One-of-One: Lixil Global Design’s Antoine Besseyre des Horts on GROHE SPA

Hello Antoine! It is great to see you again. Let’s start with a personal question, shall we? Suppose you had to select a few items from the recently revitalized GROHE SPA sub-brand to create your home spa. What would your picks be? 

I prefer taking showers over baths as it gives me both physiological and emotional benefits. I’m pretty busy and travel a lot, so I use showers to energize myself in the morning and relax in the evening.

I find one of our latest products, the Rainshower Aqua ceiling shower, extremely appealing with its modular showering modules. I already have my own curated solution at home, but the Rainshower Aqua would be an excellent choice for anyone who likes customization and personalization.

Let’s talk design. You have previously shared GROHE’s signature design elements in speaking engagements: the ring, the lozenge, and the seven-degree tilt. These three design elements represent the brand and are expressed in one way or another across the product line. Beyond these elements, what qualifies a collection for inclusion in the GROHE SPA sub-brand? Is there a unique or distinctive iteration of GROHE’s existing design language that, you know, manifests in the sub-brand but in an elevated or evolved form?

GROHE is an aspirational brand, and GROHE SPA is its luxury sub-brand. GROHE SPA offerings have a distinct expression that leans toward providing a more exclusive, exquisite experience.

For GROHE SPA, the company has a four-tier commercial and brand experience strategy ranging from premium to exclusive. When it comes to luxury, exclusivity and quality are the defining characteristics, and GROHE is already well-known for its quality. However, the company is now entering the market with even more exclusive offers to provide a tailored experience.

Regarding GROHE SPA’s product tiers, Rainshower Aqua falls under tier four. This tier involves creating multisensory moments where end customers can use our modular system to customize their showering experience. In the third tier, we aim for harmony in design, and GROHE SPA is capitalizing on our deep experience and expertise in colors and finishes. The second tier emphasizes personalized luxury, embodied through the two Private collections, Atrio and Allure Brilliant.

These two collections have a modular design. This means that each Private collection offering can be personalized according to the user’s preference for different colors and finishes. Additionally, we have collaborated with Caesarstone Quartz to introduce inserts that can be further customized to user preferences. This way, we offer creative freedom to anyone, whether an end-user, an architect, or a designer, to select the perfect combination of colors and finishes that aligns with their taste, aspirations, or project requirements.

Our first tier, Icon 3D, offers absolute customization. To achieve this, we are utilizing 3D printing technology. Using this technology, we have successfully printed water faucets and showers, allowing us to create products with very few manufacturing constraints compared to traditional techniques. This means we can tailor our products to meet discerning and specific needs and preferences. In the future, we plan to collaborate with more architects and designers to create truly exclusive pieces.

You mentioned collaborating with architects. Are you saying the designs from this collaboration will be wholly new and not based on any previous lines of work? In other words, will these designs be created from scratch?

Designed from scratch, yes. So, our team would partner with whoever requests that, and we would provide that support to design a one-of-one product. It would be like no other product on the market. Obviously, it would be very exclusive for the most discerning users…

Right. So, this resulting model will effectively be exclusive to a specific project.

Yes, exactly. The idea is to offer exclusivity, just like the luxury industry (e.g. watches or jewelry) provides unique and one-of-a-kind masterpieces. Our goal is to provide the same level of service and experience to the sanitary fixtures market.

Partnering with the architects to design one-off products is an exciting prospect because that can result in novel or experimental forms that may not have been seen in previous GROHE lines. But there also comes a danger, especially when you have a pushy client who may not be as well-versed in design but has an ambitious vision they want only LIXIL Global Design to realize. How does your team deal with such a possibility?

Well, as the product would be GROHE SPA branded, there would still be a brand framework that should be respected, which draws on the GROHE brand heritage that has been carefully built up for over eighty years. The LIXIL Global Design team would provide that perspective and facilitate the process.  Our task would then be to guide the client, to discuss and collaborate with the client, especially if the client requires a more astute eye and mind regarding design matters.

Every collaboration requires a level of discourse, with agreements and disagreements. But we are more than ready. We have the credentials and the awards to show that we know what we do and are more than prepared to collaborate and guide you on your design journey well within the boundaries of the GROHE brand and ethos.

Noted. But how do you go about this balancing act of offering clients customization and creative freedom while keeping the GROHE brand’s integrity intact?

That’s a great question. When we design a solution system, we consider all possibilities and focus on what we believe is relevant. By relevant, we consider trends, local requirements, and specificities. We curate our offerings in a way that aligns with our values. However, we also provide creative freedom to balance out our curation process. This helps us to strike the right balance between offering selectivity and creative freedom. I think it’s good to be reminded that no matter how beautiful or well awarded our products are, they are nothing without their users, our consumers, and our clients. That is why we are extending our customization service via GROHE SPA, as a vote of confidence and an opportunity to dialogue with our consumers more intimately and address their distinctive needs with a solution specific to their problems.

A hypothetical scenario: what if a bespoke product your team has done for the client turned out really successful? Can that be spun off as a proper product line?

Well, that will rest on our discussion with the client, but as of now,  our approach is that the bespoke designs the LIXIL Global Design team does under the GROHE SPA banner are to be exclusive to certain clients and projects. A true one-of-one edition product.

One of the GROHE SPA brand tiers is multisensory experiences. What other novel experiences or innovative touchpoints introducing the brand can prospective customers expect in other LIXIL Experience Centers (LEC)? I’ve had a glimpse of this during the launch of your Singapore LEC.

That’s a great question. Honestly, I wish more people were asking it. What I’m really interested in is exploring the meaning of experience. Of course, we want to showcase our products, but how can we do it in a way that really speaks to end-consumers through the design, staging, and overall experience?

For us, experience is more than interaction but immersion. Our LIXIL Experience Center in Singapore will have a concierge service for premium customers. We are also putting the finishing touches on a dedicated space for VIP customers that would allow them to experience some of our very premium offerings. So, you’ll be able to come and experience, for example, the Rainshower Aqua or the Aqua Symphony, like the water feature at the entrance. So again, it’s not just about showing, but also about giving people the possibility to experience our offerings directly.

Wow, that’s pretty immersive alright.

We also plan to increase our engagement with architects and designers throughout the year to promote our bespoke design and customization offerings. As you’ve seen in the LIXIL Global Design office during our previous tour, our team has a dedicated room for testing products at various stages of the design process. We will intensify this testing process and include getting more feedback from the architecture and design community alongside our consumers. This intensification can only help us improve our products and better serve end-consumers.

We really want to push the boundaries of what experience means for our consumers. We have five senses; what experiences can we create to activate them? I think yesterday you had a tasting of that, but I think there’s even more to the word ‘experience’ that we can do in the future

Do keep us apprised when these experiences are ready!

Now, this isn’t the first we’ve heard of GROHE SPA, as the sub-brand was launched ten years ago. But this re-release at the tail end of a pandemic strikes me as a calculated move, given that aside from appealing to a more premium market, GROHE SPA is also a response to the macro trend of health and well-being that you brought up during yesterday’s launch. So, how is the GROHE SPA of today different from its original iteration? How is this version more improved or resonant with the needs and wants of today’s consumer?

GROHE SPA has been in the market for about ten years. However, the world has changed since then, and there was a need to update how we offer GROHE SPA, especially after COVID. The pandemic has accelerated a few things, and when we look at the macro trend of health and well-being, it resonates strongly with our focus for GROHE SPA. We noticed a few things that have caused us to reconsider the sub-brand as an embodiment of GROHE at its most imaginative, sensorial, luxurious, and responsive to the world’s renewed emphasis on health and well-being.

We made four observations that shaped the refreshed identity of GROHE SPA. The first one is that the bathroom has increasingly shifted from a rational space to an emotional one. I think COVID has really accelerated this phenomenon. During the pandemic, if you live with your family, the bathroom really becomes the only space where you can truly indulge in some personal time, where you can treat yourself and spend much-needed me-time to cleanse and attend to your mental and physical well-being.

Second is the emphasis on health and well-being, which was also brought about by COVID. We see an increasing demand from people for products and solutions that can help them enhance their mental and physical states.

Third is home experiences. Due to the pandemic, people are spending more time at home than ever before. As a result, many individuals are looking for ways to recreate the relaxing experiences they typically enjoy when visiting a spa or hotel. Recently, many people have identified an opportunity to upgrade their homes with products that provide spa-like experiences.

And finally, as we discuss the premium segment, it’s important to note that exclusivity, luxury, and premium quality are now considered a lifestyle. People want to be able to create living environments that are tailored to their specific needs and aspirations. I think the pandemic has led to more discerning consumers who want nothing but the best.

These are the observations that made us redefine the ethos of GROHE SPA. There was a need to clarify what the brand stands for, especially in a world forever altered by a pandemic. After much thought, we decided on the abbreviation “Salus Per Aquam,” which means “Health Through Water” in English. This principle has guided us to recognize that water is a vital source of energy and wellness.

Let’s touch upon the topic of luxury. There are numerous luxury brands out there, each with its own concept of what constitutes luxury. You have discussed GROHE SPA’s two luxury attributes – exclusivity and customization, which are not unique to it. Can you tell me more about what distinguishes GROHE SPA’s idea of luxury from its other high-end competitors?

GROHE is a legacy brand known for its innovation. As a brand with a nearly hundred-year history, we are proud of our pioneering spirit, impeccable craftsmanship, and commitment to the design process. You may have seen this during our tours. We believe that when an object is crafted with care, it acquires an intrinsic value that sets it apart. Each product that bears the GROHE name is imbued with this same innovative spirit, and we stand behind them with confidence.

But you may ask, don’t other brands also have innovative products? This is where GROHE SPA, as the ultimate expression of what we believe in at GROHE, comes into play. It is innovation that is in sync with emotions and acknowledges the need for evolution. This is evident in how GROHE SPA prioritizes the experience and immersion aspect of the brand in our marketing.

Our products are designed not just to serve their function but also to be a touchpoint that triggers emotions, sensations, and passions. Our products are designed not just to provide a service but to foster relationships. Building a strong bond with our consumers requires us to acknowledge and embrace the past, present, and future. Emotional connections are not enough; we must also evolve and adapt alongside our customers. That’s why we’ve taken steps to revisit and update our ethos at GROHE SPA so that we can continue to grow and meet the needs of end-consumers in an ever-changing world.

The culture of evolution is not something that upscale legacy brands, such as GROHE, are often brave enough to embrace. It’s a difficult balancing act of whether to stick to what has made you successful or to take a leap of faith into the unknown and unlock new markets. So, congratulations on making that jump!

Thank you. We both know that the world is constantly shifting, and history has shown us that those who fail to adapt become extinct. So, how do you stay relevant? You need to evolve with the world. It is important to build on your heritage while staying relevant to the present. GROHE has a strong heritage in designing quality and technology, but we also need to stay current.

The pandemic has brought to light many new needs and highlighted old ones that we had previously taken for granted. It’s crucial to remain open-minded and flexible, to listen, adapt, survive, and thrive as the world turns.

Thank you very much for your time, Antoine! Congratulations again on GROHE SPA! •

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