Swimming pools make 20m euro market

The pool market in Romania might double this year, as the orders received by the companies in this industry are to go up to some 20 million euros in 2003, due to the increasingly higher demand from individuals and especially hotels, says Nicolae Nicolau, one of the partners of Maria Design, a top player on this market. Other players are not as optimistic, though, but still see a growing demand.

“Why does the market grow? More buildings are erected and the clients have started to realise the pool is not a whim but a means of relaxation. Even though we got our first orders this year in April, we got more than we would have expected. On the other hand, we have more orders from the hotels at the seaside, but also from cities like Craiova, Calarasi etc.,” Nicolau said.

He estimates the sales of pools, which reached some 10 million euros last year could amount to “15 or maybe even 20 million euros” this year.

Demand from hotels has increased from less than 20% in 2002 to some 30% this year.

Prices on the market may vary from 200-300 euros (mini-pools for children) to some 30,000 – 40,000 euros for the pools purchased by individual consumers, while the price of a public swimming pool may vary from 50,000 euros to 150,000 – 200,000 euros.

The representatives of Kasta Metal, another player on the market, confirm the growth but are more cautious about it.

“There are more orders, the market is growing, but I don’t think it could double this year. At the end of May we were working on as many pools as we had worked on in the entire 2000, that is about 35. We were taken by surprise. Compared with the previous years, the clients are now more educated and more willing to buy quality products. As for the seaside resorts, we’ve seen a higher demand from hotels compared with the last few years, but it is the demand from individuals that is higher,” Carmen Grama, marketing manager at Kasta Metal, one of the leading players in this field on the Romanian market told Ziarul Financiar.

She added the Capital City and the surroundings, along with the Black Sea Coast were the best clients for the market. Next in line in terms of sales is Moldova.

The swimming pool market in Romania, which sees more than 30 companies competing, according to certain estimates, is still small if compared with others in the region. “In Hungary alone, where the population is half the one in Romania, the sales are about ten times higher,” Nicolau says. He specified Maria Design accounted for some 10% of the market. Other major players are Ani Co Trans Targu Mures or Avi Craiova.

Yet swimming pool suppliers are pinning their hopes on the modernisation of the hotels, which entails modern pools for adults, as well as pools where children can play, so that a huge business will spring from it.

“It would only be natural for the swimming pool business in Romania to total 100 million euros in two or three years’ time,” Nicolau says.

adrian.mirsanu@zf.ro