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Brice NICOLAS
"Today all indicators seem to be green"
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Brice is Sales Director for Europe at Pentair for 7 years. He has a total of twenty years experience in the business (7 years at CEC, 7 years at Polaris and almost 7 years at Pentair).
“It’s a job for which I developed a real passion”, Brice shares with us during our interview.
Loïc BIAGINI / EuroSpaPoolNews: “The 2009 season was difficult for most of us. How was season 2010?”
Brice NICOLAS / Pentair: “The results for 2010 have been well beyond the simple recovery of the 2009 season. Thanks largely to the motivations of our team and the fact that we are focusing on new technologies like the IntelliFlo and the new Triton ClearPro filters. We also have a grater involvement in terms of approach to the market both distributors and dealers by: Establishing, last year, our Partners Incentive Program (PIP) and increasing our workforce in the field to provide additional support to our distributors.”
Loïc BIAGINI / EuroSpaPoolNews: “How do you approach the pool year 2011? What is your perception of this season?”
Brice NICOLAS / Pentair: “Today all indicators seem to be green, the 2009 season is digested and we are continuing our efforts.
We spoke earlier of IntelliFlo and that concept of filtration, which seemed to be a dream a few years ago. Today we feel that the interest for the environmental market is growing exponentially, as we could already measure by the interest on our last show in Lyon and by the efforts the government is making to develop the Green Attitude.
So we can only be enthusiastic that during the last years we have been investing in production tools, with a platform in Europe, which allows us to be more efficient for our customers in product availability.
I think one of the difficult elements of our business, which effects our entire profession, is the seasonality. Having a powerful tool to absorb the differences between all seasons is absolutely necessary today.”
Loïc BIAGINI / EuroSpaPoolNews: “Pentair, we know, has in the recent years gone “back to the basics”: pumps, filters… What are the new features and improvements you’ve made to your 2011 catalog?”
Brice NICOLAS / Pentair: "Firstly, we added a new line of pool accessories which will emphasize “the added value of the pool” to the customers. A product range of waterfalls and animated color streams which will soon lead us to a wider product range of “landscaping tools”, to have the pool lightening synchronized with the garden around the pool. Next we will continue to develop the automatic control of the pool, to enhance the comfort of the customer. This complete automation system will be totally in line with our “intelligent” range.”
Loïc BIAGINI / EuroSpaPoolNews: “EuroSpaPoolNews celebrates its tenth birthday! You were with us from the beginning and we thank you for that. What has this new medium, the internet, brought into your company and in which direction do you advise us to move during the next decade?”
Brice NICOLAS / Pentair: “I was already working in the market when EuroSpaPoolNews was born. I have to admit that the internet is becoming very important in our lives, therefore it is necessary to give it the attention it deserves. The help and information we get via this medium is relevant for all pool professionals. To me it is one of the databases which helps me to measure the tendency of the marked and which helps me to check the upon my pool colleagues. I also appreciate the special printed edition of the magazine you provide at the big Pool shows.
Your magazine is full of information, relevant and objective. In the future all this information could be open for all consumers so that they all could provide themselves, directly, with the correct information.”
