www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
Editor’sLetter AUG 2011 SPN
5551
spn incorporating Pool & Spa Industry is the official trade magazine for the UK wet leisure markets and is the only trade publication that invests in the industry it serves.
POOLS | SPAS | HOT TUBS | SAUNAS | CHEMICALS | ACCESSORIES & MORE
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Swimming Pool News incorporating
Pool & Spa Industry is the onlyofficial trade magazine of
letter
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spn is published by LINER POOLS Colourful, low cost alternatives
TOP END HOT TUBS It’s boom time for luxury spas
PLAY EQUIPMENT ‘Toys’ help generate profits
WATER TESTING Hassle free solutions RENOVATIONS
Getting pools looking great again Saving money and raising standards
LIW and aquanale show previews | Social Networking for businesses | Project profile Safety flooring to reduce poolside accidents | In my view | 17 pages of industry news
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here’s never been a better time to see the glass half full rather than half empty when it comes to reflecting on the pool and spa trade half way
through 2011.
Sadly, there’s no formal way of recording officially how specialist businesses are faring this year. We remain one of the few countries in Europe not to be able to prepare industry statistics for marketing and analysis purposes. But that’s another story.
So any market view has to remain anecdotal. But it seems that for the first time for a while, specialist companies are confident about seeing 2011 as a year of genuine growth. And if you own a swimming pool or a spa or are thinking of buying one, there’s never been a time when you can get more support in terms of new products, information, help and guidance. To their credit SPATA is now taking the message out to more consumers, stressing the benefits of working with companies who work to standards and who abide by a Code of Ethics. What is also clear is that, as we report in SPN this issue, sales of top end hot tubs are doing especially well and there’s a view that people buying these luxury items is all about people
So while there’s real concern in the United States about the hot tub market being permanently damaged, the UK market looks to be having another year of recovery. New pool builds are slow but again as we reflect in SPN this issue, repairs, renovations and refurbishments are proving to be good solid business. One specialist pool builder told us: “We’re busy now through to next year. There’s a lot of work around – not from new customers so much as from home owners who realised they are not going to move for a while and want to get their pools tarted up a bit. We’ve got six quotes out for local authority work and we’ve never quoted so much.”
This month, one of the leading local authority associations revealed that eight out of ten pools belonging to local authorities were now more than 20 years old and the vast majority are in need of renovation – even with the restrictions on spending.
With 1,800 local authority swimming pools now active, that’s a lot of opportunities for someone. The private sector also shows some good signs with an expected increase especially in and around London from hotels, and health clubs investing in new pools to attract visitors for the London Olympics with better facilities. The UK’s swimming pool trade has always done quality exceptionally well and has great products many of which continue to sell well and which solve problems for swimming pool owners on key issues of running costs, safety issues and carbon footprints.
It hasn’t been easy trying to buck the recession but good quality products , great service levels , and damned hard work has left the trade in a better place than 12 months ago.
Alan Lewis – Editor
Go Publishing also publishes: What Pool & Hot Tub magazine – our sister publication – is the only consumer magazine in the UK that provides the complete and crucial information that potential buyers are looking for! For more information visit the What Pool & Hot Tub website at
www.whatpoolandhottubmag.co.uk
AUGUST 2011
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