When former owner Craig Ecelbarger thinks of the success The Recreational Warehouse has had, he simply smiles.
“It’s hard not to smile,” says Ecelbarger, who is now the director of Florida operations after the company was purchased by Watson’s. “It’s like, ‘Wow, we’re good at this.’ Over time, that word gets out there.”
He says it’s the long-standing team that has made the Fort Myers business successful.
Sandy Woodard, longtime sales manager at The Recreational Warehouse, agrees.
“We are fortunate to get tremendous word-of-mouth referrals from existing satisfied customers, not to mention second and third-time purchases,” says Woodard, who has worked at The Recreational Warehouse for 30 years. “Having so many great people to work with gives us a distinct advantage over our competition and gives our customers peace of mind knowing that they have the most knowledgeable and expert salespeople to help them.”
Woodard believes extensive product training and more than 100 in-person annual trainings are a huge part of his team’s success.
“It is a massive effort on our part but has given us great results,” he says.
Over time, The Recreational Warehouse team has also learned the area’s retiree and snowbird populations make for a unique customer base. When snowbirds flock down from the north to escape the cold, they want to spend as much time as they can out in the sunshine. For many, that means enjoying the specialty outdoor offerings that The Recreational Warehouse offers, including hot tubs, outdoor kitchens and barbecue grills.
“This is not a huge market, but it’s a nice market, and it’s certainly growing,” says Ecelbarger, noting that Southwest Florida is the sixth largest spa market in the state.
It’s a dedicated customer base, too. With nearly 900 Google reviews and an average 4.7-star rating, he says customers have boosted the company’s reputation.
That reputation played a big role in Watson’s swooping in to buy the company, a deal Ecelbarger closed in March.
Watson’s could have picked a lot of companies, but they picked us because of what we do. We’re well-established here. We’ve played the long game.”
Craig Ecelbarger, The Recreational Warehouse by Watson’s
“Watson’s could have picked a lot of companies, but they picked us because of what we do,” he says. “We’re well-established here. We’ve played the long game.”
Six months into the buyout, Ecelbarger says one would be hard-pressed to see a big difference from the outside looking in. The day-to-day has remained much the same. Behind the scenes, there are “a lot of changes.”
“Before the sale, we were big on structure, but Watson’s takes that to another level and is a lot more organized,” he says with a laugh. “These are all positives.”
While he can’t say for sure what the future holds, Ecelbarger does know he’ll stay for the next few years to guide the Watson’s transition.
“Everything, to some point, can be bigger and better than it was,” he says. “They’re a big company, and they certainly have plans.”
When he looks at the company’s success, he attributes a large part of it to the fact that half of the employees have been with The Recreational Warehouse for more than 10 years.
“We have an extremely talented group of people,” he says. “We’ve had a lot of success, and there’s been a lot of people that have been involved in it along the way.”
As for retirement plans, he doesn’t have any just yet.
“Because I moved to Florida, I also feel younger and act younger, so for me, I’m not ready to hang it up,” he says. “I’m still fully engaged.”