The Pool & Spa Lifestyle Expo Perth took place in February at Claremont Showgrounds. It saw record-breaking door sales with approximately 3500 adults passing through the doors.
Rebecca Smith, SPASA’s WA regional manager, said that they had great representation from every aspect of the industry. This included spa and pool.
She says, “Exhibitors were very happy with the foot traffic and received great leads, sales and interest.”
“Information Hub sessions were introduced this year and proved to be extremely popular with Expo visitors.” The sessions were well attended. Our guest speakers were extremely well received and spent a lot of time answering questions.
Daena Bougoure–Latchford, Pool & Spa brand manager, says February was a remarkable month for engagement thanks to a trio of expos in Sydney and Perth.
She says, “The Pool & Spa Lifestyle expos are more important than ever, continuing to connect with more consumers and keeping pools and spas front and center.”
“Consumer engagement increased by nearly 200 percent during the marketing campaign compared to the same period in 2022. The Pool & Spa brand’s main objective is to inspire and engage consumers, making their dreams a reality. Our industry is experiencing content-hungry consumers who are more thoughtful and make better choices. Having a single platform that connects brands to a larger audience and speaks directly to them is an enormous asset that will ensure continued growth.
WA looking good
Lynley Papineau is the managing director of Aquatic Leisure Technologies, a manufacturer of fibreglass pools. She says that there seems to be a wide range of consumer interests in different states.
“For instance, you can find a lot smaller blocks in Western Australia. The last two people I spoke with had a 4.5-meter pool and a 5-meter plunge pool. Many people love the wader pool for children. The bench seat is a favorite – it can be used to let the kids run around, or you can make it a champagne bench for ladies. It is a great pool for all ages.
“A lot people ask me where the economy is headed, especially in WA.
Between 2015 and 2019, we came out of really difficult economic times. Our industry saw a drop of 47 percent between 2015 and 2019. We thought that October 2019 would bring us great summer and warm weather. But, by March 2020, we were already in the midst of the covid pandemic. It’s been very challenging since 2015!
“But then, who would have thought that we’d see some of our strongest sales ever? Our businesses were so small that we had to scale up to meet some of the demand.
“Now we have the ability to see the future. Already, we’ve seen sales slow down, probably due to interest rate increases, which have been impacted by uncertain global economic times.
“But Western Australia is unique in that it still has $10 billion worth infrastructure around the state, and a strong mining economy with low unemployment. Even though interest rates are rising, we believe there’s a really solid industry and really stable market moving forward.
“And it will just tick along. It needed to stabilize, it needed to calm down.
“This show has been flat out for 2 days and I think there are a lot people out there still building, a lot people interested, a lot people employed, and Western Australia has the highest savings in the country. They have equity in their homes and some savings.
“So, I believe that going forward, as an industry in Western Australia we’re going be a little protected against some of the other states feeling in terms of any slowdown.”
Next expo
South Australia’s Pool & Spa Lifestyle Expo will take place at Wayville Pavilion, Royal Adelaide Showgrounds, on March 25-26.
SPLASH! Magazine published the article Big marketing campaign boosts Perth consumer show success. Magazine.
