In recent months Jacuzzi Brands has been expanding its presence in the swim spa, bathware and sauna markets.
The organization recently acquired Hydropool Hot Tubs and BathWraps. Hydropool manufactures and sells swim spas and hot tubs, while BathWraps is a bathware supplier. This follows the recent development of a partnership between Jacuzzi and sauna producer Clearlight Infrared.
The management teams for Hydropool and BathWraps will remain in place as the businesses continue to operate independently, said Bob Rowan, CEO of Jacuzzi Brands. David Jackson will continue in his role as president of Hydropool and Jeff Conner will continue to serve as president of BathWraps.
“Both of [these acquisitions] are the result of some work that we were doing over the course of the last 12 months to identify logical areas that can enhance our bath business as well as our global spa business,” Rowan said. “That involved reaching out to a lot of different companies within a lot of different categories that made sense for us.”
Brian Quint, president of Seattle-based Aqua Quip, is especially excited about Jacuzzi’s acquisition of Hydropool. The Jacuzzi brand is going to add value to Hydropool products, he said. And over time, depending on the brand strategy moving forward, he believes the acquisition will lead to better sales.
In May, Jacuzzi entered into an exclusive partnership with Clearlight Infrared. The organization has begun to manufacture and market a line of infrared saunas under the Jacuzzi brand. The line includes the Sanctuary Full Spectrum Infrared Sauna models and the Premier Far Infrared Sauna models. The collection debuted on May 1.
While Jacuzzi has manufactured saunas and steam showers in Europe for the last several years, this deal represents the company’s first foray into the North American sauna market. “We don't have expertise in the U.S. sauna market, and dealers have generally not had success in the category to date,” said Rowan. “So while we love the product and category for consumers, licensing just made more sense for us at this time.”
