Sloan Valve Makes Strategic Investment in India to Tap Sanitaryware Boom

Illinois-based plumbing systems maker Sloan Valve has made an investment in Haryana-based Essel Bath Fittings after a decade in the Indian market, as it looks to scale in a highly fragmented sector that is already facing intense competition among a few large players. Homegrown brand Jaquar controls around 60% of the market share in the branded faucets segment, the largest chunk of the nearly $12 billion bath fittings sector.

Sloan Valve is betting on India’s growing organised market for branded bathroom and sanitaryware products as it looks to expand its reach in the country, company executives told Outlook Business.

Sloan, which caters to the premium and mid-segment bath fittings space, plans to leverage Essel’s domestic manufacturing capabilities and distribution network to tap into rising demand driven by urbanisation and housing growth, said Sloan India Managing Director Anil Sawhney. This investment gives the firm access to a large manufacturing facility in Derabassi, Punjab, where it plans to expand its India portfolio. The investment was announced on April 13, though management did not disclose financial details.

“Over the long run, India remains a compelling market, with more than 700 million highly aspirational consumers. The middle class and the emerging middle class will continue to expand to that scale, which in itself represents a massive opportunity,” said Parthiv Amin, Sloan’s Chief Sales and Marketing Officer.

He added that the premium and luxury segments—already comprising around 116 million people—are also set to grow, as more consumers aspire to move up.

While India’s branded bathroom fittings market is led by Jaquar Group, it remains highly fragmented. The rest of the market is marked by stiff competition, with players such as Kohler Co. in the faucet segment, Hindware Limited and CERA Sanitaryware Ltd. in the sanitaryware segment, along with international brands such as Toto, Grohe and Roca.

Amin acknowledged the competition but said Sloan would stand out through innovation.

“The market now needs the next level of innovation—that’s where the real leap will come from. Much of the technology we see today is simply being replicated from global markets and brought into India. What we’ve done instead is take a base technology from the US and reinvent the product for India—for example, redesigning the flushing system to suit local needs—and bringing that to market,” he said, adding that the company is introducing innovations that “don’t exist” in India.

The 120-year-old company, in its 10 years in India, has largely been a business-to-business player, catering directly to builders and public infrastructure developers. The US firm’s India MD said it plans to venture into the B2C segment but will wait to have the “right product”.

“In the B2B space, while many brands are already operating, we continue to perform well because of strong product acceptance driven by the unique features we offer,” said Sawhney.

He added that the company is looking at an overall $2.5 billion opportunity in the Indian market.

“What’s more important is that 30–40% of this market remains unorganised, and that segment is now steadily shifting towards the organised sector as consumers increasingly prefer branded products. This transition is effectively expanding the overall market for us,” he said.