It looks like the perfect business opportunity. Every house has one. Everyone uses them. And one Japanese company is making the most technologically advanced products of their kind.
But while the world may beat a path to your door for building a better mousetrap, Toto Ltd has found that selling a better toilet requires more patience.
Toto, the world's dominant maker of high-tech loos, made toilet history in 1980 when, improving on a US model that combined the bidet and the toilet, it produced the "washlet" -- bringing warm water to the user's nether regions.
"We did what others were reluctant to try -- we brought electronics into the water closet," said Hiroshi Kobayashi, Toto's general manager of restroom product research.
Sometimes dubbed "super-thrones," top-of-the-line washlets now come with wall-mounted control panels as sleek and complex as those of stereo systems.
Their manifold buttons allow adjustment of the nozzle position, water pressure and type of spray, plus blow-drying, air purification and seat warming for those cold winter mornings. Water and seat temperatures are adjustable.
The controls can also be set so the lid rises as the toilet is approached.
Japan has embraced the high-tech toilet. Government statistics show that combined toilet/bidets are now installed in 52 percent of Japanese homes compared to just 14 percent in 1992.
Toto -- which employs around 1,500 engineers -- dominates that market with a 65 percent share. Its closest rival, Japan's Inax Corp, trails at 25 percent. Numbers for Japan's overall toilet market share are similar.
But where Sony's Playstation, Toyota Corollas and Pokemon have all blazed paths into western popular culture, Toto's high-tech thrones have not traveled well.
Toto officials blame matters both cultural and practical.
A relatively long history of flush toilets in the US and Europe -- around 100 years -- has resulted in many competitors and cheap toilets.
Westerners just aren't used to shelling out hundreds or even thousands of dollars for high-tech versions.
Most Western bathrooms also lack an electric socket near the toilet, something that people in Japan, where central heating is rare, were keen to install when the seat-warmer was introduced.
But after making some inroads in the US with more standard models, especially with the advent of low-flow toilets in the 1990s, Toto's washlets are starting to make an impression.
Its US washlet sales, which began some eight years ago, have risen to over 1,000 units a month this year from 600 two years ago.
"It's not the same amount of numbers but the trend is very similar to what we saw in Japan 20 years ago -- low figures for about five years and then a sharp J-curve. We have great expectations for US sales next year," Kobayashi said.
But marketing toilets is not easy. Building showrooms is expensive and some analysts estimate it will take another five years before overseas revenues, now only 5 percent of Toto's total sales, climb to 10 percent.
And some cultural barriers seem to be just too hard to break -- witness the European market, where Toto has only one distributor and sells a mere 5,000 washlets annually.
"You'd think that because Europeans are used to the bidet, they'd be more interested. We just don't know why they aren't," said Kobayashi.
Some analysts even argue that tackling cultural norms isn't worth the effort and that Toto would be better off pulling its washlets out of the US and Europe altogether and concentrating on more receptive Asian markets like China.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RSS