The last SCP Europe Showcase was held from 28 to 30 November in Rovinj, Croatia, a charming seaside resort in Istria. Why in Croatia? Because SCP Europe, which organizes this main Corporate event every 2 years, has just bought in October the Croatian company E Grupa. The latter is a local Distributor which has been working as an SCP client for more than 10 years.

Now a subsidiary of SCP Italy, the Croatian company has been renamed “SCP Adriatica”. This geographical choice was therefore a symbol, initiating the start of a new conquest for SCP Europe: that of the Eastern countries.

Present at this Showcase, which brought together many customers from the region to meet the teams and suppliers of SCP, EuroSpaPoolNews took the opportunity to meet Marijana Lačen, the wife of Lado Lačen, General Manager of the new entity SCP Adriatica.
 

EuroSpaPoolNews: How many years has your company been Distributor of swimming pools in Croatia?

Marijana Lačen: Since 2000! We are a family business, with 4 family employees out of a total of 6 people. One or two people will be hired for the next season.

EuroSpaPoolNews: What kind of pools were you previously installing?

M.L.: We were mainly installing private pools and few commercial pools. Concrete pools with liner coating. Now, distribution goes also in that direction but with aspiration to expand sales part with commercial equipment.

EuroSpaPoolNews: How was the 2017 season for your business?

M.L.: The past season was excellent! We had a lot of work, thanks to the benefits of our alliance with SCP. Sales were very satisfactory.

EuroSpaPoolNews: What do you really expect from this partnership with a large group like SCP?

M.L.: We know that we will benefit from an excellent support although we already had it from SCP Europe. This partnership will also provide us a better approach to manufacturers, with better information and better prices, allowing us to compete more firmly in the market.

EuroSpaPoolNews: What are the growing markets around Croatia?

M.L.: We intend to develop our sales in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro, in fact throughout the Balkan region, where swimming pools are developping.

EuroSpaPoolNews: What is the first market for the pool in this area?

M.L.: It’s Croatia with approximately 40,000 private pools.

SCP Adriatica team

Form left to right: Alen Kelenić, Milena Mofardin, Leo Lačen,

Magdalena Vrbanus, Marijana Lačen and Lado Lačen

Marijana Lačen introduced us to one of her Croatian customers, a swimming pools builder: Ivan Lordanić, from Lordanić d.o.o. This company is located in Zadar, peninsula of the Adriatic East Coast, in northern Dalmatia.

EuroSpaPoolNews: How long have you been working in this field?

Ivan Lordanić: Previously, I was working in the field of air conditioning, but in recent years, the pool sector has grown strongly. I have been building swimming pools for 4-5 years now, in partnership with E Grupa. Today we install between 70 and 80 pools each year.

EuroSpaPoolNews: What kind of swimming pools?

I.L.: These are concrete pools, mostly with a liner, but also with some ceramic coatings (Chinese brands).

EuroSpaPoolNews: Do you build any commercial pools?

I.L.: No, because we are only 5 employees, it would be too complicated to manage both activities. For now, we have already to our credit about 500 swimming pools, which suits us fine.

EuroSpaPoolNews: How do you assess your 2017 season?

I.L.: It was perfect! The market is really exploding in Croatia!

EuroSpaPoolNews: In which geographical area do you work around Zadar?

I.L.: In a radius of 90 to 100 km, only on the Adriatic coast and its islands.

EuroSpaPoolNews: What is the average price of a pool?

I.L.: For a concrete pool with a liner it costs around 15 to 20,000 euros.

EuroSpaPoolNews: What is currently the average size of a swimming pool in Croatia and how is it equipped?

I.L.: The most common are pools of 8 x 4 m, but can reach up to 10 x 5 m depending on whether they are collective swimming pools for several apartments for example.
As for the water treatment, regulations, electrolysis devices, etc., are still little developed here. Pools are disinfected with chlorine tablets for now.
We also sell a lot of heat pumps and covers, mostly manual ones.