Episode summary
Fiberglass Versus Concrete in Pools | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 8 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec · Guests: Sean Gadd
Summary
Latham Group CEO Sean Gadd argued that the pool market is being reshaped by a structural shift toward fiberglass, especially in warmer southern states where the company is trying to take share from concrete. He said fiberglass is about 25% of the U.S. market, but it is the faster-growing substrate because it can be installed much faster than concrete and is easier to standardize in manufacturing.
Gadd framed Latham as the largest pool manufacturer in the world, with businesses in fiberglass, vinyl, and automatic safety covers. He said the company’s biggest growth opportunity is not just new pool demand, but winning homeowners in the South through its “sand state” strategy, which targets neighborhoods with high pool potential in Florida and beyond. He said the company is using dealer relationships and marketing to introduce fiberglass as a newer alternative in markets long dominated by concrete.
He also said pool demand is seasonal but not so dependent on weather that a cold quarter can ruin a year. On economics, he put the average North American pool cost at $95,000, with a range from $70,000 to above $200,000 depending on finishes and add-ons. He tied higher costs to labor and materials that rose during Covid and have not fully reversed.
Key takeaways
- Sean Gadd said fiberglass represents about 25% of the U.S. pool market and has been taking share every year.
- Gadd said Latham can install a fiberglass pool in about six days, versus 90 days to 120 days for concrete.
- He said the average North American pool costs $95,000, with many projects ranging from $70,000 to more than $200,000.
- Gadd said the company’s southern expansion is focused on neighborhoods with the right pool economics, not broad-brush geography.
- He said weather affects the business seasonally, but a weak quarter from cold conditions should not “kill the year.”
Notable quotes
“so fiberglass makes up 25% of the US market. Uh it is the growing it is growing uh substrate that goes into pools”
“you once a consumer decides I want to be in a pool within six days we're in and out”
“the average in North America across North America is $95,000. Uh, but you can get into a pool anything from $70,000 and of course it can go away up to 200”
“we have we have control of the cost, we have control of the product, and we have control of the quality”
“fiberglass again one of the advantages it's non-porous so algae doesn't grow in it”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts, radio, news. — You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Stenc on Bloomberg Radio. — Retail sales data for May that showed that US consumers increased spending in the month across a broad range of retailers despite higher energy uh gasoline prices. Uh 11 of 13 categories, Tim, posted increases with motor vehicle sales rebounding by 1.2% 2% and spending at online retailers rising for a fifth straight month.
Yeah, safe to say pools are not in their own category, but I think if Mike McKe were here, he would have some sort of statistic that he could rattle off all about the indicator when it comes to pools. They're certainly something that some consumers spend on an indicator too of supply chains, materials, and of course, labor costs.
We've got a great guest to talk about this industry. We welcome Sean Gad. He's president and CEO of the $688 million market cap company Leam Group. Uh the company's biggest market by revenues by far is the United States, but also sells in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere. He joins us here in studio. Welcome, welcome. Nice to have you here.
Great to be here. Thank you for having me. — Pools, they sound so simplistic. We get what they are. Um but tell us about your business and the different product lines. — Yeah, absolutely. So, uh Laam is essentially the number one manufacturing uh pool manufacturer in the world. Um we got scale in both fiberglass and vinyl pools and uh we also sell auto covers which is a safety device that goes over your pool, protects your investment and also protects uh the people around the pool and your family.
Biggest area of growth for the company right now.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- fiberglass vs concrete pools
- pool construction materials
- residential swimming pools
- market share shift
- housing and consumer spending
Companies and tickers mentioned
- SWIM
- Latham Group
Watch the episode
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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