Tour de Piscine: foreign pool industries often are an enigma to U.S. companies. Here's why the European market is abuzz with activity—and business prospects

Pool & Spa News, August 6, 2004 by Shabnam Mogharabi

* Average pool is up to 15 percent costlier to install than elsewhere.

THE ALPS & SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES

* These regions boast some of the highest percentages of indoor pools in Europe.

* "Wellness" concept extends more deeply into hotels and other public establishments in Scandinavia.

* Decks tend to be simple and natural, with soft grass up to the coping.

RUSSIA/FORMER SOVIET BLOC

* Fastest growth rates for new pools and spas because of developing economies.

* Few trade associations or industry groups exist.

* U.S. distributors say it's a difficult market to penetrate: Eastern Europeans tend to buy only from their compatriots.

--S.M.

A global future

Competition, market saturation and space limitations may slow the growth of the European market in the years to come. That's why many builders and distributors in France, Spain and Great Britain are heading overseas.

"Most of our business comes from the Middle East [and] South America. Those are the regions of rapid growth," says Nick Powell, a director of Craig Bragdy Design Ltd., the Wales-based designer of ceramic pool murals. "Only a small part [of our business] comes from Europe anymore."

Of particular interest to Powell and other international exporters is the Middle East and southern Asia. Both areas witnessed an increase in sales of pools that are grand in size and decadent in the scale of their features.

Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates prefer luxurious, Olympic size pools. These projects feature dramatic hues of gold, Arabic pillars and rich Mediterranean decor, according to the European Union of Swimming Pool & Spa Associations. Though such elaborate pools are found primarily in hotels and fitness centers boasting hydrotherapy facilities, many families now install smaller versions for their homes.

Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo, three of the world's wealthiest places in terms of per capita income, also have booming construction industries. As a result, a fast-growing market has emerged for pools and spas with highly automated features and futuristic designs.

For example, the Ark Hills Spa in Ark Towers, a residential high-rise in Tokyo, was created by London design firm Conran & Partners. The upscale leisure center features a 50-meter pool, angular shapes and a blue-and-yellow, avant-garde lighting scheme that would be a "hard sell" in Europe, according to Steven Separovich, an architect and designer from the studio.

Home to some of the world's greatest resorts and honeymoon retreats, South America has always had a strong commercial pool industry. Now the luxury residential market is steadily modernizing. For instance, in Brazil, a country with a $102 million leisure pool industry, news from its annual trade show suggests that resort style residential pools have become more commonplace thanks to similarly sophisticated aquatics centers at hotels.

--S.M.

Special thanks to Piscine Oggi magazine for providing some of the photographs used in this article.