As we discussed in previous articles, the future of the bathroom world looks different when it comes to ideas and marketing. Sweden is no longer a closed society where innovation and new ideas always come from within. Nowadays, trends very often come from outside instead. Everything from trends on social media to international companies entering the Swedish market.
Surely there is a part in ignoring these trends and focusing on doing what you are good at? However, problems can arise if you sit still in the boat and ignore the trends. The trend of matte black in the bathroom is going very strong, so you can miss out on something by ignoring them.
Are we facing a time when basically every single trend and style will live side by side in small social media clusters? Does the bathroom world have to adapt to be able to offer all these styles and trends at the same time?
Who wins from increased individualization?
What we see then is that two types of manufacturers tend to move forward strongly. Just as when e-commerce made its way into our everyday life, so will bathroom manufacturing. When e-commerce came, there were mainly two types of stores that did well: 1. The small, niche stores that could claim expertise in their field, and 2. The large stores that could live on a lot because of their name and that they offered “everything”.
Major global producers
Large companies have a completely different ability and opportunity to influence the market in the direction they want the development to take. Currently, this is moving towards more individualization and opportunities to mix and match different styles and products.
Endless possibilities if you have the capacity to offer it. This mixer is available in 11 colors and can be combined with the top in at least as many colors and materials. Picture by Axor
One such example is a shower mixer with mixer attachment. The vast majority of manufacturers make their faucets in a couple of different colors, often chrome, black and brass. If you also have all models in all three cc dimensions, you are already up to 9 different variants for just one model.
If you also have 4 different series of mixers, you have to produce 45 different variants of just the shower mixers. In addition, do you have sink faucets, bathtub faucets, kitchen faucets, dishwasher shut-offs, etc. Are you soon up to several hundred different manufacturing processes to maintain your range.
This means that the only ones who (at the moment) have the opportunity to offer the same uniform style in exactly the same color shades are the major manufacturers.
Small niche producers
There will always be a market for genuine craftsmanship. It can be a small company that manufactures just a few single mixers according to its own distinctive design and interesting materials. Just like art, which gets its value both from its appearance and from the fact that it is unique, handmade faucets and bathroom furniture can be very valuable to some.
What happens to the intermediate layers?
Just as during the e-commerce era, many in the middle layer will disappear or be forced to adapt. Some will try to go after the big dragons and price wars for the customers to the last mixer. Others will realize that they are small manufacturers in the global arena and will perhaps find new joy in being able to manufacture fewer, but more interesting and niche products.
Conclusion
I personally believe that this development will go quite quickly, especially considering all the new possibilities in automation and AI that we are facing. The bathroom world will become less unique but with more possible options. Many Swedish manufacturers who are considered market leaders here will have a tough time as new alternatives enter the market, as well as many of their advocates in the bathroom industry retiring and being replaced by new people without the same vision.
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