The Kanth Company

Introduction

Kanth London Ltd is a manufacturer of sustainable, luxury shower systems. More than twenty years ago, as a business led by sustainable values, we were before our time. People didn't understand sustainability - what it meant and why it was so important. Now the world is waking up; people are realising that we are facing a climate emergency and we cannot continue this way.

We believe that now is our time.

We have noticed customers sometimes assume that choosing to buy sustainably means you have to compromise on value. This is not true. We would argue it is unsustainable products that fail after a short period that are inferior. Whilst it is true that as a society we need to consume less, this does not mean we have to go without. We strongly believe in the idea of buying less but buying better. When you buy from Kanth you will never have to compromise on value - in fact, it is precisely because of the outstanding value our products offer that they are sustainable.

Kanth’s Circular Business Model

Longevity is at the core of everything we innovate. We design products which will last for as long as possible. After longevity we look at safety, ease of use and performance. Then, and only then, do we consider price and aesthetics. This is not because we consider price and aesthetics as unimportant - our products must be affordable and we go to great lengths to come up with a timeless design for every one of them. However, it is never our first consideration because we are not led by cost or fashion.

To maximise the longevity of our products, we design them from the outset to be renewed, refurbished, repaired, disassembled, remanufactured and eventually 100% recycled. Designing products to last is not enough; it is also our responsibility to ensure it is practical and easy for customers to keep and use our products for the entire length of time they are built to last. This is where our Refresh Scheme comes in - under this scheme we allow our products to be easily repaired on the rare occasions that this is needed. We also allow them to be updated. The shower valve is concealed behind the wall and is guaranteed to last for 25 years, but most people look to update their bathroom every five to six years. For this reason, the trim sets on the customer-facing side of the wall can be returned to us and we will refresh them so they look as good as they did on the day they were purchased. Alternatively, if the customer wants a change in style, we will give them a new set with a different finish and design. The old trim set is never thrown away, but given a refresh and returned to stock for another customer.

History

It was in 2003 when Kanth shower valves were first introduced to the bathroom market, with just five independent plumbers within central London specially selected to sell them for market research purposes. The products, as expected, proved extremely popular, with word of mouth seeing over 200 units sold within a very short period. During our years of testing the market, the response we received was phenomenal, with the product greatly exceeding expectations, and a decision to formally launch was agreed.   

“...we’ve been on a journey of discovery and exploration to get where we are today”

The obvious route to market at the time was to partner with a distributor and exclusivity was given to a company reported to know the premium retail market well. The relationship started out positively, but soon became problematic.

Shortly after the forming of the partnership, the distributor acquired the manufacturing rights to another brand, one they had already been distributing for a long time. Their newly appointed Head of Manufacturing gave no consideration or thought to Kanth’s vision and principles, he simply wanted Kanth to fit into its existing business model. This company sourced majority of its components from the Far East and this would have been their preferred route for the Kanth products. They were essentially looking to increase their own profit margins, whilst at the same time attempting to reduce Kanth’s. Something that was completely contrary to what had been agreed at the outset. All things which make for a great for a profit-centred model, but not for a principle-centred one.

Having a clear vision has proven notoriously difficult throughout the ages as not all share – or even care – what you value. This is certainly true when it comes to Kanth, as those we believed shared it fell short – ultimately compromising our principles. A shared vision is always that – shared. When you care about something so passionately it’s difficult partnering with those who don’t. On face value, Kanth and its original partner were in harmony but behind the scenes the reality was very different.