A Fountain of Watershaping Insights
An Interview by Lenny Giteck
Jon Mitovich is president and general manager of Roman Fountains, a designer and manufacturer of fountain-system packages and components based in Albuquerque, N.M.
Mitovich has conducted classes and seminars on the fountain business and fountain design to help watershapers understand the origin, history and application of water in architectural environments. He also has written for a variety of trade publications, including WaterShapes.
Recently, we spoke with Mitovich about how watershaping companies should respond during the current economic downturn, when he sees a recovery happening and what the future holds for the industry’s fountain segment.
During the years of extraordinary growth for the watershaping industry, did watershapers simply ignore the fact that the boom had to end at some point?
Most people in the watershaping industry are not trained economists with an innate ability to foresee the economic future. Instead, most people ride the wave as long as possible and hope to see the writing on the wall in enough time to adjust to it. By contrast, our philosophy at Roman Fountains has always been to operate “lean and mean” during the good times so we can set aside sufficient cash reserves for the inevitable down cycles.
You’ve said that companies should make adjustments now to be prepared for the recovery when it comes. What are you referring to?
Businesses have a tendency to become complacent and operationally lazy during good times. During the current recession, our company has stepped back from the frantic pace of a few years ago to evaluate our organization from top to bottom in an effort to “resharpen the axe.” This includes areas such as processes and procedures, employee training, product improvement and new product development, market focus and — most important — customer service.
In this economy, there is a noticeable and obvious shift by many companies to get back to the core principles of putting the customer first. There isn’t a lot of product differentiation among companies in this industry; we all basically offer the same product mix. At Roman Fountains, we try to differentiate ourselves in the areas of “speed to market” and “customer response time.”
When do you see a recovery happening?
If you believe the experts, the recession ended sometime last summer. I remind myself daily that our economy is like a freight train: It takes a long time to slow down and a long time to get back up to speed. The economic train is slowly gaining momentum, but it will take months to reach full speed. We’re looking at the end of 2010 before we expect to see consistent and sustained growth. It’s still a little herky-jerky right now.
What about watershaping companies that are in desperate financial shape?
For companies that truly are in a desperate situation, perhaps it’s time to cut their losses and get out of the game.
And for the rest of the industry?
For the rest of us, it’s a matter of quickly getting costs and expenses below projected revenues and aggressively managing cash flow. Truth is, a company can survive without profit, but it will bleed out in a hurry without cash. It’s always a good idea to obtain and maintain a healthy line of credit from your bank when times are good, because banks are not as friendly after the horses are out of the barn, especially in this economy.
I would also caution against disappearing from the marketplace when it comes to advertising. For many companies, this is one of the first things to get cut when it’s time to slash and burn. It’s a “penny-wise, pound-foolish” tactic, because it is extremely difficult to regain the momentum generated by a sound advertising and marketing campaign once it has been stopped.
If interest rates go up and banks start loosening their purse strings, pent-up demand could burst through. Could that be a problem for the industry in terms of keeping up with a flood of projects?
If a flood comes, companies that have done the proper axe-sharpening will be ready. Those that haven’t will frustrate a lot of customers who have money to spend. In this business, you don’t have too many chances to get it right. As I noted earlier, it’s all about customer service and speed to market.
Has the trend toward environmentalism impacted the fountain segment of the industry?
From the standpoint of decorative fountains allegedly posing a threat to the natural environment, I don’t think it is a legitimate issue. In fact, there are many arguments for the use of fountains — including enhancing urban quality of life, acting as nature’s air cleaners and air conditioners, and actually being more efficient than common irrigation and sprinkler systems in their use of water.
The “problem” with decorative fountains the perception that they are a frivolous and wasteful use of a natural resource. This could not be farther from the truth. But perception can become reality and needs to be addressed with facts. The fountain industry can do a better job in this area.
Are people thinking more creatively about what they can do with water and landscaping — for example, combining fountains with swimming pools?
Combining fountains with swimming pools has been a trend for a number of years now, slowed only by the current recession and housing stagnation. The trend has been a small but fast-growing part of our business.
How have you responded to the trend?
A while ago we did some grassroots research into where our small, decorative spray-nozzle orders were coming from, and it turned out that swimming pool companies made up a fair number of customers for this type of product. This was a market segment we weren’t formally marketing to, and there was an obvious interest and need.
What other trends do you foresee for fountains?
From a system-design standpoint, the “dry deck” interactive/sequencing fountain system is still a popular trend. From a space-usage and safety standpoint, they make a lot of sense versus traditional basin fountains that can eat up a great deal of expensive real estate.
From a products perspective, LED lighting products for fountains are becoming more the standard as they become more powerful output-wise. And fountain systems designed as a means of message communication — for example, water used as a projection screen for text and images — are more and more common.
Anything else you would like to say?
In a down economy with diminished consumer buying power, the American backyard is fast becoming an important getaway place. Anything we can do to enhance the backyard experience will benefit our bottom line.
What we are currently experiencing is a normal part of the great American economic cycle. Better days are just around the next curve. I say take this quiet time to refocus your efforts and sharpen your axe!
Lenny Giteck is a consulting Web writer and editor for WaterShapes.com.
The opinions expressed in the WaterShapes Interviews series are solely those of the interview subjects and do not necessarily reflect the views of WaterShapes or its staff.