London Inc. May/June 2021 - 19

The big industry question,
though, is how long the run will
last. When the pandemic wanes,
will the demand for pools stays
strong, or is this a swimming
pool bubble primed to burst.
Ultimately time will tell, but
Eaton is hedging the industry will
eventually return to earth, pointing
out that he hasn't seen many companies investing heavily in capacity. " Most
companies are going to have equipment or
a crew to build x-amount of pools, and it's not
worth the investment to double up, " he says.
On the other hand, the boom in pools has been part of a
larger boom of backyard leisure, and Eaton says that the
focus on home upgrades could prove to be a more lasting shift
in society's leisure habits.
" It's not just pools, but backyard leisure that's at an all-time
high, " Eaton observes. " The trend here seems to go from pool
to trampoline to outdoor grill. We're stuck at home, so let's
make our home our resort. " KIERAN DELAMONT

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in the homebuilding sector, for
instance, but global shortages
for manufactured parts have
made their mark regardless.
" Any time there's a new pool
owner, there's more demand for
materials, " Eaton says.
" Parts are deﬁnitely a concern, "
echoes Jackson. " I'm hoarding stuff
like crazy. If people come into our
store looking for parts, in a lot of cases
I won't sell them because we need them for
our new installs. "
And believe it or not, the winter deep freeze that threw
much of Texas into a state of crisis has also caused grief for
pool installers north of the border.
" They had to replace a whole bunch of pumps and pipes, "
Jackson explains. Because few people winterize the many,
many pools in Texas, sub-zero temperatures hit their
components hard. Coupled with the general difficulty of
getting parts for anything, he says, " that was really like a
double-whammy for our industry. "

N IVER

MAY / JUNE 2021 | londonincmagazine.ca | 19
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London Inc. May/June 2021

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