'It fits a lot of people's needs,' Antilla says, 'but if you mention it to most people, they'll say, 'Oh, yeah, I know what that is. Before that happens, though, governors must give the all-clear and allow shoppers to shop again, and sellers must educate those shoppers about a product many of them misunderstand. The company's nine stores were doing brisk business in them last year, and he thinks sales have even more room to improve. John Antilla, vice president and general manager for Aqua Quip in Seattle, is also bullish on swim spas. 'And swim spas will be a big part of that.'Ī wet test with kids can be particularly effective with swim spas. 'When the market does open again, this is going to be the best industry to be a part of,' he says. 'He dropped over $130,000 on that small backyard, and it looks great.' 'Half the guy's yard was going to be taken up by this unit he wanted, so we brought in a designer we work with and chose a smaller one and laid the yard out in a way that made sense and looked much better,' Perkins says. Perkins bailed out one such customer in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh last year. Without that level of help from a knowledgeable seller, some people will buy units that just don't make any sense for a property, either physically or aesthetically. Then we can help them lay out their backyards by connecting them with designers and contractors, basically serving as a point person to help guide things,' he says. 'First, we have an exploratory phase where we figure out everything they want out of the unit, and choose the size, making sure it will be a good fit. Perkins approaches potential sales differently: He treats swim spa shoppers like inground pool shoppers, focusing on every aspect of the sale, delivery and installation.

Aqua quip inground spa