Major bathroom industry players have hailed an upturn in the global market despite continued concerns over sluggish growth in the UK.

In an exclusive round of interviews conducted by kbbreview at ISH in Frankfurt, senior figures from across the sector said growing market confidence was being largely driven by the growth potential of the so-called 'BRIC' countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China.  

Hansgrohe deputy chairman Richard Grohe claimed business in 2010 was "extremely good" in all markets, topping the company's record year of 2008.
"Amazingly, in 2009 and 2010 we had a double digit growth in Germany," he said, and the emerging markets of China, Russia and India have really rocketed."

Franz Kook, ceo at Duravit (pictured), admitted the industry had been through a difficult time but that it was only a short interruption in the company's ongoing growth.

"In 2009 we had a drop in turnover but in 2010 we were back to double digit growth," he said. "China is currently the most motivating country for us. We've invested in a lot of production facilities and think we can double the turnover there in two years."

Jeff Mueller, president global faucets at Kohler, admitted the global picture was very different from market to market. "The Asian markets - principally India and China - are growing at a far more rapid pace than the more western markets," he said. "It's an invigorating place to spend time and see and feel the growth. But there are also some dramatic differences in growth in Europe. Germany seems to be coming out of recession much faster than some of the other economies but we did see some positive results in 2010 across the whole of Europe."

Mueller admitted the Americas, and principally the US, have been one of the toughest markets. "I wouldn't expect to see big growth in the next two years," he said, "but once we get to 2013 you'll see some healthy rebounding."

Levent Giray, vice president marketing at Vitra, reported overall growth but agreed that the global picture was varied. "The European market dropped but that was covered because Turkey is our biggest market and that grew, as did our sales in neighbouring markets," he said. "The North African market went very well, as did the Russian market. We also launched in India last year and that will be a big growth market. We're looking at putting a production facility there in maybe five years time."

Dornbracht managing director Andreas Dornbracht was equally positive while agreeing with Mueller that the US market remains sluggish: "We see the Far East growing very strongly, especially the project market in China despite the possible regulations on interest rates and credit financing. Markets in the UK and Russia are coming back but Spain and the US are still very challenging. India will see a strong growth in hospitality and Brazil will profit from a building boom for the Olympics and the World Cup.

"We'll also see a lot of development in high end business and hospitality in countries like Rumania, Bulgaria, and Croatia, and also in Turkey which is the fastest growing market in our area."

Alberto Magrans, senior managing director at Laufen, also reported encouraging growth in the BRIC countries. "Our parent company Roca is by far the leader in these markets," he said. "We're number one in Russia, number one in India and number two or three in China. Once you leave Europe, China is next in terms of sales. Laufen has no presence in Brazil and we're working on that."

Despite the upturn in global markets, many of those quizzed were less optimistic on prospects for the UK.

"We were 5-10% lower in the UK market last year," said Giray at Vitra. "We don't see a recovery, the market will stay flat."

Mueller at Kohler, meanwhile, remains undecided: "It's difficult to tell with the austerity measures in the UK what's going to happen. The government is making some good steps towards fiscal responsibility but what the impact will be is hard to say. Within Germany it will be a better year but in the UK I'm not sure."

However, Micheal Rauterkus, president Europe at Grohe, claimed UK business had grown by 10% last year with a target of 40% growth in 2011. "It's very important because it's a big market. We've developed a plan for the UK and we take it very seriously," he said.

Andreas Dornbracht was equally upbeat: "We see UK business growing in the very high end market. But we're not so dependent on new construction business and the general economic situation in the UK. The London market is a growth market again for us. One of our targets is foreign investors - the Arabs and Russians - who buy a lot of property and then invest in high end bathrooms."