Photography by Bryon Middleton
Tom Junck, one of SpaRetailer’s 2013 Retail Stars and co-owner of Combined Pool & Spa in Sioux Falls, S.D., has worked in the industry since he was a kid. Thirty-five years ago, his parents opened Combined Pool & Spa in Sioux City, Iowa. Fast forward to 1999, and Junck opened his own branch in South Dakota, purchasing it from his parents in 2004.
Junck says much of his company’s success comes from partnerships with his customers and vendors. “A lot of people are our cheerleaders even though they’re our customers,” Junck says. “They want to see us do well, and that’s an awesome relationship.”
Combined sells Watkins Manufacturing’s Caldera Spas and Freeflow Spas brands, and Junck says he has reaped the benefits of being a longtime dealer of one brand, having seen how it gives customers confidence doing business with them. “We raised our flag,” Junck says. “This is who we are.”
Some retailers try to be everything to everybody, and as such dilute who they are, he says. “We’ve been successful with limiting the number of vendors we have,” Junck says. “We feel that the vendor/retailer relationship is important.”
It’s not just important on the hot tub side. Three years ago, Olhausen Billiards approached Combined to carry the line. Junck says that partnership has helped to energize the company’s billiard sales, which had slowed.