Franchisers are split when it comes to retail.
America’s Swimming Pool Co. in Macon, Ga. very nearly rolled out a retail program before pulling the plug. The threat of Amazon and other e-tailers was beginning to loom large.
“We were fortunate to have made that decision at the right time where the landscape of retail was really about to change,” says CEO Stewart Vernon. “And boy, did it.”
Likewise, Pool Scouts in Virginia Beach, Va., stated it has no intention of wading into retail, preferring to stick with its model of reoccurring revenue through weekly pool maintenance.
But Pinch A Penny and Poolwerx remain true believers in specialty retail. They believe they can give independent shopkeepers an edge in an increasingly challenging market by providing profitable products, training and professional marketing services.
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For some, the ever-more-present business model answers the succession and growth puzzles. For others, it spells a mismatch.
Pinch A Penny President and CEO John Thomas likens competition from the internet to that of big-box stores that began selling pool supplies as a loss-leader to attract higher-income customers in the 1990s. Its franchisees fared well against those retail giants, and he says they’ll hold their own against online under-cutters.
For Poolwerx, retail is a non-negotiable. Prospective franchisees who only provide pool/spa maintenance must agree to eventually open a store. That’s for the franchisee’s benefit, says the company’s founder,John O’Brien. With a ready-made clientele, a store can provide the most effective marketing for a service company.
“Say somebody has one service truck, and we put a retail store in that area,” he says. “In 12 months he’ll have four service trucks.”
