Urban Edge
Driven by chairman Eddy Kwok’s entrepreneurial vigour, Carera Bathroom is carving a niche with luxury sanitaryware and impeccable service
After the bedroom, the bathroom is the place we turn to most often for comfort, relaxation and pampering. It plays a key role in our abodes; it’s where we get ready for the day ahead and where we unwind in when we return home.
Naturally, we would want to fill up this sanctuary with choice fittings. Enter Carera Bathroom, a luxury purveyor of exquisitely made bathroom products from Europe. Founded in 2009 by chairman Eddy Kwok and managing director Jennifer Ng, the high-end bathroom retailer features collections starring state-of-the-art technologies and elegant designs, backed by exemplary service.
SPIRIT OF INNOVATION
Being the exclusive distributor of several prestigious made-inEurope brands like Laufen from Switzerland and Gessi from Italy is no easy task; it helps that Carera Bathroom has an enterprising businessman in co-founder Kwok at the helm. The brainchild of
Kwok, Furinno Furniture was established in 2004 and is currently sold on a number of US e-commerce sites, including Amazon.com.
The tool-less, easy to assemble Furinno furnishings are made of eco-friendly materials, which gives them widespread appeal across various markets. The brand has been steadily growing in the past decade, with a sales turnover of about SGD400 million last year, thus cementing itself as one of the largest household furniture vendors on Amazon.
The tech-savvy Kwok has also invested in Industry 4.0 technology for his factories. These processes enhance physical production and operations with smart technology and big data to create a better-connected manufacturing and supply chain management ecosystem. He also uses Newton, a proprietary Ai-based tool, to track consumer buying behaviour and gather product reviews, with the aim of enhancing production and logistics processes.
Kwok has always had an enduring love for exquisite luxury products, which explains why he is undoubtedly impressed by the craftsmanship of upmarket brands such as Laufen; so becoming the partner of Carera Bathroom felt like a natural fit.
PREMIUM PRODUCTS
Carera Bathroom is the exclusive distributor for Laufen and Gessi in Singapore and also retails a range of other brands such as Hansgrohe and Roca. The company operates two retail outlets: the Carera
Bathroom showroom at Tai Seng which showcases a wide selection ranging from the affordable lines to ceramic wares from Laufen, Roca, and other luxury brands, and the Gessi showroom at Somerset which captivates with impeccably crafted luxury bathroom fittings. “Ceramic manufacturing is an art, it is one of the trades that can never be fully replaced by automation,” states Ng.
Technological highlights at the showroom include rimless water closets from Laufen, which are easier to clean and more hygienic than their conventional peers. The brand also offers products featuring the proprietary Laufen Clean Coat (LCC) surface finish which makes it harder for bacteria to adhere to, and Laufen washbasins made with Saphirkeramik, an exceptionally hard yet wafer thin ceramic material. Upcoming releases include award-winning ceramic collections from Laufen and the New Venti20 range from Gessi.
In essence, the company aims to serve anyone who wants to build their dream bathroom; knowledgeable and experienced showroom associates will be on hand to offer their best professional advice at every visit. “I am very particular about service standards, as we must match the positioning of our main exclusive brands (Laufen and Gessi),” Kwok declares.