Pool & Spa Scene: INTERNATIONAL POOLS & SPAS
Sun Fails To Shine In Summer-Less Benelux
These are stressful times for companies in the BenElux area that ironically are largely dealing in stress-relieving products, such as pools and spas.
Of course, the economic climate is an important negative factor, but an even more important role is played by the general sense of doom that paralyses consumers. People tend to postpone the buying of valuable, expensive goods in times of economic
ABOVE: Stress-free times for customers, but not so much for pool and spa companies in the Benelux region.
depression; cutting back on obtaining luxury goods that increase the joie de vivre but are not strictly a necessity. Spas and pools belong to that category.
Although, in general, the leisure market is not doing well in the Benelux region, there are some positive developments. In the fi rst place, the solid companies that are offi cial distributors or dealer of well-known brands, tend to fair better, because insecure consumers stick to favourite, trustworthy companies and brands. So the market may be declining in total but the companies that suffer most, are the ‘brandless’ spa and pool shops. You might say the crisis is restructuring the market and that will help the good companies in the long run.
Another positive development, at least in the Benelux, is the Eight Per Cent
total number of pools for residential use is around 300,000 that equates to 250,000 in-ground and 50.000 above ground, for a total population of around 60 million people. It is interesting to note that in Italy, the ratio between users and number of completed pools is the lowest in Europe (EUSA countries), therefore there is a large margin for growth. In addition, the majority of existing pools more than 10 years old and therefore need renovation and modernisation. The perspective from Assopiscine, the Italian association of pool industry professionals, for the next fi ve years predicts a continuing slight decrease in new builds. In the general maintenance and servicing sectors, predictions include an increase in automated appliances such as dosing systems as well as heavy interest in cleaning systems and general accessories. Sara Di Mario, Il Campo Tel. +39.051.25.55.44
www.ilcampo.it
rising desire for home investment. The feeling that you can spend each euro only once causes a rise in investments connected with the private house; pools and spas do profi t from this trend, although not so much as to compensate for the loss of sales in general. A third trend is the increase of investments by large holiday companies such as Landal Green Parks in the development of new recreational facilities. This means existing parks are refurbished and
new ones are developed, always including leisure facilities such as spas, pools and saunas. These investments offer good possibilities for importers and distributors to create new sales. But these minor positive trends are no match for a
combination of fi nancial trouble and a serious lack of sunshine. In the Benelux region, a good spring and a sunny summer are the most important sales boosters. The years, 2011 and 2012 will go down in history as ‘summer-less’ years.
A lot of retail companies are discovering that the sun is a vital marketing instrument, but one even they cannot control. Bart Bosman, Interhiva Tel. 0031 (0)342 427 042
ABOVE: Pool Building declined by eight per cent last year with predictions of further falls in fi gures for the 2012 season.
Pool & Spa Scene: INTERNATIONAL POOLS & SPAS 45
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