Under the Radar: Behind American Standard, Grohe - LIXIL on growth opportunities in the plumbing fixtures industry, role of Singapore market amid lower global home sales and property slump in China

The Evening Runway with Hongbin Jeong, Roshan Gidwani and Chua Tian Tian

We’re going to talk all about bathroom and kitchen fixtures today. Now, the next time you visit the bathroom, take a look at the brand of the sinks and toilets.

Chances are – they’re of the American Standard and Grohe brands. But did you know that they are all part of a leading Japanese home and water products giant called LIXIL?

Born in 2011 through a merger of five of Japan’s most successful building materials and housing companies, LIXIL makes pioneering water and housing products with the aim of making better homes a reality for everyone everywhere.

Just to give you a sense of the company’s scale, LIXIL has approximately 60,000 employees in over 150 countries around the globe, having expanded to international markets through the acquisition of North American plumbing fixtures maker American Standard and German manufacturer Grohe.

Its reach – a whopping one billion people each day through its portfolio of 15 product brands.

This is no surprise given the size of the global plumbing fixtures market, with Precedence Research valuing it at US$90.11 billion in 2023. That figure is expected to reach US$140.21 billion by 2033, translating into a CAGR of 4.52% from 2024 to 2033. But what is LIXIL’s assessment of the market and what will be the key drivers of growth?

Meanwhile, makers of building fixtures appear to be weighed down by lower home sales amid elevated global interest rates, as well as a property slump in markets such as China in the near term.

But how does LIXIL intend to navigate this, and how far will Singapore act as a buffer against short-term volatilities for LIXIL?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Koh FuSheng, Leader, Singapore, LIXIL Water Technology APAC.

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