living life to the kholer-st
A true man of the world, Larry Yuen is Kohler’s president of Kitchen & Bath Asia Pacific and EMEA. Attending Singapore Design Week in March, Yuen expounded on Kohler’s bold expansion plans for Singapore, such as a new experiential centre, which he shared exclusively with Robb Report Singapore.
I think the bathroom is underrated as a design space. It’s probably the only place where you have some privacy, where you reveal your true personality. You should always design something that fits your needs. Do you have two people at home or perhaps a multigenerational family? Do you like to read in the bath? If so, you’ll need space to put your magazines and books. For those into grooming or make-up, you’ll need a good mirror.
Japanese design can sometimes be clinical or mechanical. We like to be more colourful and unique in our approach. We use Korean technology in our products, but I’m not a high-tech guy myself. Technology’s everywhere but we shouldn’t be slaves to it. We always look at the human side, how to use technology to enhance your life – it should make things easy. Take our ageing population. We’ve had customers who told us our products helped them to regain their dignity because they no longer needed help cleaning themselves.
I always try to go to new places every year. I love Thailand, I have a place in Bangkok I always visit. Once I was in Spain, in Mallorca or Ibiza. I was walking in the mountains for eight or nine hours. It was getting dark and I was struggling to find my way back to the city. I was wondering if I should stay put and wait for someone to rescue me. But I talked with the locals, ate their food and finally made it home. I learned that when it comes to nature, you don’t have any power. You just have to go with it, let things happen.
I eat everything.You’ve got to enjoy the local delicacies wherever you are. I’ve eaten balut (fertilised duck’s egg) – not something I enjoyed but I tried it! In Hong Kong I love going to Law Fu Kee in Central for their fishballs and congee.
I have about 70 to 100 watches. They’re not expensive. My boss wears a Casio and he’s a billionaire. Today I’m wearing a Calvin Klein watch, which I chose for its blue dial. I also have a big tie collection and about 100 pairs of spectacles. I’ve been buying Nixon watches for over 10 years and just bought one in London. They have a custom watch bar where you can choose each part, get your name engraved, have a special message made. It inspired me, so I asked the team to create products where customers could help choose the final product. Like our faucet – you can choose the handle, finishes and so on. People love being engaged, especially younger consumers, who like to be a part of the process.
I read about two or three books a week. I read on the plane, before I sleep. I do scanning, so I can go through them pretty quickly. I read two on the plane over from Hong Kong, on trend-driven innovation and how to define success in life. I try not to read just business books, but also those about life and culture – I just finished one on London’s history.
We’re very confident about the Singapore market. Our upcoming experience centre will have a big regional impact. We’re working on at least two, three showrooms in Singapore, and I’m doing the same in Hong Kong and London. The people we meet at these centres have projects in London, the Caribbean, Africa, everywhere. In our industry, we are one of the few truly global players.
Larry Yuen
President of Kitchen & Bath Asia Pacific, Kohler
Outside work, Yuen enjoys travelling and trying local delicacies. He also enjoys collecting watches, ties and spectacles, having about 100 pairs of spectacles in an extensive range of styles and colours.
