Inside the Hot Tub Industry

Jacuzzi Brands Corporation has appointed Peter Munk to the newly created role of president of global spa business. Munk joined Jacuzzi in 2011 as head of the European business units. 

"Peter's emphasis on the growth of our European spa business has resulted in outstanding results in an extremely difficult economic environment," says Bob Rowan, Jacuzzi Brands Corp. CEO. "His strong commercial background in dealing with all types of retailers and distribution in a variety of industries, combined with his experience in product development and branded consumer products make him the ideal person to fill this critical role."

Jacuzzi has made a number of growth-driving investments in recent years. In 2011, Jacuzzi established a new manufacturing facility. Additionally, Jacuzzi added two new brands to its portfolio with the acquisition of ThermoSpas in 2012 and Dimension One Spas in 2013.

"The appointment of a global leader of our spa business demonstrates our continued commitment to drive growth worldwide and reflects the global opportunity we envision for this strategic business," says Bob Rowan, Jacuzzi Brands Corp. CEO. "We are committed to our ongoing investments in product innovation and reliability, and creative marketing programs to drive dealer sales and profitability. The business has seen a strong start to the 2013 season and with the appointment of Peter we are ready to bring global best practices in product, marketing and service to our dealer communities around the world."

Service Manager Needed

Clearwater Spas seeks an experienced hot tub Service Manager to run a thriving service and parts department at their factory in Woodinville, Washington.  The successful candidate will have hot tub service management experience with dealers and consumers.

This position requires the ability to lead a service department team.  This person will manage their department with a high degree of integrity, professional communication skills and be able to handle multiple tasks.  He/she will implement and manage the system for handling consumer and dealer service/parts/warranty requests.

This person will be responsible to maintain adequate inventory of spare parts and maintenance materials to handle most common repairs and situations.    This is a full-time, salaried position and includes: medical, optional dental, company matching 401-K plan and vacation package.  Compensation is based on experience.  

Please send your confidential cover letter and resume to: lrXSPA@aol.com attention Larry Richards.

Dave Riley, managing partner at the Gemini Effect, will write a new column for SpaRetailer magazine focusing on the financial aspects of running a hot tub dealership. 

"One of the biggest challenges for hot tub dealers and the industry in general is that they don't have numbers to compare," Riley says. "They're making business decisions in a vacuum, where a lot of industries have industry information, guidelines and benchmarks and that info doesn't exist for the spa retailer. This industry just because of its size doesn't have that independent financial benchmarking available."

Riley's SpaRetailer columns will harness his knowledge of financial and business best practices in and out of the hot tub industry. 

"The financial metrics aspects of our industry have long been ignored," says David Wood, publisher of SpaRetailer. "Mr. Riley brings a tremendous amount of financial experience for our subscribers. The ability to see side-by-side analytics, specifically tailored to the hot tub industry, is a real game changer."

Riley has been a consultant to small business owners since 1980. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Accounting and Finance, and an MBA. The Gemini Effect helps mid-size companies find and implement missing success factors through thorough analysis of its financials.

"The most exciting thing for me in joining SpaRetailer is that together we can bring a whole new level of understanding of the industry to individual dealers that really helps them improve their business and their profitability," Riley says.

Northern California retailer, The Hot Tub Store, has won the Improving People's Lives Award from Watkins Manufacturing to celebrate the store's "40-year commitment to helping people feel better every day."

The Hot Tub Store, which has locations in Santa Rosa, Roseville, Sacramento, Vacaville and Folsom, Calif., has sold Hot Spring Spas for 30 out of its 40 year existence.

"We've had such a wonderful community of customers, staff members and vendors for all these 40 years who have helped us deliver the ultimate relaxation experience," says Ellen Friedman, president of The Hot Tub Store. "We will continue to deliver the absolute best hot tub ownership experience into the next four decades."

Bob Wismer founded the Hot Tub Store in 1973. He began manufacturing redwood hot tubs after seeing the idea in Sunset magazine.

"We are thrilled to wake up each day to share the positive effects that soaking in the warm water of a hot tub can have on your body and mind," Friedman says.