Face lift: many of today's customers are buying new liners even though they don't need them. What's fueling this trend?

Pool & Spa News, March 28, 2005 by J.Q. Sanders

About 20 percent of the people who buy new vinyl pool liners from Michael Vassallo each year don't really need them.

Their liners aren't damaged, worn or faded. There are no holes, stains or wrinkles. Rather, these folks want a new look, and aesthetics alone drive their purchases, says Vassallo, general manager of Rising Sun Pools & Spas in Raleigh, N.C.

Maybe his customers want liners to match their recently updated patio furniture or repainted homes--or perhaps they're simply bored and want to make a change.

Some might be open to a new liner after the initial sticker shock of installing their pools wears off. They're also more receptive after they learn about the latest options and technological advances, says Rob Cox, president of the online retailer PoolCenter.com, which has headquarters in Springfield, Va.

"The patterns have been constantly changing over the last 10 years," he says. "After a few years with a blue liner, when some of the excitement of a new pool has worn thin, customers are prone to step up to a printed liner to regenerate family interest in the pool."

While the majority of their customers may not let appearances determine their purchase, pool professionals such as Cox and Vassallo report a growing audience for more beauty-inspired liner replacements. By being aware of this market, retailers and builders can open the door to more liner sales and future upgrades.

Lining up buyers

The trend of looks over longevity may make up a modest percentage of liner replacements, but sales from these customers add up, builders say. Vassallo, for one, estimates that 50 of the 200 in-season liner replacements that he does (costing $1,800 to $2,800 each) are sold for purely aesthetic reasons. That's 50 liners that would not have been sold otherwise.

These statistics may not hold true in all parts of the nation, however. Jim Leska tells a different story in North Syracuse, N.Y., where he is project manager at Tarson Pools & Spas. If a vinyl liner is supposed to last 10 years, Leska says that his customers won't replace it until 11 years have passed, or some catastrophic event has befallen the pool.

"It would be nice to do more--don't get me wrong, it would be real nice--but this just isn't that kind of place, I guess," he says.

Somewhere between these two extremes is Larry Wickens, owner of AQUATEKnology Pool & Spa in Rockville, Ind. With his business in a lightly populated, middle-class section of the state, he mostly sees his well-to-do customers as the ones willing to consider making any "unnecessary" improvements.

These pool businesses subsist on different local economies and depend on the whim of varied clienteles, yet they all share one opinion in regard to vinyl-liner replacement: It takes a softer sales technique to reach such buyers.

For the most part, hard-core sales efforts, such as direct-mail pieces or cold calls, don't make an impact, builders say. Rather, in most cases, people with this mind-ser tend to make the first move and approach companies for more information.

Typically, a change at customers' homes or in their neighborhoods triggers their desire for early liner replacement--not a flier promoting a sale on liners, say dealers. At this point in the game, the customers haven't necessarily made up their minds to spend, but are curious about the options.

Thus, it's incumbent on the dealer--in a low-pressure setting--to give clients all the information on the design possibilities and technological improvements that have been made to pool products since the last time they had a liner installed.

Time for a change

Thanks to those advances in technology, vinyl liners have come a long way. On the practical side, the liners that consumers have access to today feature durable thicknesses, custom sizes, and tougher algae-, fungus- and UV inhibitors.

On the aesthetic side, colorful, multidimensional patterns that mimic the look of natural stone, mosaic tile and fanciful aquatic shapes are now the norm. "Old analog patterns, they're gone," Vassallo says. "It's all about something reflecting the state of the art, whether it's 3-D patterns or tancolored ones. That's big right now."

Cox points out another benefit of today's more elaborately printed liners: Their designs have a dirt-hiding and wrinkle-masking effect, which also is an effective sales message when promoting a replacement.

In addition, liners that have greater versatility are big sellers. A liner with built-in J-hooks enables an overlap-liner pool to convert to the look of a beaded-liner pool. As an added benefit, this feature allows an overlap-liner pool to use a tile border. The new style eliminates the risk of an overlap liner bunching over the wall, which can cause the "tile" to pitch unevenly and look unattractive.

The second such liner is a combination J-hook/beaded liner. The J-hook slides over the wall above the bead and, if not needed, tears off easily. It works on beaded and overlap pools, and provides a still-malleable inventory for dealers who only want to stock one liner.