12 minute read
Endless’ by name & nature Jenny Anderson, Endless Pools & Spas
“Endless Pools & Spas is our generic name. We have two separate businesses – ‘Endless Spas’ and ‘Endless Pools’. We promote lifestyle and the benefits of water therapy in both”. - Jenny Anderson
Advertisement
When, where and how did Endless Pools & Spas begin?
Our original history began many years ago when my husband, Warren Anderson, purchased a spa from Alpine Spas. He asked the owner Russell Pearce if he would sell the business to him. Warren was doing bathroom renovations at the time and had bought the spa to relieve aches and pains caused by years of floor and wall tiling. It certainly helped him to recover after a hard day’s work.
Warren and a friend commenced working together, taking over Alpine Spas around 1980. It was a partnership between two new friends, one worked in administration and the other – Warren - did all the sales. The Alpine Pools showroom was on the corner of High St and Warrigal Rds, Ashburton. I was on maternity leave from the education department at that time.
Unfortunately this business venture only lasted about 18 months. Warren reverted to working at our bathroom renovation business in Hawthorn. As we all know, business partnerships can be fraught with difficulty, especially when partners do not have the same goals in mind! Warren still wanted to continue selling spas, so he started looking for another spa supplier and eventually came across an in-ground fibreglass spa shell company in QLD. While we were in Hawthorn, Warren said that if we are to sell spas, we needed a point of difference, so he invented the first swim spa in the world! It was also made of fibreglass. We made our first television ad and did a photo shoot with Marianne Dorslar (Tattslotto host for 22 years) and Dermott Brereton.
It took a while to get the new swim spa off the ground, so we kept doing bathroom renovations and we were known for a short time as ‘Adapt Bathrooms and Spas’. Our Hawthorn location was a single fronted two storey terraced house with a small backyard. We used to plumb customer’s spas in the side street on the nature strip. We installed several display spas, including the swim spa in the open-air backyard. Warren and I would work every weekend with our two young children playing in the spas. That was the beginning of ‘Endless Spas’
Within the first 6 months of selling the fibreglass models, we encountered a small percentage of surface problems; the resins were not coping with hot water.
We decided that despite being a great product, we needed to improve the quality, so we decided to manufacture a vacuumformed acrylic mould. This would be a very expensive process and presented a lot of challenges, as no vacuum former was capable of handling anything as big as a swim spa.
Sales were growing and we needed more room for plumbing, so we left Hawthorn in 1985. We set up in a large modern showroom in Mitcham and negotiated a big distributorship with a Sydney company called ‘Stylus Bathrooms’. They supplied us with a large range of acrylic spas while we continued to manufacture the fibreglass swim spa.
We eventually found a moulding company with a machine capable of forming this large sized vessel, however the vacuum tank was inadequate. With a bit of creative thinking, we found an old petrol storage tank and welded it up to strengthen it to hold the vacuum. We now had the system and the mould came next, as this was going to be the largest vacuumed formed vessel in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Anderson Family
We approached the Government for a research and development grant. After 6 months of presenting designs and technical challenges in development, we received a grant worth 50% of the costs to develop the mould. This was a real help, but it was still awfully expensive for a small company. We had to import oversized acrylic sheet from the USA which was another huge cost, however sales took off, and we were soon selling 80-100 acrylic swim spas a year, which was a real success story.
We were true trailblazers. Warren was the entrepreneur and I was very much the support person. This has been a good partnership because we have complimented each other. We were always good friends, and we got to know each other well before we married. This is probably why we have stayed together for 46 years.
First spa bath mould with handrails and headrests - Bridgestone
The business began to grow and by 1986 we had 10-12 employees plus installers. There were no portable spas in those days, all in-grounds with no permits and no builder licenses.
We decided to expand our business model and set up a branch in Sydney. The Sydney landscape was totally different to Melbourne. Poor access, the delays in delivering building materials for installation and the weather were all factors contributing to less swim spas being installed.
After a season of continuous rain and staffing issues, we decided to cut our losses and closed the store. The Mitcham showroom however proved a winning combination, with many spas on display and plumbing done in-house (no more on the nature strip!). The swim spa was becoming well known through home shows, radio and television, and there was only one fibreglass swim spa competitor - Gericho Spas (Tom van der Haar) - and only two spa companies, Caesars and Alpine Spas.
Unfortunately, times became hard during the recession (you know the one Australia had to have?!) We could not survive. People just stopped buying spas. Again we cut our losses, as we could not afford to pay the high rent anymore for the main road exposure and we were forced to retrench most staff. We opened up in a small factory/warehouse in the back streets of Ringwood. Interest rates were 18% at that time.
We faced enormous obstacles - a stagnant economy, no internet or websites as yet - and without a showroom to display our spas, we would hold our own mini spa shows in vacant warehouses and advertise a weekend sale. After each weekend sale, we would have to move all the spas out again and transport them back to the factory. During this time, we were a three man team with two plumbing helpers.
We eventually outgrew the small factory and moved around the corner to a larger factory. We were able to set up a primitive showroom.
During this time, Endless Spas found a local manufacturer – Bridgestone. Warren began designing moulds for our exclusive use and even developed the first range of spa baths with incorporated headrests and grab rails – very entrepreneurial! Portable spas became the new way of hydrotherapy and we needed more room, so we rented a second factory across the road to assemble and plumb shells into portables. After Bridgestone was sold, they closed down the spa manufacturing division, so we found a new local manufacturer, took our moulds back and began a new trading relationship that is still current today.
We soldiered on, finally building up our cash flow again and purchased a property in Heatherdale Rd, Ringwood in 2000.
We continued to grow, so we purchased another property around the corner off Heatherdale Rd and used it for dispatch and storage.
We also opened a new store in QLD. Unfortunately, we had problems with staffing - again! In hindsight we should have known better. Our daughter, Rachel, was sent to find a new manager, but instead she set up the business herself and worked there for 3 years. Our son, Joel, was already heading up our service division business down here in Melbourne. They both learnt essential customer service and business skills during these years. Rachel came back to have children, so we sold the property and closed the QLD business.
Having two locations in Ringwood was proving difficult and was not cost-effective or efficient, so again we went looking for a new location.
Photo shoot - 1984
We ended up buying our current premises at Lynbrook, which was 14 years ago now.
It’s huge and was purpose-built for what we needed. We were originally going to set up franchises and training facilities on the second floor. I even set up my own gym franchise for a while, but then hard times hit (the GFC) and I went back to work with Endless and here we are now, running two successful spa and pool companies.
Any particular highlights? What achievements are you most proud of?
We are really proud of what we have achieved and especially of the SPASAVIC awards we have won. Back in 2003, there were only two spa awards – Best Customer Service and Best Spa Outlet. We used to win BOTH every year. We now have won over 42 awards, including multiple product awards, employee awards, best spa retailer and business of the year awards.
We are proud to have been involved in enhancing the lives of so many people – suppliers, employees and customers - with our offerings. I am especially proud of my husband who set up the Endless Foundation. We were proud to start ‘Endless Pools’ and operate out of the same location, offering consumers both pools and spas.
We are proud of our kids - Joel (son) has become our business entrepreneur and Rachel (our eldest daughter) is currently working part-time in admin and sales. Our youngest daughter (Jaclyn) is currently on maternity leave. Our children are keen to keep the business going.
What have been the biggest challenges?
The economy, the weather, the introduction of portable spas and swim spas, technology and also the ability to offer unique products.
In the good old days, you required building experience to install spas in the ground.. That’s when Warren’s building experience was an advantage. Major portable spa manufacturers now make it extremely competitive. To sell a portable spa is much easier than selling an in-ground spa, so the expertise was no longer a major selling feature.
We were famous for selling in-ground salt water swim spas and spas and salt was not available in portable spas. We still had real points of difference – we had Australian made products, good customer service, were a family business and we offered excellent value for money. We were called the ‘80’s spa company’ by a major spa manufacturer, despite selling more spas from a single outlet than their multiple Victorian sites.
Technology was the problem as the manufacturers were using the latest American control systems. Our only option to retain our unique offerings was to import from overseas. Warren and I had been travelling to America each year to find spa manufacturers who were interested in supplying to Australia. Now we partner with ‘Artesian Spas’. The downside of importing is the fluctuating Australian dollar and its conversion rates. We also have to pay upfront, so there can be cashflow issues, but we’ve always had good support with our banks for financing. We tried importing Chinese spas to compete with the cheaper imports coming into Australia, but then we changed to American made portables, as we’d rather be known for quality than for cheaper products.
The biggest challenge for a retail business is the economy. Every time an election is held, down go the sales. Another challenge is marketing and its associated costs.
Endless are really the only ones consistently using radio, television and print to advertise. Our competitors benefited from our expensive advertising. The last five years has seen a drop in sales. The estimate is that it had dropped by 30%.
People were buying caravans and going overseas instead, but I think the market has picked up again now with no travel currently allowed.
What opportunities does the current climate present to retailers and builders?
The current climate has forced us to reassess our offerings and the way we were responding to customers’ needs. We now offer virtual sales presentations and customer classes.
It was okay during Stage 3 restrictions as we could still do installations and people were still buying. COVID-19 did however cause problems during Stage 4 restrictions, as lots of people asked for refunds and no spas could be installed.
During this downtime, we have also improved our online store. As a high-end retailer, we face a lot of competition online from cheaper alternatives.
Photo shoot - 1984
What have you learned from your years as small business owners in Victoria and also your time in the pool and spa industry?
Lots of lessons – mainly positive ones! The two most important things are to never give up and only focus on what you can control.
I am not normally a negative person, but I think you must be crazy to go into any bricks and mortar retail business today, to be honest! There is so much red tape and too much competition with online stores.
How do you see the industry pivoting and innovating in the future?
Endless offers truly unique products and being well-known in the industry will stand us in good stead to survive in the future. We will continue to offer unique, value-formoney products to meet consumer needs.
In regards to innovation, this has already begun with environmentally friendly products and automation.
What is on the horizon for Endless Pool & Spas. Do you have any new products in the pipeline?
Warren and I have thoroughly enjoyed providing people with the benefits of water and hydrotherapy.
Warren has always loved a challenge and It was not always about the money. I think we are now just ready to retire and COVID is not helping life to be easy. The kids however are keen to take the business to greater heights, just like we were at their age!!
We will introduce a new product soon, but it needs new registration so I can’t say too much yet. We are changing our moulds to keep up with consumer demand and new technology, and there are other business ventures that we looking to take up, but I’m supposed to be retiring so I’ll leave that up to the kids!
We‘ve got some new marketing and branding ideas, and we have other new products in the pipeline but for now, they remain top secret
It just never stops with us. It is truly endless - we are truly ‘Endless’! “The current climate has forced us to reassess our offerings and the way we were responding to customers’ needs. We now offer virtual sales presentations and customer classes.”
Christmas in Ringwood - 1994
Endless Spa hire - 1997
