The TOTO Neorest toilet costs $10,200. TOTO
Toilets with high-tech functions such as heated bidet seats, air dryers, lighting systems, self-cleaning options, automatic lids with motion detectors, and remote-controlled panels, are growing in popularity in the U.S. According to market researcher The Fredonia Group, the electronic-toilet market in the U.S. is expected to grow 8.5% annually in the next five years. “Americans are spending more on master bathrooms, so there is a market for these products,” says Fredonia’s Matt Zielenski.
These toilets are more water efficient, which is further spurring sales growth. Leading manufacturers include TOTO, American Standard, and Kohler. Japan’s TOTO saw its electronic-toilet and Washlet bidet-seat revenues in the U.S. increase by 30% in the 2015 fiscal year.
TOTO’s sales tool: showrooms, including one recently opened in New York, where customers can actually try out a $10,200 Neorest toilet or a $1,560 Washlet. TOTO also publishes a map of Manhattan hotels, condominium buildings, and restaurants that have bathrooms with Washlets, including the Four Seasons Hotel, The Chatwal, and Park Hyatt. “People need to touch, use, and feel,” says Kazuo Sako, president of TOTO USA. “We want the customer to try out the products in clean conditions.”
In Japan, electronic toilet seats are installed in three out of four households, and there are more bidets than microwaves. They are so common that the government tracks their sales as a measure of national prosperity.
It’s likely, though, that the upward trend of high-tech toilets will unroll toilet-paper sales
source: http://www.barrons.com/articles/fancy-flush-high-tech-toilet-sales-are-surging-1481347235
by Carrie Coolidge
http://www.thisoldtoilet.com
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