It's our first "State of the Industry" issue, and it's quite a bit different than anything we've ever done before.
A couple of months ago, as a first step, AQUA sent out a comprehensive survey of three different industry groups: builders, retailers and service personnel. This was to be the foundation of the issue, the voice of the industry itself.To be honest, I figured a few dozen people would return it, and we'd have a few comments to work with. I was overwhelmed by the response; stunned to watch the total count grow into the hundreds and finally top out at over 700 fully completed surveys.
Even more amazing to me was the amount of thought that everyone put into it, especially the written portions of the survey. They took the time to write out what excites them and what bothers them and what worries them about working in this industry.
We have taken their responses and words and turned them into portraits of each industry sector - one for service, retail and building.
I think it's going to be a great read. You'll be able to see not only where your particular branch of the pool and spa industry currently resides, but your place within it.
We've been working on this for some time. We hope you like it.
