Service News 16.03.2022 | Duravit generates revenues of over €600 million for the first time
16.03.2022 | Duravit generates revenues of over €600 million for the first time
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Duravit posted record revenues* of €604 million for 2021.
• European business on course for growth despite pandemic
• Revenues in excess of a billion RMB in China
Duravit posted record revenues* of €604 million for 2021, representing year-on-year growth of around 28 percent (2020: €469 million). Operating profit rose by 41 percent to €73.7 million and, following an already excellent result in the previous year, also performed significantly better than net sales in 2021. CEO Stephan Tahy said, “The latest figures confirm that we’re on the right track and give us the confidence that we can achieve our goal of €1 billion by 2025.” The Duravit boss has been consistently implementing his growth strategy since his appointment 2020 – a strategy that has been given a substantial boost by the prevailing economic conditions.
Local-to-local strategy encourages global growth
Much of the growth is to do with Duravit’s operations in China, where the company not only generated revenues in excess of one billion RMB (approx. €139 million) for the first time, but also increased its turnover by 32 percent in the world’s most populous country. Stephan Tahy again: “The reinvigorated retail sector in China played a part along with significant growth in the increasingly important eCommerce sector. Further, demand for higher-quality products such as our SensoWash® shower-toilet is on the rise - especially in the project segment.”
Similarly, the company has successfully strengthened its role as a system supplier of complete bathrooms in its extended “Europa Plus” European sales region and as such has generated greater added value: the region contributed an increase of 26.8 percent to €328.6 million to the company’s overall success.
Duravit’s longstanding “local-for-local” strategy, which helps its sustainability ambitions, had a positive effect overall. By focusing on regional production and procurement routes, the company has been able to safeguard its supply capability during a scarcity of global raw materials and in the face of delivery bottlenecks.
Successful introduction of new product lines
In addition to the extraordinary performance of previous top sellers, the introduction of new product lines such as “D-Neo” has stimulated strong growth, enabling Duravit to tap into younger target groups and create additional attractive offers for the project segment. Innovations such as “HygieneFlush” and successful collaborations with renowned designers such as Philippe Starck and Bertrand Lejoly further underline the company’s aspiration to be a leader in technology and design.
Wholesale and specialist dealers remain the primary focus of the Duravit brand
Duravit has experienced growth across all sales channels – from classical retail through to the online platform – with the lion’s share being generated in the classical wholesale segment and project business. The CEO is intent on retaining the three-stage sales principle even within the multi-channel strategy. “In future, we will provide even better support for our partners by offering additional products and services,” Tahy emphasized. “The strategic decision to acquire the Bernstein brand and the ‘Bernstein bathroom shop’ will help us meet the higher demand for online shopping. Nonetheless, our primary focus within the two-brand strategy is still classic sales through the Duravit brand with the unique quality of expert advice from wholesalers and specialist retailers.”
Close link between growth and sustainability
“This significant growth in revenues means we are cementing our independence and securing the future of our workforce’s jobs,” Tahy explained. “At the same time we’re creating the leeway we need to drive our sustainability strategy forward.”
On that front, Duravit aims to become climate neutral by 2045 without relying solely on offsetting CO2 emissions or emissions trading. Stephan Tahy is clear about this: “We strongly believe that ceramic – a sustainable material that has proved its worth over millennia – also has a place in a climate-neutral future.”
Duravit CEO Tahy believes that the illustrious company from the Black Forest is well-placed for 2022: “We’re currently running at maximum capacity in all markets and we’re proud of our brand and our company. None of this would be possible without the team effort of our employees who recreate this success every day afresh despite challenging and changing prevailing conditions. These are the best prerequisites for implementing our corporate vision of ‘We upgrade people’s everyday life’ for all of our stakeholders.”
*The financial figures for 2021 represent the preliminary result of the Duravit Group.
