Breakdown by region:
South East
Over 37% of respondents operate in the South East.
They are more likely to employ 10 or more people than the UK industry average. 43% reported an Extremely Good year compared to the survey average of 34%.
The fact that the South East, contains London and the prosperous Home Counties certainly helps businesses in the region. Almost half the spas installed last year were installed in the South East.
South West.
25.5% of respondents operate in the South West.
In previous years the region tended to be home to smaller businesses with 65% of respondents employing 5 staff or less. That has changed. Now, businesses employing five or less make up just 44% of the sample and businesses with 10 or more employees have grown to almost 30%.
The strength of the hotel and tourism industry in the South West means that swimming pools – both installation and service – and commercial business in general is higher than the survey average.
26% of the respondents from the South West enjoyed an Extremely Good year.
Midlands.
15% of respondents operate in the Midlands.
Sauna is popular in the Midlands with 60% of respondents offering sauna and steam as opposed to the survey average of 44%.
None of the respondents from the region were involved in commercial contracts and the number of businesses offering ecommerce was also lower than the UK average at 19%.
18% of businesses had a Difficult or Extremely Difficult year. COVID-19 has had a greater impact on the economy in the Midlands than in the south of the country and this has had an affect on our industry as well.
North.
12% of respondents operate in the North.
Businesses reporting a Difficult or Extremely Difficult year are at a high of over 30% although many others reported doing very well. It was the middle ground that dipped in the North, in this region it appears the year was one of either famine or feast.
The North reported almost 42% of businesses being involved in online trading and ecommerce, well above the survey average.
The average number of spa installations per respondent was check not include distrib170 in the North, well above the UK average of 103. This is a continuation of the strong growth in hot tub sales that was seen in the region last year however 46% of respondents expect next year to be difficult and a much higher percentage of their customers – 63% – are looking for budget priced products than the UK average.
Scotland.
Unfortunately the low number of responses from Scotland makes any form of analysis unlikely to be accurate or relevant.
Ireland.
4% of the survey respondents operate in Ireland.
They are smaller businesses working across the pool, spa and sauna sectors. Sauna has traditionally been strong in Ireland and this year 75% of respondents from the region are offering sauna and steam installations.
Commercial installations and ecommerce were reported as being more important than the survey average and 75% of respondents recorded a year that was Good or Extremely Good. They expect next year to be the same.
Wales.
5% of the survey respondents operate in Wales.
All the businesses operating in this region worked with a mixture of both domestic and commercial clients with middle price spas showing the strongest growth. 80% of the regions respondents expect business next year to be OK or better.
1st February 2023
