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CompanyProfile OCT 2012 SPN
BRANDING INITIATIVE CATCHES THE EYE
Spa Crest Europe has made a name for itself with its high quality, good value American hot tubs. Now its Brand2Go initiative is adding a new and powerful string to the bow of its dealers
manufactured by Spa Crest Manufacturing based in Claxton, Georgia in the USA.
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Business partners Tony Welsby and George Baker own the business, with the sales, marketing and technical support based at offices in Wigan and customer services, warehousing and distribution operating from premises adjacent to Felixstowe docks in Suffolk.
The Spa Crest portfolio
encompasses the Spa Crest, Coastal and Vision brands with products covering a broad spectrum of seating layouts, specifications and features in the £4,000 - £12,000 price ranges.
Spa Crest’s offering is aimed at consumers who expect high levels of personal customer service, are looking for a high quality, well- specified, good value north American hot tub, who do not want something cheap off the internet. Spa Crest Europe has grown from a standing start to be one of the most prominent players in the UK hot tub industry, with an enviable reputation for product and service. Much of that reputation is down to Tony and the down to earth, honest way he approaches business and his relationships with his customers. Tony has also served the UK trade associations as both Chairman of BISHTA and President of the BSPF.
Here Tony answers some key questions on the brand and the way it is developing:
pa Crest Europe is the European sales hub and distribution point for the stable of brands
retailers can have spas made for them at Spa Crest manufacturing’s factory under their own brand. What do you see as the long term benefits of this to both customers and dealers?
The concept came off the back of feedback from the market where two common factors came out. Firstly, that retailers were looking at ways in which the marketing of spas could be improved to get the message about the joys of spa ownership over to the consumer more effectively and professionally. Brand2Go addresses that by offering dealers an own-branded brochure and accompanying marketing materials. Secondly, whilst the internet has presented business with many opportunities, one downside is the ability for the consumer to ‘Google’ for price. It’s a common story across all retailers that retailer ‘A’ will invest in good marketing, a great follow-up workflow, professional displays and well- trained staff giving value-driven presentations, only for a prospect to Google the spa make and model and find rogue dealer ‘B’ willing to give the thing away and effectively set a lowest common denominator price for the whole market. It is a familiar story of lost sales and/or decimated margins that will chime with almost everyone in the industry. Brand2Go offers the dealer the opportunity to tap into a range which bears their brand name and which, when Googled, only brings the prospect back to where they started. We know it works as we beta-tested the concept with two long-standing dealers before we launched at SPATEX 2012. They were able to see via analytics data prospects who had been in to see them and had a presentation on an own- branded spa to track their progress round the web and back to their own website again. On these own-branded models they were able to sell more on the quality and value of the product without price getting in the way, and they retained greater margins.
Q: A:
The response has been very pleasing. Our intention wasn’t to set the market on fire, but to add another string to our bow and offer dealers something different and adding another string to their bows.
Brand2Go was launched this year by Spa Crest Europe where hot tub
Q: A:
The hot tub market is still very competitive in the UK. Spa Crest has been a long term quality name in the market. What do you believe is the key to the brands’ success?
It’s my personal belief that success has been grounded on offering a great value product high in quality and performance and, according to our dealers, incredibly reliable; underpinned by the best in service. Spa Crest manufacturing in the States and Spa Crest Europe are still family businesses. Most of our dealers are also family businesses, so that commonality and
understanding drives us in offering the highest, personal levels of customer service and support.
Q: A:
Does Spa Crest plan new hot tub models and specifications onto the market in the near future?
As with consumer products in most markets, times and technologies move on and products adapt along with them. We’re no different at Spa Crest, being one of the first manufacturers to introduce, in our Vision range, for example, the option of remote control via a smart phone or iPad app. Developments like this are important in staying ahead of the curve, but at the heart of it is still a superb quality, superb value, superb performance hot tub; and we’d only consider potential new technologies if they added genuine value and would be sought after by consumers. spn
i FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
F SPA CREST EUROPE ( 0844 871 8730 :
www.spacrest-europe.com
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