Mike Giovanone, owner of one of the most prominent vinyl-liner installers in the United States, has sold his company.
Latham, N.Y.-based Concord Pools, a PSN Top 50 Builder, now belongs to Jon Foshee, former vice president of U.S. sales with vinyl-liner- and fiberglass-pool producer Latham Pool Products. He took charge of the company and its day-to-day operations as president/CEO immediately upon the sale’s finalization Feb. 28.
Giovanone will remain with Concord for the next three years as chairman of its advisory board, for which he will function in a consulting capacity.
But he also will head up Latham Pool Products’ educational series and dealer enhancement for three years in a consulting capacity.
After two years of ironing out the details with Foshee, Giovanone made the sale just in time for his 65th birthday.
“It’s bittersweet, but it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “It’s the right time, and it’s going to be a win-win-win. It’ll allow Jon to do what he wants to do. It’ll allow me to chase after the passion I have for education. And it allows Latham Pool Products to have people involved with their educational series who can make it happen.”
As one of Latham’s largest dealers and an active member of its committees and education, Giovanone had worked with Foshee for nearly 15 years. The staff already knows him, Giovanone says.
“I couldn’t be happier to place my employees into Jon’s hands,” Giovanone said. “That was my only prerequisite — that all my employees were protected...”
Giovanone began in the industry in the early 1970s as a high school student, working for Carman Goody Pools, an installation arm of vinyl-liner pool manufacturer Imperial. After graduating from St. Michael’s College in Burlington, Vt. with a corporate finance degree, he became a full-timer and progressed to an officer position with Imperial.
In 1979, at about 25 years old, he purchased Concord Pools, which was a dealer of Imperial’s. Under the previous owner, Concord had installed about 20 new pools annually. In his first year as owner, Giovanone sold 168.
The company saw its highest volume in 1988, when the company built 488 pools, making Concord the highest-selling dealer of its vinyl-liner pool supplier at the time, Heldor Pools. Giovanone eventually decided Concord’s sweet spot was 170 pools per year. At one time, it had four locations, but Giovanone decided to pare back to three.
Giovanone grew the firm from an eight-employee operation to one that now carries 75 on its payroll during the busy season, 30 year-round.
When he changed suppliers to Pacific Pools (now Latham), Giovanone immediately became involved with the company. He has served as chairman of its advisory board, has consistently served as a leader among Latham’s dealers and teaches installation boot camps held by the manufacturer. In 2010, Concord entered into the fiberglass-pool market.
Concord has consistently placed on the PSN Top 50 Builders list. Last year the firm ranked 20th and reported a 2018 total revenue of $14.56 million.
Foshee joined Latham in 2008 as a regional sales manager. Before that, he worked for Mountain Pools and Baystate Pool Supplies. He holds an associate of arts degree from The Sage Colleges in Albany, N.Y.
