Demand growing for pools, spas

The weather and the economy are the two biggest factors driving the
market for swimming pools and spas in Northern Colorado.
And right now, area retailers say the water is great.
“The market does fluctuate with the economy,´ said Albert Heine,
general manager of Mountain Mist Spas in Fort Collins. “When people
are watching their dimes it does affect this industry. But it’s
fairly constant.”
Mountain Mist has sold more than 15,000 spas in 22 years, Heine said.
Heine compared fluctuations in demand for pools to that for
automobiles. Right now? “It’s very good – up.”
Nick Pohlit of Loveland Pools and Spas said weather tends to be a key
in predicting demand. “If it isn’t warm enough outside, who is
concerned about swimming?”
Pohlit said a cooler-than-average summer may have slowed pool
purchases somewhat this year. “Otherwise, demand has been there very
nicely.” Pohlit figures his business has installed more than 70 pools
in 25 years.
Nationwide, the pool industry is valued at $20 billion and in 2001
contributed 300,000 jobs to the economy, according to the National
Spa and Pool Institute.

Demand growing in Colorado
While California and Florida have the most pools and spas, demand for
these amenities is growing in Colorado as the trend to vacation at
home remains strong.
“Many, many people are looking for more things to do around home than
they used to,” Heine said. “That goes back even before 9-11.”
Colorado pool and spa owners are bucking at least one national trend
when it comes to these backyard water features. Elsewhere, smaller
pools have become a bigger part of the new pool market.
According to NSPI, in the 1990s pools got larger with 40 percent of
new pools installed during that decade in the 30,000-plus-gallon
category. Today, about half of all new pools fall into a smaller
category.
Here in Northern Colorado, however, Stacey Kapaska of San Juan Pools
of Colorado in Loveland said customers are selecting larger pools.
“I see a lot more of the bigger pools being sold because of the
finance rates being so great,” she said. “In the last year or two
I’ve seen a lot more bigger pools, plus people are getting bigger
yards.”
Kapaska said pools in the vicinity of 16 feet by 40 feet range tend
to be the most popular. San Juan Pools of Colorado specializes in
fiberglass, in-ground pools and spas.
Prices for the fiberglass pool products that Kapaska offers range
from about $18,000 to $32,000 installed. Fiberglass in-ground spas
start at about $8,000.

Broader spectrum of customer
Kapaska said pool and spa customers reflect a broader spectrum of
people these days. “They’re retired or couples in their late 20s,
early 30s. A lot of them are middle-aged, married couples with
children.”
While exercise continues to be a typical reason people purchase
pools, Kapaska said her customers are most likely to cite their
children as the reason they’re installing a backyard pool.
“They want to have the convenience of having their children go out
and play in their backyard,” she said. “That’s the biggest reason –
keeping their kids at home.”
According to the NSPI, pools today are likely to be social centers,
part of backyards that offer several leisure and lounge areas. Pools
and spas increasingly feature special lighting, sound and
entertainment systems and even waterfalls and fountains.
Those more elaborate amenities are less-often seen around Northern
Colorado, however, Kapaska said.
“We don’t do a lot of specialty stuff,” she said. “People just want a
pool in their backyard. This isn’t Arizona or California where you
have 12 months of paradise in the backyard.”
Reflecting the Colorado climate, the most typical upgrade is an
automatic cover, Kapaska said.
The demographic of those in search of spas and hot tubs is a little
narrower than for pool people, but that’s changing, Heine said. Where
once the typical purchaser was in his or her mid-to-late-50s with an
$80,000 average annual income, “I thinkthat the age and income has
moved down,” he said. “We’re seeing more (buyers) in their
mid-to-late-30s with children in the family and a median income of
around $65,000.”
Heine said consumers can choose from two-person spas to units that
seat seven to eight. The most popular tub in Northern Colorado tends
to be a medium-sized tub that seats five. Prices range from about
$3,600 to $12,000.
Pohlit of Loveland Pools and Spas said individual tastes tend to vary
widely when it comes to pool and spa purchases. Elaborate landscaping
that incorporates the pool as a design element is a trend.
Kapaska, too, noted that pool and spa purchases are seasonal and
dependent on the weather. “It’s really busy in the summer, slower in
the winter,” she said.
Too hot and dry isn’t necessarily better than cool and wet, however.
Retailers are relieved to see drought concerns waning.
“Now, it’s fine,” Kapaska said. “Last year was OK, but the year
before that we had a couple of situations where we had to bring in
water.” In some cases, she said, counties would not allow pools to be
filled.

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