PoolCorp, the Covington, La.-based megadistributor, has purchased WW Adcock, a Philadelphia-based independent distributor and long-time fixture in the eastern U.S.
Dee Adcock, president of the company that bears his name, will remain with the operation for a while to assist with the transition. This year marked his 50th anniversary with the company his father founded.
“The pool industry, like most industries, is experiencing significant change,” Adock said. “I believe that the sale will provide our staff and customers the resources they need to survive and thrive in the current environment. Certainly PoolCorp brings more resources to the table than we could as a stand-alone company.”
WW Adcock includes eight branches. Four are located in areas where PoolCorp already has a presence, so they will be closed, said Kenny St. Romain, group vice president for PoolCorp. These include branches in Baton Rouge and Monroe, La.; Hattiesburg, Miss.; and Baltimore.
The remaining four shops — in Huntingdon Valley and Harrisburg, Pa.; Norfolk, Va.; and Raleigh, N.C. — will bring PoolCorp into new markets. “Those are parts of the country where we wanted to expand our network,” St. Romain said.
Many of the staffers from the shuttered locations will be integrated into existing PoolCorp branches, he added. “[WW Adcock] has a very talented group of employees,” St. Romain said. “Many have tenures that are over 20 years. These employees have strong customer relationships that, in many cases, go back two or three generations.”
Those Adcock locations that are retained will largely be run business as usual, he added.
WW Adcock was established in the late 1940s, originally as a plumbing-supply distributor. It began offering pool pumps and filters in the late ’50s, and was a full-fledged pool-supply distributor by the early ’60s.
During his half-century-long career, Adcock served as president of the Wholesale Independent National Distributor Organization (WINDO). He also became known as one of the few contemporary pool/spa professionals who has run for political office. He campaigned twice for a U.S. House of Representatives seat in his home district in Pennsylvania, in 2010 and 2014, but was not elected. He said he has no future political plans.
After his work is done with the transition to PoolCorp, Adcock plans to retire somewhat, yet make time to more deeply pursue some other interests, including Christian charities with which he is involved. “But I am hoping to be able to slow down enough to smell the roses, too, and enjoy relationships,” he said.
