The evolution of the bathroom space throughout history - Roca

Roca active in 5 continents
Asia, a growing
market
As a multi-national
company, Roca is active
in some of the fastestgrowing
markets in the
world.
Roca is active in the most important markets
at a worldwide level. Their expansion and
growth has taken it to world leadership in
bathroom space. During the 1970s, Roca
began a process which has taken it to where
it is today, maintaining a presence in 135
countries and 65 factories spread across 17
countries.
Roca, which is active in 5 continents, is
consolidating its presence, especially in
Asia. This is one of the best economic
prospects for the company in terms of
growth and development. Roca’s ventures
in this continent began at the end of the
1990s when the first bathroom porcelain
factory was constructed in China. In 2005, a
second production facility was inaugurated
in Suzhou, comprising a cast iron bath
production plant and an acrylic bath plant.
The company’s
internationalisation
policy has led it to world
leadership in bathroom
spaces.
2006 was an especially important year since
Roca achieved world leadership in bathroom
spaces through a series of takeovers. Within
Asia, Roca acquired all the shares in Johnson
Suisse group, the leading bathroom porcelain
company in Malaysia. Meanwhile, they
entered India through a 50% joint venture
with Parryware, the Indian market leader
in bathroom porcelain. 2 years later, Roca
bought the remaining 50% of the company.
Today, Roca has 17 factories spread between
China (9), India (5), Malaysia (2) and Taiwan
(1). As well as these plants the company also
has 2 showrooms in Asia, one in Shanghai
and the other in Beijing, where Roca displays
the latest product developments designed
for these markets. Roca’s penetration was
reinforced by being the favoured official
supplier for the Olympic Games in Peking
in 2008. For the Olympics, and as a tribute
to the Games, an exclusive collection of
washbasins designed by Mariscal was
created and sold throughout Asia.
In China Roca has 9
factories which service
the internal demand of
the country.
In this situation, the recovery which the country
is experiencing is considerable. The indication
of recovery is especially significant if we bear in
mind the importance of this country within the
Asian continent.
Together with China’s improvement, other
emerging and developing countries have
shown similar signs of stabilization. These
circumstances have the logical consequence
of helping to strengthen the company’s position
in China since it encourages internal demand
and will hence improve the company’s results
in that continent. According to the IMF, in
general terms, it can be said that the intensity
of the recovery which Asia has registered can
be linked to 3 factors: an expansive fiscal and
monetary policy; the recovery of the financial
markets and capital flows and the export boost
that the industry has received.
Taking all these indicators into account, the
Asian market offers an excellent opportunity
to keep on growing and consolidating the
leadership position which Roca enjoys at
worldwide level in bathroom spaces. ■
The Asian market
represents an
opportunity to carry on
increasing our share of
the market.
In economic terms, Asia’s importance for
Roca is in both its potential market of more
than 3.800 million people as well as the
important economic growth that countries
like China and India have experienced in
recent years.
Also, despite the worldwide economic crisis,
the Asian continent is showing symptoms of
recovery at a more rapid pace than the other
continents.