Having fun at home

Owners expect to build or buy new quarters for their Hermitage and Niles stores within four years.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Cocooning, the stay-at-home trend that's been on the rise since Sept. 11, 2001, is boosting profits for three area Litehouse Pools, Spas 'n More stores.
Consumers are traveling less, store owner Andy Shobel explained, so they're spending more on swimming pools, pool tables, tanning beds and hot tubs.
"Our business is all about having fun at home and family togetherness," he said. "More people are staying home with the family, and that's good news for us."
Shobel and partner Jeff Browning recently moved their Boardman store to a new location at 7373 Market St. in front of Southern Park Mall, a space nearly twice the size of their former spot in the Tiffany Square Plaza.
They bought the 15,500-square-foot building and invested $350,000 in an extensive interior and exterior renovation, including a new glass facade and a two-story entry. A grand opening celebration featuring several product giveaways began this past weekend and will continue through November.
Besides above-ground and in-ground swimming pools, billiards tables and hot tubs, the store sells artificial Christmas trees, decorations and accessories, tanning beds and patio furniture.
The owners wanted a larger building and they wanted to own instead of leasing. "We kept coming back to this building, even though it needed a lot of work, because of the location," he said.
"We had no problem getting people in the first time to buy a pool or a pool table, but we want them to come back again to buy pool chemicals and other products. We wanted to be more accessible to our customers, and everybody goes to the mall."
What's expected
Shobel said sales have been rising steadily for the Boardman, Niles and Hermitage, Pa., stores, and the owners expect to double their sales over the next three years.
The stores had one of their best Septembers ever last month, and early October sales were also up compared with last year.
The owners expect to buy or build new store buildings to replace their Niles and Hermitage, Pa., stores within the next four years. Steve Turnbull is a managing partner with Shobel and Browning in the Hermitage store.
Litehouse Pools is based in Brunswick, Ohio, where it operates a distribution center, but Shobel said the company's 26 stores are licensees, not franchises.
The stores are owner-operated, but they are licensed to sell Litehouse products and to use the company name.
Locally the three stores employ about 25, with temporary employees added during the Christmas shopping season. There are 26 Litehouse stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Shobel was born in Niles and attended Austintown schools, graduating from Fitch High School in 1974.
Starting out as assistant manager at a Litehouse store in Akron in the early 1980s, he stayed because he was intrigued by a company policy that allows only Litehouse employees to start or own a store.
In 1987 he partnered with Browning to open the first Youngstown area Litehouse store on Belmont Avenue.
The store had two other locations before moving to its present spot.
Pools are still the stores' biggest sellers and usually appeal most to families with young children, Shobel said.
Hot tubs have the widest age appeal, selling to young and middle-aged as well as senior citizens.
"I think hot tubs have become what pools were 20 years ago, a sign that you've arrived," he said. "It's one product we sell to people 20 to 80."
vinarsky@vindy.com