As the fourth-generation leader of Kohler, David Kohler shares his vision for balancing heritage and innovation, driving growth in the Indian market, and integrating sustainable practices into product design. From its immersive Studio Kohler experience centers to tailored product offerings, Kohler is committed to creating personalized experiences for Indian customers while staying true to its 151-year legacy With India poised as one of Kohler’s top strategic markets globally.
As the fourth-generation leader of Kohler, how do you balance heritage and innovation?
Balancing heritage and innovation have always been part of our DNA. You don’t achieve 151 years of history and become an industry leader without evolving over time. It’s about maintaining a balance—a yin-yang—between staying true to our ethos, character, and heritage, while also adapting to the changing times and needs. One of our core principles has always been to live on the leading edge of design and technology, and that commitment to innovation, combined with our entrepreneurial spirit, is ingrained in our company culture.
This approach has allowed us to stay relevant by preserving our core values while developing new products and technologies to meet the demands of each decade and every market we enter, including India. At Kohler, we’re passionate about the creative process, which we see as a constant cycle of rebirth. It drives growth and vitality, not only in product development and technology but also in how we approach our brand and go-to-market strategies.
Innovation is non-negotiable for us, and we reinforce that through a set of cultural values and unique mechanisms, like our monthly design reviews. These sessions bring together our leadership and management teams to review new products, keeping design at the forefront of everything we do. It’s this continuous drive to improve and find better ways that keeps us vibrant and ensures we remain leaders in the industry.
What opportunities and challenges do you see in the Indian market, and how does Kohler plan to stand out here?
When we started in India things were tougher. We were small, just learning the market, building a team, and establishing our organisation and culture. But we’ve moved past that phase, and now we’ve grown to become the number two brand in the Indian market.
Today, we see immense opportunity and potential. India is the fastest-growing market in the world, and if you could choose one market to be in over the next 5, 10, or even 20 years, this is it. The country is seeing significant investment, and at a global level, India is afast growing stable market, which creates a conducive environment for growth.
In recent years, policies have improved, making it easier to do business here and removing many of the previous hurdles. We believe India will continue to be an attractive market moving forward.
What sets us apart is the strong foundation we’ve built over the years. We have a great organization, a strong culture, and a solid rhythm to how we operate. While other companies are still figuring out India, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the opportunities ahead.
Can you share insights into Kohler’s approach to integrating sustainable practices and cutting-edge technology into product design, and how this enhances the consumer experience?
At Kohler, we believe that sustainability should be a strategy without compromise. We’re committed to ensuring that sustainability never comes at the expense of performance, quality, or the consumer experience. Instead, our approach merges these elements, allowing us to deliver environmentally conscious products that still provide an exceptional, personalized experience that consumers love.
What’s unique about Kohler is that our commitment to sustainability goes beyond corporate responsibility or reporting. It stems from our mission to help people live gracious, healthy, and sustainable lives. This ethos has always been a core part of our company values. Since 2008, we’ve significantly reshaped our sustainability strategy, reducing our environmental footprint by 50%.
In India, our goal is to offer the most sustainable products in every category—whether it’s showers, faucets, or WCs—while maintaining top-tier performance, like the best flushing systems with minimal water usage. We are fully committed to designing and engineering for India, right here in India. We’ve established a strong design studio and engineering team, and we’re now prototyping, manufacturing, and even packaging locally.
This end-to-end integration, from design to final product, is a testament to the high-performance team and culture we’ve cultivated here in India, making it one of our strongest examples of sustainable innovation globally.
What drew Kohler to Hyderabad as a strategic location for expansion, and what is your business strategy for this city
Hyderabad stands out as one of the most dynamic and important cities in India, serving as a significant tech center and one of the fastest-growing urban areas. While it has a rich historical background, the city boasts high-quality infrastructure and impressive development, particularly in terms of urban planning.
The residential market here is particularly attractive, offering larger apartments and flats. As one of the major metropolitan areas alongside Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai, we recognized that establishing a Studio Kohler in Hyderabad was essential for our expansion.
We aimed to create an immersive retail experience in an excellent location, and we were fortunate to secure prime real estate for the studio. We believe this will be a game changer for us in the market
The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. Developers, architects, and designers have welcomed us with open arms, providing incredible support. We’re excited to celebrate the launch of Studio Kohler and look forward to building strong relationships in this vibrant market.
India is one of our top strategic markets globally, and we recognize its immense potential. Currently, we hold the position of the number two brand in the country, but our ambition is to grow our presence further and ultimately become the number one brand in India.
Our first priority is to continue delivering leading-edge products and technology. We design, engineer, and produce a vast array of premium quality faucets and fixtures right here in India. Our focus is on offering the best product line with a diverse palette of colors and finishes that architects, designers, and consumers can choose from to create beautiful kitchens and bathrooms.
The second priority is to enhance the consumer experience. We lead in delivering high-quality experiences not only during the purchase process—through our stores and immersive Experience centres in major cities, and now Studio Kohler’s as well—but also post-sale. We are committed to providing exceptional after-sales service, ensuring we have a robust network of service professionals across the country to address any issues promptly. Our goal is to offer the most differentiated consumer experience in the industry, which we achieve by focusing on a “for India, by India” approach.
Finally, we are dedicated to shortening lead times and improving our service turnaround times. We pride ourselves on our rapid response capabilities, with a high percentage of service cases resolved quickly.
How does Kohler plan to engage with Indian customers and create personalized experiences, which you told that those studios will be one such example.
Our goal is to create personalized experiences that enhance the everyday use of our products. We design all our products with customization in mind, allowing customers to adjust settings to suit their family’s unique needs.
We also aim to cater to our customers’ preferred shopping methods. Whether they choose to shop online with quick and easy access or prefer an omnichannel experience that includes immersive in-store interactions with knowledgeable experts, we want to provide the best shopping experience available in our category.
Our innovative product lines will be accessible across various marketplaces, ensuring that consumers can experience the same level of personalization and expertise in both digital and physical environments. Studio Kohler serves as a prime example of this commitment, offering a unique and immersive setting for customers to engage with our products and receive tailored guidance in their selections.