Roca Parryware to 'Uberise' Plumbing In India

Sanitary ware provider Roca Parryware is looking to 'uberise' the plumbing sector with an app that will provide them with access to plumbers in their area, much like cab aggregators help customers book a cab in their vicinity. The company is looking to launch a pilot in Chennai this month and boasts a database of around 50,000 plumbers currently. What will differentiate it from a home services provider like Urban Company is that it will only be focused on plumbing. "I call it the 'uberisation of plumbing,'" said KE Ranganathan, MD, Roca Parryware. "We have already developed the app where a customer can get on the app and it will show you plumbers in your area whom you can book for specific functions, like say bathroom repair or renovation. Once the booking is made, our trained plumbers go to the customer's house and do the servicing regardless of which brand the customer owns." He said that what makes this a lucrative proposition is that the plumbers will also go to the customer's homes with things like new faucets or seat covers that the customers can choose to replace old parts with while doing the plumbing. Further, the company has also launched a range of products through the Covid period like bathroom cleaners and so on which can also be sold to customers. Further, the company is keenly looking at expanding its footprint in government projects and hospitality of different kinds and has set up a specialised vertical for the same. The growth engines for the company would be new categories like pipes and consumables. Rural growth, government and hotel chains will also be huge growth opportunities.