with India?
REHAU is the most preferred choice for Edge bands in India making us un-disputed leader in this category. In these last two decades we have seen immense acceptability among our customers, which motivated us to expand our horizon from being an edge band supplier to a complete furniture solutions company. REHAU started its India journey in the year 1997 and today REHAU has three plants, size warehouse & four offices with 300+direct dealers associated with us who supported us in this journey throughout. REHAU has been a preferred solution for quality-conscious OEMs, distributors, retailers, and specifiers. In this journey of success our trade partners have played a very vital role and the entire team at REHAU is pleased to receive such immense support and reliability from the industry.
What is your product portfolio in India, and what is your most recent offer? Do you have any REHAU products in mind that you’d like to highlight for our readers?
The Indian market has seen the zero-joint edge band from REHAU which has a pre-applied polymer making the joints invisible and seamless. We also offer a wide range of Edge bands, modern surfaces, laminates, floorings and ceiling solutions in interiors and fully fabricated custom-made components for millwork and cabinetry etc. With the objective of reaching the end-customer with offerings across the value chain, REHAU is now foraying into the Premium Kitchen segment with REHAU Kitchen. The Industrial Solution part of REHAU includes 3rd rail solutions and commercial refrigeration in India. As a part of our Building Solutions, we have high-end plumbing & drainage solution and radiant heating and cooling solution used in housing, commercial buildings and infrastructure. REHAU also provides wastewater management solutions for specialized projects.
Apart from catering to the domestic market, what is the global business of REHAU's Indian subsidiary?
REHAU Group has a global presence and thus there is no requirement of exporting to different countries. Having said that, REHAU India does export to other subsidiaries of REHAU in South Asia and Middle-East but we never export product or components directly to any consumer or stakeholders in those countries.
What are your plans for expansion in India? What plans do you have in place to expand your footprint across India?
In the current financial year, REHAU has plans to increase the revenue by 30%. REHAU is also focusing on strengthening its after-sale service as being a niche and premium brand we always look for ultimate customer satisfaction.
For the markets and product segments that REHAU has been catering to over the years, we have established a leadership position. Our hope is to extend the same into the newer segments and product categories we are expanding into. More to come as the story unfolds! We are proud to be bringing German technology in serving the citizens of our country.
Segments that you’d like to penetrate and explore further in the future? Which areas do you believe have future growth potential?
REHAU has plans of expanding its furniture section in regards to interiors and actively associating with interior and architecture communities to further boost its product portfolio. Also, we are optimistic about manufacturing components and products that cater to the construction industry. However, we believe interior segment has major growth potential for REHAU as various products under this category are already in the pipeline.
What are REHAU’s strategies to expand its network of dealers, distributors, and experience centers across India in order to provide smooth product availability and an exceptional customer experience?
We are a solution provider for various industries from construction to automotive. With manufacturing units, commercial sales offices, warehouses and experience centers spread across the country, REHAU has been constantly looking to augment its presence in the region ensuring production of goods for the Indian market, while also catering to exports. With more than 400 dealers and over 2500 points of sales, we are already present in all major cities and looking to appoint franchisees across the country to give shape to our broader expansion plans.
As an experienced brand in the industry we believe India is a very diverse market wherein it is difficult to survive with rigid distribution model, that is the reason we have adapted multiple models to ensure maximum market dissemination.
Being a B2B & B2C business, we cater to an extensive demand of our customers through OEMs and dealers for organized market. The unorganized market is being touched by catering to the local carpenters.
Tell us about your existing collaborations as well as any upcoming collaboration that you’re looking forward to in the future.
REHAU has collaborated with multiple companies globally in the recent time as sourcing partners. Apart from that, REHAU is also collaborating with TITUS Group as REHAU TITUS where REHAU and TITUS Group are coming together to offer internal quality premium products to the Indian consumers. With a Brand like REHAU, TITUS finds great synergy in this partnership, to bring its excellent range of products like Hinges, Drawer Systems, Connecting Fittings, and Damping solutions to the customers and manufacturers in India. With an elaborate product range of solutions for the furniture industry, TITUS is a good choice as a partner for REHAU because we share a common philosophy of being close to our customers, offering solutions to them.
REHAU is the country’s leader in the furniture components and edge bands segments. Can we expect further expansion in these segments in India in the course of this period?
REHAU set-up its first manufacturing facility at Pune in the year 1997. Since then, REHAU has been constantly looking to augment its presence in the region ensuring production of goods for the Indian market, while also catering to exports. For REHAU, making in India has been part of the strategy for the region and we will continue on the same. Our current focus in this regard is to expand our kitchen category with the launch REHAU Kitchen, the first ever modular kitchen set-up by REHAU. REHAU is also expanding its Furniture category with the launch of its new hardware range. Thus, to sum-up, REHAU’s intention is to maximise our offerings in terms of Furniture component segment as we have developed a strong network and customer base and we are on a path to become a one-stop-solution for the end-consumers.
How has your product range developed in response to market demands? How innovative and technologically advanced are REHAU’s products?
The product that created a place in the market and in people’s heart and has maintained the stature for last 50 years is our best-selling product RAUKANTEX. With RAUKANTEX pro, REHAU has been innovating its edge band solutions and bringing-in products which are scratch-resistant, heat-resistant and are attractive. The Indian market has seen the zero-joint edge band from REHAU which has a pre-applied polymer making the joints invisible and seamless. We also offer a wide range of Edge bands, modern surfaces, laminates, floorings and ceiling solutions in interiors and fully fabricated custom-made components for millwork and cabinetry etc. Our roller-shutter claims to save 30% space in the kitchen becoming the first choice for apartment dwellers. With the objective of reaching the end-customer with offerings across the value chain, REHAU is now foraying into the Premium Kitchen segment with REHAU Kitchen where we have used REHAU’s zero-joint edge-bands to give an international dimension to our product in the Indian market. The Industrial Solution part of REHAU includes 3rd rail solutions and commercial refrigeration in India. As a part of our Building Solutions, we have high-end plumbing & drainage solution and radiant heating and cooling solution used in housing, commercial buildings and infrastructure. REHAU’s radiant heating cooling solution helps the consumer to save at least 30% electricity and reduces the electricity consumption by 35%. REHAU also provides wastewater management solutions for specialized projects.
What are the marketing channels through which you reach out to a diverse consumer base and create awareness about your products and their features?
REHAU has been focusing majorly on platforms that cater to architects, dealers, OEMs, etc. to promote awareness about our products. Every product offered by REHAU is of high-quality and comes with a finest appeal. Thus, we look for marketing channels through which we can send our message to the target group of consumers. Starting from digital marketing channels to the traditional ones, we customize our campaigns and activities as per the product and the demand of the consumers.
How are the metros and non-metros doing? How do you intend to penetrate into the country's tier-II and tier-III cities?
The metros are a developed market for REHAU and large numbers of OEMs are concentrated in the metro cities. However, in tier-II-III cities, local carpenters play a very important role and to cater that we have a separate retail network. We have separate teams for OEMs & retail network. REHAU is constantly investing resources at ground level to reach every nook and corner of the Indian market. The team work closely in expanding our reach, as with an extensively growing product portfolio we are expanding our distribution network wherein the focus is on retail counters in tier-II-III cities.
What opportunities and challenges do you foresee in the Indian market?
The polymer industry has experienced severe challenges in the pandemic times. Starting from raw material costs being impacted across the globe to disrupted last mile operations, we have all learnt from our experiences in the process. However, as industries emerge stronger from these in the post-pandemic, new normal times, there will be renewed demands from customers in the form of better quality from the discerning ones to more efficient operations with even higher cost competitiveness as a given expectation. Manufacturers are now well aware about the impending risks that may arise in the future and post 3rd wave, companies as well as the Government seems well-equipped to deal with the circumstances. The businesses around the globe are going digital; employers have understood the importance of Work from Home culture. Additionally, higher indigenization is also on the cards for several industries supporting the “Make in India” drive of the Government. So, if we evaluate the current circumstances we can see that the human race is capable enough to fight a crisis and adapt itself to a changing world very quickly and seamlessly. With things getting back to normal, we will again focus on turning the furniture industry from an unorganized market to an organized one.