A Moment with Sylvia Monfort, General Manager SCP Europe

An interview with the European Manager of the specialist in sales of swimming pool and spa equipment to professionals.

Adaption from original article by Eurospapoolnews

Strength and determination in a velvet glove. This is the impression we got from this warm and involved leader. With unwavering resolve, she has been at the helm of SCP Europe for almost 20 years. Equipped with ethics and a motto: "Exemplary behaviour always pays off;" here is an interview with Sylvia Monfort in Monaco, during the 5th edition of the International Sales Conferences & Vendor Showcase.

A great story for this "pure B2B distributor" of swimming pool and spa equipment!

Why? Because it is a story of values and loyalty. "When you come to SCP, you want to stay. With this company mentality and a solidly anchored team spirit, the proof is there: out of the 7 people who started in Rodez 20 years ago, 5 are still there. As for Sylvia Monfort, she has been loyal to her position for 19 years at SCP Europe. She works there with the numerous colleagues who have joined her as the company has grown. Her pride: "the low turnover of the teams!" This is also thanks to the SCP Academy, set up by the parent company POOLCORP. It is a structure designed to continuously educate, train and offer solutions for internal development...or external! A true springboard that brings great satisfaction to the team members and allows them real evolution within the company.

Sylvia Monfort explains:

"We have managed to retain the human and service values that are specific to the distributor's business, while meeting the requirements for results, efficiency processes and best practices that are the hallmark of POOLCORP. We are fortunate to enjoy a great deal of independence in the management of our European business. This allows us to serenely face the new players and rules that appear on our markets, forcing us to leave our comfort zone and reinvent ourselves to deserve and maintain our leadership position."

Objectives: More local agencies and more service to professionals

One of SCP Europe's objectives is to cover our territory within 3 to 5 years to offer a better local service to all its professional customers. Each new branch opening enables this policy to be carried out successfully, and is accompanied by a sustained presence among professionals. This support takes shape with technical teams specialised in the development of new technologies, linked to the arrival of new generations of equipment, automation and environmental protection.

But that's not all. SCP Europe's ambition is also to pursue its acquisition projects for a reinforced presence on the main European markets, while forging new partnerships with the biggest brands.

Particularly successful digitisation

Given the importance of digital (87% of buyers start their purchasing process by searching the internet - Source Cisco 2019), SCP has set up 3 websites in 7 languages.

Swimmingpool.eu is the new site (or almost) which is aimed at both professionals and individuals for European countries. This website is a point of reference for swimming pools and wellness, allowing users to consult and compare products, find a dealer near them and contact experts with questions.

Its "Tips" section provides seasonal maintenance tips and useful information for owners of swimming pools, saunas and hot tubs.

For example:

A pool and spa photo gallery also serves as a showcase for the pros so that they can present many construction or renovation projects to their own clients.

On the Acti-Chemical.com website, users can download Actisoft software to carry out a complete water analysis. The site also offers all the products in the Acti range, as well as advice on how to preserve the water in your pool or spa.

The Pool360 site, reserved for pool professionals, allows you to consult the stock in real time, search for items and spare parts and place orders (with a preserved history)

This tool also allows them to draw up quotes and download thousands of documents. The database is constantly enriched by SCP France's data service in partnership with SCP suppliers and the European DAM (Digital Asset Management).

In addition to these 3 sites, SCP also offers: 7 Facebook pages, 6 YouTube channels, 2 LinkedIn pages, and web applications, such as the Garden PAC Calculator, which allows users to determine which heat pump is best suited for their pool.

Finally, the latest addition:www.mypoolandspa-contest.com features a photo competition for all of Europe. Its aim: to collect the most beautiful achievements and encourage users to vote.

Alexandra Chappell - European Web Content & SEO Coordinator - is in charge of activating the entire digitalisation policy. Results: an increase in traffic to the sites but also and above all, optimised communication (especially between agencies), plus a drastic reduction in paper!

Up and coming sectors: Wellness and commercial pools

Faced with the rise of Wellness (some SCP customers have even had to resort to staff dedicated to this activity alone!), SCP has been able to offer a complete range of services, adapted training and an after-sales service that makes all the difference in the market.

With 5 brands of spas (BeachComber, Wellis, Week-end, Cove and Garden Leisure) and Sentiotec for the sauna, the offer is particularly wide and attractive, for public prices including VAT ranging from 4,000 to 20,000 EUR, including swim spas and stainless-steel spas. However, the aim remains to further increase the number of wellness partners, especially for the sauna, infrared cabins, steam bath and fitness equipment. 

On the commercial swimming pool side, activities are being strengthened to follow this particularly active market. New supplier partners have been added to the offer in this sector.

Many facilities have already benefited from SCP's expertise, from hotel pools to water parks and balneotherapy centres... Already heavily involved in the commercial pool sector, Sylvia Monfort wishes to go even further, with ever more complete ranges and enhanced expertise within the new teams.

The PSL logistics centre : An ultra-efficient service for professionals

Opening in 2019, this 800 m² logistics warehouse has more than 2,500 references of spare parts for the swimming pool and spa market. Its main vocation is to guarantee a central stock for new products or unusual and/or low turnover parts from the world's leading manufacturers, in order to ensure that SCP agencies are restocked as quickly as possible. The aim is to organize a fast shipping service by TNT Express to all European agencies. Highly rotating spare parts remain in the local agencies to provide daily the references most requested by customers.

Knowing that 70% of the turnover is generated by existing pools (pool staging or equipment replacement), it is easy to understand the interest of offering spare parts to professional customers with an ultra-efficient service like this one. Soon it will even be possible to consult the stocks of the PSL and to order 24/7 by logging into your Pool360 account.

POOLCORP, a public company listed on the NASDAQ, is the world leader in the distribution of pool and outdoor equipment to professionals, with more than 380 branches worldwide and a turnover of 3.2 billion dollars.

SCP Europe has 18 distribution agencies in 8 countries in Europe and invoiced more than EUR 150 million in sales to professionals in 2019.

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