This year's summer heat wave provided a much needed drop in the bucket for local pool retailers, but some say it wasn't enough to offset the effects of a drained economy.
Bruce Gans, owner of Tri-State Pools on Perimeter Drive, said the hot weather increased sales of chemicals and pool accessories, but new pool purchases fell by 15 to 30 percent at his store.
"That's due mostly to the economy. People are scared out there," said Gans, who has been in the pool business in Chattanooga for 35 years. "Pool sales have been down in the past two to three years actually, with this being the worst year of the past three."
The seasonal nature of the pool business is something Gans and other pool retailers or construction companies have to constantly be aware of. Inground and aboveground pool purchases are typically made between March and August, with May through July being the peak pool season, local retailers said.
For the rest of the year, companies depend on sales of hot tubs or spas to stay afloat.
But one local retailer goes a step further to enhance his business by transforming his shop into a winter wonderland to sell Christmas items.
"Basically pool businesses bleed money in the off season and have to try to make it back in just three months out of the year," said Frank May, owner of The Pool Place off Lee Highway, which has offered a Christmas shop for the past 21 years.
Pool Place employees start moving out most of the shop's pool accessories in August to make room for Christmas lights, ornaments and other holiday decor for November and December. In recent years, May also has started selling patio furniture and even has gotten into construction of inground pools to keep cash flowing during lulls.
"I'm always searching for what I can fold in to create new streams of revenue year-round," he said.
It's not just retailers who are feeling the pinch and looking for ways to loosen consumers' purse strings.
Brian Worley, owner of Everclear Pool & Spa, a company that designs and constructs high-end inground pools, said he's recently expanded his design center to provide a more customer friendly experience. He invested in the center in 2007 and 2008, before demand dropped off, and although he had a tough time last year, he thinks the center eventually will pay off.
"We got through last year by the skin of our teeth," Worley said, "but eventually people are going to buy stuff again and it's going to get better. You've got to be prepared for that ... we're investing in the business, hoping things get better."