Acquisition moves hot tub manufacturer into new wellness category
Vista, Calif., July 31, 2023 — Watkins Wellness, a leader in hot tubs and aquatic fitness systems, announced the expansion of its portfolio of personal well-being products and entry into the sauna category as a result of the pending acquisition of Sauna360 by Watkins Wellness’ parent company, Masco Corporation.
Sauna360 is a leading global manufacturer of sauna solutions, and its portfolio of products includes traditional, infrared and wood-burning saunas as well as steam showers, rooms and generators. These products are sold primarily in the United States, Europe and throughout the rest of the world under the Tylö, Helo, Kastor, Finnleo and Amerec brands.
“We are thrilled to welcome Sauna360 to our organization and to expand our portfolio of industry-leading products aimed at promoting wellness and helping our customers feel good and live well,” says Vijaikrishna (VJ) Teenarsipur, president of Watkins Wellness. “Sauna360 brings a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise to our business. We look forward to leveraging the synergies between our businesses, which will allow us to better serve our dealer partners, consumers and, ultimately, the growing wellness market.”
“I am very pleased for Sauna360 to become part of Watkins Wellness,” says Pekka Lettijeff, president and CEO of Sauna360 Group. “Sauna360’s business has grown in recent years, and becoming part of Watkins Wellness will further strengthen our capability and ambition to be a leading sauna player. The dealer distribution strategy, common focus on wellness and similar company cultures makes this a true strategic fit.”
The feedback about the merger has been overwhelmingly positive. “All of our Watkins teammates are tremendously excited because they see this as a solid step in furthering our vision, but our dealers are also seeing this as an opportunity to mutually benefit both our businesses and to utilize this expanded offering,” says Teenarsipur. “Our motto is to help our consumers feel good and live well.”
Founded in 2008 as a merger between two leading sauna companies, Helo and Tylö, Sauna360 brings decades of industry knowledge and experience resulting from a strong history, with Helo’s origin dating back to 1919 and Tylö’s to 1949. The company is headquartered in Finland and has approximately 180 employees located in Finland, Sweden, the United States and England.
Teenarsipur provides four reasons why the merger is a significant move for Watkins Wellness. “[First], it ties into the global wellness company vision that we have at Watkins Wellness,” he says. “Second, we are extremely optimistic about the category [of saunas]. Third, this was a perfect marriage. There’s high level of excitement from our company, from our employees and from our customers. None of this was force fit. Lastly, culture has always been very important to us. It starts with our own company, but also cultural partnerships that we have with our dealer partners are very important, so we see Sauna360 as a great fit from a culture standpoint and from a customer perspective.”
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approval. Watkins Wellness is looking forward to expanding upon the success Sauna360 has attained.
“Our first priority is to maintain business continuity and keep servicing our customers,” says Teenarsipur. “Secondly, we like the playbook that the Sauna360 team has been executing. We need to understand where we can add value, but we want to do that without really disrupting anything good that’s happening right now.”
