Providing access to all, Jeremy Smith, SR Smith

Providing access to all

AQUA talks to Jeremy Smith of SR Smith about the overwhelming growth of the business that provides ‘access to all’.

Jeremy Smith of SR Smith:

“I’ve worked in the pool industry for over 15 years now. My parents are American and I’ve got dual citizenship. SR Smith was a start-up entity here in Australia originally. We started out as a small business with a lot of good backing behind us. The first few years were hard slog, but I’ve really enjoyed working for SR Smith.

How’s business, both in Australia and the USA?

It’s really good! There have been a lot of negatives from a business perspective due to coronavirus, but demand in both our residential and commercial categories has been overwhelming. Last year was our biggest growth year since we’ve been in Australia. We’ve experienced overwhelming growth for the past twelve months. When we first came into the market, a lot of our products were not commonly accepted – particularly our residential items which are high ticket products which haven’t traditionally been found in retail outlets – our waterslides for example can range from between $2,000 and $7,000. So initially pool shops resisted offering our products or displaying them, but we overcame this by focussing on digital marketing to consumers and basically pulling the demand through from the back end. Then pool shops and builders realised that there was demand and they started seeking them out.

At the end of October last year, we had completely sold out of all stock in our warehouse and on the water pre-Christmas.

All of the slides – and we had ordered a considerable volume – we had sold out by the end of October and we are still fulfilling back orders in March. This is definitely due to people not holidaying or travelling overseas and wanting to spend money on their backyards, but there’s also a shift in what people think about our products, and that they should be offered at the point of sale by the builders. It’s an easy option to include some in-pool furniture if they are building a sun shelf or a water-slide for a young family.

Our products in the past haven’t made a lot of sense to people but now builders are realising that they can easily offer them and leave the decision up to the consumer. In the past there was a bit of gate-keeping going on. From 15 years in product development within the industry, I know that if you walked into a pool shop fifteen years ago and said to someone, “One day you’re going to sell a pool cleaner for $2,500,” they would laugh you out of the shop.

Pools shops have become a really good destination for high ticket items such as variable speed pumps, robotic cleaners and sanitisation products. K-Mart has taken the inflatables and other companies have taken some of the chemical business but that’s where our products fit in nicely for s pool shop and a pool builder.

What trends do you see emerging?

In-pool furniture is becoming very popular. Lounges mainly. This ties in with pool design as there is a current focus on creating different sections of the pool that appeals to different age groups. We make in-pool tables and stools plus lounges that can be removed from the pool and used on an adjacent deck.

Last year was the release of our ‘Slide Away’ which is a slide that doesn’t need to be bolted to the deck and can be packed away at the end of play. Grandparents love these as they can be brought out when the grandkids are over and put away for the rest of the time.

Could you give me a brief history of SR Smith?

SR Smith was originally founded in 1932, so we’ve been around for almost 90 years. We started out as a manufacturer of diving boards and then through a process of innovation and acquisition of companies, we morphed into slides and games.

Accessibility is also a big part of our business. We manufacture pool lifts now too. SR Smith acquired a commercial company by the name of Antiwave in 2013 and we then released a number of commercial products then brought in our residential lines. To this day, our commercial sales have grown considerably and we’ve acquired a number of businesses that have helped with that as well. Sunbather was one of these. More recently we acquired Stark Bulkheads. They were importing bulkheads into the Australian market for about ten years and we were also manufacturing our own bulkheads locally, so it was very strategic for us to take on their technology and provide it as an option within our range.

We took the opportunity to partner with a company that had been in the bulkhead business for a lot longer than us and the plan was to combine both our technologies and create a more cutting-edge product.

What changes have you seen in the pool and spa industry over the years?

There’s more of a focus on options. In the past, at least here in Australia compared with Europe and the US, we’ve been quite conservative in the types of products that we offer and the accessorising of our pools.

In the US it is common to use their backyard as the favourite room of their house. They have outdoor tvs, pergolas and a party area with swimming pool slide and diving board in the deep end. A lot of accessorising goes on.

Here in Australia we’ll spend $30,000 on an indoor entertainment system but buy cheap inflatables for the pool out the back. But I think this is the biggest change in the past couple of years. People are reevaluating their lifestyles and its more about convenience now.

Mineral pools and in-floor cleaning make it easier for pool owners to maintain their pool and they are also willing to pay a bit more for things. When it comes to pool pumps, filters and sanitisation there is a lot of development there.

Accessorising is finally taking hold where people are looking at their pools and realising that buying a pool noodle isn’t going to keep their kids in the pool for long because they’ll be back inside on the ipad under the air-conditioner in no time. If you put a water-slide in there, the kids will not only spend hours on it but they’ll drag their friends along as well and spend hours playing.

We are competing with some of the most incredible computer games these days. When I was a kid, there was only Pac-man!

“I think this is the biggest change in the past couple of years. People are re-evaluating their lifestyles and its more about convenience now”

What have been the biggest challenges as a supplier?

I think the challenge last year in particular was being able to forecast for the demand as the market shifted. As pool builders got more on board with our products, we had to adjust very quickly.

Most of our residential products are manufactured in the US. International freight was very difficult to forecast the lead times. We’ve overcome that this year by placing our Summer orders already. We intend to be three months ahead.

One of the biggest parts of our business is stainless steel rails and ladders which we manufacture locally. We don’t have lead-time issues with them. Most of our commercial products are Australian made. It’s really only the supply of pool slides and lifts that we need to think carefully about.

What opportunities does the current climate present to industry suppliers?

This ties in with the trends that we’re seeing with accessorising backyards, and as people become more open to new products, having spaces where both adults and kids can enjoy, we’ve begun development on some new products that really tie in nicely with that.

Our products are not just for kids. Most of our products can accommodate adult users too. We want to make sure the whole family can enjoy, and this ties in with our catch phrase of ‘Access for all’.

A large part of our business is disability access. We sell a lot of lifts now. The NDIS has been very beneficial for so many. A lot of people in the past haven’t had the option of enjoying pool time with the family and the government funding has allowed them to do this. We also know that managing people’s mental health is critical and this ties in with the physical wellbeing that can come from outdoor exercise and activity.

We manufacture the pool lifts in the US and we hold the stock in Brisbane. A percentage of these lifts are used in commercial facilities and quite a few of them now are going into backyard pools. They are an expensive and technical product but through the NDIS, they are more accessible than ever.

How do you see the industry pivoting and innovating in the future?

One area that has really come to the fore is extending the swimming season. In the past, the school holidays dictated how long people were willing to use and maintain their pools but home-schooling due to coronavirus last year, people were looking for ways to extend the swimming season and pool heating was a big part of that.

So our acquisiton of Sunbather was very timely and important. If the pool industry can be on the same page with this and market outside of the traditional time frames, we’ll be able to extend the swimming season further and increase sales.

Part of that is changing the mentality of the local pool shops, as there is a huge opportunity for profitability all the way through until May instead of slowing down in February, or ramping up in August or September instead of doing their open day in October and November.

I think that’s something as an industry that we all need to get behind. You can’t just have one company starting to promote pool slides, it needs to be everyone, because all the consumers are targeted for pool products, not just every once in a while. And if everyone gets on board, we can extend the season out.