Hansgrohe CEO Hans Juergen Kalmbach On The Changing Nature Of Luxury Bathrooms

Luxury living has undergone significant change over the years. If you think otherwise, look at the ultra-modernisation of your bathroom. Once purely a functional space, it now offers a retreat from the chaos of everyday life. It is where innovation, indulgence, and sophisticated designs beautifully coexist, elevating the understanding of personal space.

At the forefront of this sophisticated evolution is Hansgrohe which has been shaping luxury experiences for over 125 years. With a retail footprint of over 500 stores, the group leads the way to luxury living with a conscience - sustainability is given as much importance as innovation.

In a conversation with us, Hans Juergen Kalmbach, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board at Hansgrohe Group talks about what it takes to stay ahead of the curve and meet the demands of ever-changing global luxury consumers.

125 years is a great legacy. What’s kept Hansgrohe ahead in an industry where trends come and go?

I would say 125 years isn't just about longevity - you need to constantly question yourself, challenge the status quo and reinvent. This is what Hansgrohe has done from the beginning. There is always an opportunity to create a new way to interact with the products.

Take sprays for instance – there is always a way to make the spray more efficient from a water and energy perspective. Therefore, as a company, you need to be curious.  Mr. Hans Grohe, who founded the company over 124 years ago, wasn’t a leader who focused on trends. The key issue at that time was hygiene and he invented the hand shower - simple and efficient.

This innovative spirit has been transferred from the father to the son, from the son to the grandson, and now to leaders like me who are in the company because the family stepped out of the operational business in 2016. Out of this innovative spirit, a lot of great products came along like the hand shower, the shower bar, and lately, rain dances.

Can you describe how the luxury consumer, especially in India, has evolved?

If you had sat here 10 or 15 years ago, the idea of luxury bathrooms and luxury homes would have looked very different than today. I think luxury consumption in the past, whether in India or across the world, was much more status-driven. It was about being opulent and showing off. In India, luxury was primarily limited to tier-one cities: Mumbai, Delhi . . . maybe Bangalore, and Chennai, and very selectively in other regions.

Today it's very different because the consumer is much more well-traveled, tech-savvy, and conscious about nature, water and resource consumption, so it looks different. The bathroom looks much more like a living room. Less material is used because products are also becoming more sleek and more minimalistic. I think this is mostly driven by the change in consumers’ behavioural and mindset. Luxury is not just owning a Ferrari - it is also about time spent by yourself and time spent with the family.

In India, we see that the premium and luxury market is growing everywhere. This is a country on the move. Every time I visit, I feel the energy—it’s not a country that stops; it’s a country that’s constantly evolving. Consumers are becoming more sophisticated. Luxury is redefining itself, and we are proud to be part of that journey.

How do men envision their ideal bathroom space?

The bathroom will continue to change. We see more decorative materials being used; and more technology being integrated. A lot of products are entering the bathroom: smart lighting, aromatherapy, and light therapy. The bathroom is evolving beyond just hygiene. It’s about well-being, relaxation, and experience. And that’s what excites us. You never stand still. You evolve with the trend. And if you’re great, you don’t just follow trends, you set them.

One of the growing concerns is sustainability and so are limited resources like space and water. How do you meet the demand of the growing luxury consumer base but also focus on measures that ensure you hit the sustainability goals?

In India, you have a shortage of water in some areas, depending on the season. That’s the case even back in Germany during the summer. At the same time, the population is growing so the demand for water is going to double in the next 15 to 20 years. Around 11 per cent of the fresh water is used by households and two-thirds of this fresh water is used in the bathroom, mostly in the shower.

When I say we create great sprays - you can do that with a lot of water, sure, but you can also use engineering technology to reduce the amount of water while allowing for a great user experience with the product. That’s what we are aiming to do.

Technologies like Eco Smart are helping. The amount of water consumed in a shower is reduced by 60 per cent and you hardly feel the difference between a high-flow shower and an Eco Smart shower because of the new technologies we're using.

At our factories, we use solar power, and wind energy, and even recycle plastic parts to reduce waste. We’re pushing for a completely sustainable product portfolio by 2030. Sustainability is not a marketing slogan for us - it’s part of what we do.