Bringing Forward Orders from Abroad

“I co-founded the company 12 years ago with my partner, Alon Ben-Shabbat. We both have experience in the industry—I built swimming pools and Alon specialized in everything around them—wood decking, grass, paving etc. We decided to join forces and offer our clients a complete package for their swimming pools. They no longer need to chase after different contractors and tradespeople and coordinate between them—we take care of everything for them. Over the last few years we identified a demand for metal frame pools that can be assembled at home, and at the same time we opened a store in Ashkelon that offers accessories for swimming pools for private customers as well as contractors. All of that is in addition to our online store which is running very nicely. “We import our swimming pools and other products from Spain and China, and some we buy in Israel. When COVID-19 started to spread last spring, which is usually the strongest time of year in our sector, we discovered that there was actually an increase in demand for swimming pools from people who were in lockdown. Because our projects are part of the construction industry, which was classified as a vital industry, we were able to keep working through the lockdowns. Demand was insane, because people couldn’t go to the beach or to hotels with swimming pools or abroad, so they took the money they’d saved and invested it in their homes and gardens. “Fortunately, we had a lot of goods in stock at around the time that the coronavirus struck, and because of the increase in demand we were able to sell almost all of it. That meant upgrading our delivery infrastructure. We also recognized demand for sporting equipment to keep the kids busy during the lockdowns, like trampolines and table tennis and pool tables, so we began to stock those too. It’s good for a seasonal business like ours, which has to deal with a decline in business activity during the winter months. Now we’re having to cope with increased shipping prices and shortages of imported goods. Because we were able to anticipate this problem, we brought forward our orders from abroad by a few months. We bought large amounts ahead of time, with the support of our bank, which meant that we started this season on the right path.”

The writer is the co-owner of Adel Swimming Pools. 5 Ussishkin St, Ashkelon. Tel: 053-6113600