APSP recently published its Business Intelligence Service yearbook (compilation of statistics and analysis from PK Data), and it produced some interesting nuggets, which may now find their way into your brain via this entertaining and challenging quiz. (Answers at the bottom, and, please, no wagering.)
We'll start with an easy pop-up:
1) In terms of gross revenues, what was the inground pool industry's best two-year span?
2) True or False. Since the inground pool market hit rock bottom in 2009, we've seen two straight years of slight incremental growth.
3) In terms of unit sales, which category of aquatic vessels has suffered least in the Recession?
a) Inground poolsb) Hot tubsc) Aboveground pools
4) What proportion of inground pool owners have a hot tub?
a) one in threeb) one in fourc) one in six
5) What is the most popular inground pool accessory?
a) timer/electronic controlsb) automatic pool cleaner c) pool cover – (manual or powered)
6) What proportion of inground pool owners use a pool service company for maintenance?
a) one in twob) one in threec) one in four
So how'd you do?
1-2 right — You don't know much, and you don't even guess very well.3-4 right — You are extremely average.5-6 right — I think you cheated.
There will be much more in-depth discussion of industry research findings and what they mean for all of us at APSP's Industry Summit in Chicago, August 14-15. I plan on making the trip.
Answers
1) Those glorious days of 2005-2006.
2) False. In 2011, in terms of gross dollars and unit sales, the inground market dropped by about four percent.
3) C. Aboveground pools received only an oblique blow in the Recession compared to ingrounds and spas. Unit sales dropped by only 30 percent from their peak in 2006, and have been climbing strongly since the dark days of 2009, with a solid 9 percent growth in both 2010 and 2011.
4) C. Just one in six inground pool owners have a hot tub.
5) B. At 60 percent market penetration, the automatic pool cleaner is the most popular major accessory.
6) Just one in four inground pool owners use a service. Of those, 62 percent are on a weekly route, and 43 percent are paying more than $100 per month.
