By Nicole Goodkind
12 hours ago
Daily Ticker
First there was the smart fridge, then the smart television and now the smart…toilet? 75% of Japanese homes already own these toilets and now two companies, Toto Ltd. and Lixil Corp. are setting out to bring the biggest craze in Tokyo stateside.
Imagine a toilet seat that lifts and closes automatically, heats up, adjusts to your size, and even has an automatic bidet, if so inclined a user can even link their smartphone to the bowl to play music and keep a record of comings and goings.
This isn’t a new concept. The toilets can run more than $5,000 and have been in the homes of the rich and famous for years, but now one man, Yoshiaki Fujimori, wants to bring these appliances to the masses. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal he said he aimed to be the Steve Jobs of toilets and so far so good. These smart toilets are growing twice as fast as the overall industry.
Fujimori is planning to launch a multi-million dollar advertising campaign within the United States to advertise these bidet-equipped toilets and some luxury hotels are installing them in their guest’s bathrooms.
“Industry presents iPhone,†Fujimori told The Wall Street Journal, “Industry presents shower toilet.â€
“I would call this an absolute, unequivocal sign of the bubble except for the fact that it’s huge in Japan and that economy hasn’t gone anywhere in forever,†says Yahoo Finance’s Jeff Macke.
“If this becomes a trend in the United States that will certainly be a sign that the economy is coming back and the housing market will be coming back,†says Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Aaron Task.
“When 10% of U.S. toilets are smart toilets and they cost more than $4,000…I will short every single stock, equity, and real estate opportunity I can get my hands on,†agrees Macke.
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