It’s a long time since I or any of the team have gone out for an evening meal or glass of wine and to be honest, I am not sure when it’s going to be possible again. Normally at this time of year we would be heading off to Canada for the Annual Jacuzzi® SwimLife™ Conference and Awards ceremony but of course that too was cancelled, or at least it was in its physical form. When the invite to the virtual, Zoom alternative came through an idea began to form. We have a large and growing sales team at Hydrolife and as people, we really miss the day-to-day interaction we get by being in the office together. We have a Zoom coffee morning at 10am every day that the team can dial in to for 20 minutes or so, where we talk about everything and anything and then more informal team specific Zoom meetings from 4pm onwards and this interaction helps to keep us sane.
The virtual conference allowed us to take this one step further. All team members were given a takeaway and drinks credit and encouraged to join our own personal Zoom call half an hour before the main even started. It was great to see everyone outside of the usual work situation and the fun began.
Jacuzzi® SwimLife™ Swim Spas are designed to make having a pool at home easy and affordable. Never having to turn, touch or push off any wall, you can swim as far as you like for as long as you like in your very own garden. The current in a Swim Spa provides you the ability to focus on your stroke, which can even be adjusted from casual through to dynamic to suit your personal swim level. The massage seats at the end of the Swim Spa chamber allow you to relax after a long day or help with muscle regeneration after a workout session.
Jacuzzi® SwimLife™ has been a really important addition to the range for Hydrolife in 2020. We have been one of the very lucky companies who had seen strong sales throughout the last year. As people have spent more time at home and reflected on what the future might look like, we have seen a shift towards investing in the garden and ways to make time at home more healthy, fun and enjoyable. The growth in awareness of Swim Spas, as well as Hot Tubs, has definitely fallen into this category.
The first hour of the conference, chaired by, the always charismatic, Doug Gillespie, VP sales training at Hydropool, allowed us to see how the business was adapting to the increased Global demand. We got to see some of the best Swim Spa innovation coming during 2021 and it’s fair to say the relationship with Form Goggles, for example, is very exciting!
Once the presentations were over it was time for the awards. It is always nice to have your success recognised and as the evening progressed the team at Hydrolife picked up the “Platinum Sales Award” which recognises Swim Spa sales levels in the previous year. More amazingly though, we were given the coveted “International Retailer of the Year” award, recognising outstanding contribution to building the SwimLife brand outside of North America.
As the team looked on, it was fabulous to see their reaction on our own Zoom meeting as they heard the news. This award reflects the incredible amount of hard work everyone at Hydrolife has put in over the last year so thank you, well done and well deserved to all of you.
