A cold shower for Piscines Desjoyaux.
After three years of record growth, which saw sales rise from 102.7 million euros in 2019 to 160.9 million
euros in 2021, the Loire-based pool designer and manufacturer came to a halt in 2022. Although it had expected sales growth of 5% at mid-year, the manufacturer ended the year very slightly down, at 160.5 million euros.
A DECLINE EXPECTED OVER 2023 BUT MARGINS RECOVERED
In France, the number of “8×4 equivalent” pools fell significantly by almost 10%, offset by higher rates and an increase in the average basket, which ultimately led to a 2.47% rise in sales. The slowdown was most brutal on the international front, with a 20% drop in the number of basins and a 4% decline in sales. “We were hit hard by the international geopolitical and inflationary context. The rise in material prices, coupled with that of energy prices, has led to a downturn in our business. For the current 2023 financial year, we’re likely to see a downturn,” says Jean Louis Desjoyaux, CEO of the family business founded in 1966 by his father Jean Desjoyaux, a masonry contractor.
Naturally, this slump in activity has not been without consequences for the Group’s net income, which will fall to 21.3 million euros in 2022 from 25.5 million euros in 2021. “We have had a drop in margins, but we are going to rebuild them this year by raising prices again, but also by continuing our investments and massively re-internalising certain stages of our production”, asserts the CEO.
25 MILLION EUROS IN INDUSTRIAL TOOLS
In the autumn of 2021, Desjoyaux has embarked on a vast 25 million euro investment plan at its La Fouillouse site in the Loire region. The plan includes the ongoing construction of a new semi-automated storage and shipping warehouse, new communal areas (changing rooms and refectory) for staff, new injection molding machines (investment of 10 million euros), new molds, as well as the creation of a new workshop with a production line (investment of over 1 million euros) dedicated to the manufacture and bagging of certain products.
“We’re going to internalize the manufacture of some of our products, such as small screws, props and pool bolts, which until now have been made in China. We’re going to redevelop this production and replace steel with plastic to free ourselves from dependence on China”, explains Jean-Louis Desjoyaux. The 25
million euro investment plan, due to be completed in 2024, also includes the construction of a new R & D building “which will see the light of day a little later”, adds the CEO. The pool specialist invests around 3 million euros a year in R&D, for
innovation in materials, filtration and assembly systems.
20 MILLION IN A PLASTIC WASTESORTING CENTER
What was not planned and has just been added is the creation of a sorting center for household plastic waste. “We will receive bales of polypropylene and polyethylene from sorting centers. We’ll sort them, wash them, grind them, dry them, remove the dust, deferrize them and extrude them, then inject them into the structures of our swimming pools”, explains Jean-Louis Desjoyaux.
By transforming household plastic waste into a raw material, the SME should eventually be able to drastically reduce its production costs. “By around 30%”, assures the CEO of the family-owned group, which will invest “around twenty million euros” in the sorting center. “Within three months, we’ll be submitting a building permit for a 5,500 m2 building. By the time we’ve built the machines that will go with it, it should be operational by the end of 2024”, he adds.
50% EXPORT WITHIN FIVE YEARS
As a long-term strategy, this new investment will complete the range of solutions implemented by the Loire-based manufacturer to better control supplies, costs and, to a very small extent, margins. But to get back on the growth track, the
family-owned SME will also be stepping up its sales development.
“We’re going to continue to open new stores in France, as well as in all our foreign subsidiaries. This is the sinews of war,” says Jean-Louis Desjoyaux, who aims to reach “200 stores in France within two years” (compared with 182 today and 450 worldwide). Internationally, the network is also set to expand via the Group’s 5 subsidiaries in Brazil, the United States, Germany, Italy and the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). Desjoyaux, which currently generates 40% of its
sales from exports, aims to reach “50% within five years”.
WELL-BEING AS A GROWTH RELIEF
Finally, the pool manufacturer is also attentive to new market trends. While land issues, with increasingly smaller plots, have led the Loire-based company to adapt its products to the growing demand for 5×2 and 4×2-meter pools,
the new trend is also towards wellness. “Customers want smaller and smaller pools with more and more features. Swimming against the current is all well and good, but we need to go beyond that.
We’re working on pressure and vacuum massage products, as well as cellulite reduction and arch massage products. The question of well-being is part of our development strategy”, assures the CEO. He concludes: “Initially, this will remain a niche, but it’s bound to grow. It will develop over the years. And we need to be present in this market.
Article published in Le Journal des entreprises
Journalist Gilles Cayuela