Store is Great Escape for ex-owner

By DON SHILLING

shilling@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

A Market Street swimming pool store that closed in December has reopened under a new name.

The Great Escape opened last Saturday at 7373 Market St., which was the former location of Mahoning Valley Pool & Spa and, before that, Litehouse Pools & Spa.

Andy Shobel, who owned Mahoning Valley Pool and was the franchisee for Litehouse, remains involved in the store. This time, however, he is manager of a corporate-owned store.

Business has been good so far, Shobel said. On the opening weekend, the store sold eight pools, a spa and a billiards table.

Shobel, 54, of Canfield, said the store was closed for a few months so that it could transition from being an independent store to part of the Great Escape network. The Chicago-based company operates 23 stores in four states.

Shobel said he decided last year that he wanted to offer better pricing at his store, so he began looking to join a buying group, which is an organization that buys in bulk for smaller retailers.

He then learned that Great Escape was looking to expand into the Mahoning Valley after opening stores in Cleveland and Canton.

He said he opted to close his store and join Great Escape because he likes the company’s retail concept.

Because of Great Escape’s size, the store is carrying Jacuzzi pools and spas and Brunswick billiards tables, which it had not been able to stock.

The inventory of patio furniture also has been expanded. The store carries 50 sets, compared with about 10 before.

“Their view is that not everyone has a pool, but everyone has a backyard,” he said.

Shobel, a graduate of Austintown Fitch High School, opened Litehouse franchises in Niles and Boardman in 1987. He moved the Boardman store to its current location in 2002.

He formed Mahoning Valley Pool in 2008. He had owned the Boardman property but sold it in 2006, so Great Escape is leasing the location. His store in Niles closed this past December and will not be reopened.

He said the past two years have been challenging because of a combination of rainy summers, the recession and reduced credit opportunities for customers.

He said he expects the store’s sales to rebound this year if the economy continues to improve.

“Our view is that there will be pent-up demand. People don’t stop purchasing; they delay it,” he said.