Chinese born in the 1980s and '90s are among the main consumers of high-end bathroom and kitchen products. What's more, foreign manufacturers are going out of their way to meet the demands of this group whose size is increasing by the day.
"Compared with the last generation, today's young people grew up, and were educated, in a more international environment. They pay more attention to personalized and stylized modes of life," said Wang Benming, chief economist at the China Building and Decoration Association based in Beijing.
"They want to bring their own modern ideas to their homes. They want their mixers, shower systems and kitchen cabinets not only functional but comfortable, stylish and aesthetically pleasing."
To help them realize their ideas of fancy homes, the world's top suppliers of home appliances are offering customized services.
For instance, Villeroy & Boch hired the services of a European designer who believes that colors reveal emotions. Together, they introduced a series of high-class wash-basins earlier this year.
The series offers consumers a choice of 192 colors. On top of that, they can pick matching bathtubs or color-coordinate both, according to the public relations department of the company.
Similarly, Hansgrohe Group's Axor, a brand whose slogan is "Designer visions for your bathroom", introduced an upgraded personalized service in China earlier this month.
Customers can decide the size and color of the taps, shower heads and other accessories in their bathrooms. Why, they could even choose the characters to be engraved in such accessories.
"'Tailor-made' and 'hand-made' products have become key standards by which lifestyle's quality is measured these days. In our personalized solutions, the customers will have their say in every detail. We combine that with our ingenuity, craftsmanship and sincerity, to satisfy consumers' expectations of personal taste and comfort," said Li Tao, senior product manager of Hansgrohe China.
"In 2012, Hansgrohe introduced a hand-held shower head with a print of a dragon. This was meant to be a customized product for Chinese consumers, to celebrate the Year of the Dragon, which signifies strength and good fortune in Chinese culture," he said.
Like Hansgrohe and V&B, Gaggenau introduced some customized products in recent years in China. Its Vario 400 cooktop series, which combines top-grade materials, functions and delightful looks, became so popular that it helped create personalized kitchens, according to the company.
Its products permit a flexible combination of cooktops whose widths range from 38 cm to 90 cm. Thanks to precision crafting of the 3-millimeter stainless steel, appliances can be flush-mounted or surface-mounted with a visible edge.
