Back in early November, at last year’s PSP Expo in Orlando, Jennifer Clements accepted the APSP Retailer of the Year Award on behalf of Pla-Mor Pools, her family’s retail/construction firm, based in Mechanicsville, Va.
Founded in 1968 by her husband Kenny Clements’ parents, the company has based its success in recent years on providing products and services that offer maximum value for the dollar and also a marketing plan that promotes both the outdoor living experience alongside the wellness benefits of hot water therapy and immersion.
“Years ago, we put up a billboard by one of the busiest freeways in the Richmond area,” Clements recalls. “It showed a couple and their two children enjoying a hot tub. It read, ‘The Real Happy Hour!’”
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Clements believes promoting both the aquatic experience and the healthfulness that comes with it is a winning combination for her company and the industry at large: “We focus on creating that outdoor paradise, that outdoor oasis, and we promote the amazing, healthful benefits of soaking in a hot tub,” she explains. “Everybody loves to dip into hot water and experience how it relieves the stress of everything that’s swirling around you. It’s about family and bonding as well as improving circulation, relieving arthritis and treating other ailments like fybromyalgia. It’s good for the mind and good for the body.”
BEYOND THE END ZONE
Like many in the greater Washington, D.C., area, the Clements are also longtime fans of the Washington Redskins. Back in 2013, the venerable NFL franchise contacted Pla-Mor, looking for a local company to provide hot tubs and services for the team’s hydrotherapy needs during training camp.
Since then, Clements explains, “Our equipment and our team is on site everyday at camp monitoring the tubs, balancing the water, working under the athletic trainers.”
Pla-Mor provides two vessels, one for hot water therapy and another for cold-water immersion. The two units, both top-shelf models from one of the industry’s leading spa manufacturers, are used as part of “contrast” therapy, during which players alternate between hot and cold in order to accelerate recovery after grueling pre-season workouts.
“One of their veteran linemen explained to me that by going back forth between hot and cold, they recover more quickly,” Clements explains. “When you go into the cold water, the blood flows toward your vital organs where it’s oxygenated. Then when you get into the warm water, that highly oxygenated blood flows back toward the leg muscles where it speeds recovery.”
Players and training staff have reported great success with the regimen, and they have also expressed tremendous appreciation for the company’s work supporting that effort. So much so, in fact, that the Redskins staff referred another NFL team to Pla-Mor, which is now also using their products during training camp.
“The Redskins have told us it’s such a relief to hand that part of the operation off to us and they’ve thanked us for the great level of care that we’ve provided,” Clements says. “They knew they could trust us.”
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LOCAL CONNECTIONS
For the Clements’ part, they are thrilled to be associated with the Redskins and as part of their arrangement with the team, are able to use the team’s marks in their marketing campaign. Affiliating with the Redskins, which has a hugely devoted fan base, has provided a major boost to the Clements’ marketing efforts.
“It’s all about branding and we want to be married to the Redskins in every way possible,” Clements says. “All of our ads go out with the team’s colors and logo. It’s been a great way to gain attention and tell our story.”
The company is currently under contract with the Redskins through 2020.
