Executive Chairman, Fluidra, S.A.
Fluidra : de empresa familiar al Ibex-35, por Eloi Planes, Presidente Ejecutivo - VS Summer Summit
Eloi Planes es el presidente ejecutivo de Fluidra, líder mundial en equipamiento de piscina y wellness. Segunda generación de una de las familias fundadoras, Eloi Planes se incorporó en 1994 en Fluidra (entonces Astral) como director de I&D. Después de desempeñarse como director de logística y director general de AstralPool España, en el año 2000 asume la dirección general de AstralPool y lidera su expansión en los mercados internacionales. En 2006 Eloi Planes es nombrado Consejero Delegado del grupo Fluidra y lidera la salida a bolsa de la compañía (2007). En 2016, Eloi Planes asume la Presid...
Transcript (21 segments)
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Host0:00
Good afternoon and welcome to the last session. We started on Friday, the fifth day of various Amersham courses in 2021. Today we begin with the first of four sessions that will likely take us until eight thirty or a quarter to nine, following the usual schedule since Monday. In total, there will be 20 sessions with over 20 speakers, providing a wealth of content all packaged as a free online course on the Valie Academy platform. Some videos, about 7 or 8, will be uploaded to the YouTube channel, and all sessions will be available as MP3 downloads on major podcast platforms. We are very proud to have an important executive president of an Ibex-35 company spending an hour with us. I will present the protagonist of the session, Eloi Planes. Eloi Pérez is the executive president of Fluidra, a world leader in pool and wellness equipment. He is the second generation of one of the founding families, joining in 1994 as R&D director after serving as logistics and general director of Astralpool Spain. In 2000, he assumed general management of Astralpool and led its international expansion. In 2006, he was named CEO of Fluidra and led the company's IPO in 2007. In 2016, he became executive president, and in 2018, the merger with Zodiac was completed. In March 2021, Fluidra joined the Ibex-35 for the first time after an excellent 2020. Eloi Planes, welcome to Various Curl.
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Eloi Planes2:10
Good afternoon, thank you very much.
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Host2:13
Very well, delighted to have you here. We will have a relaxed conversation where I hope listeners can also submit their questions. You have a script of topics I'd like to ask about, but you can ask questions too. Eloi, I must thank the management of Magallanes Value Investors, especially Iván Martín, for facilitating this contact and your presence. Iván, thanks from Value School. The other day, he suggested asking Eloi about value creation, as value investors are known here for companies that fly under the radar until a catalyst makes their value explode and the market recognizes it. Eloi can explain this long process. Today, the first question is from Iván Martín.
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Eloi Planes3:29
Thank you to Iván, a good friend and long-time follower of Fluidra. Work is sometimes recognized suddenly when many things align and the company is valued. The important thing is to work with a medium to long-term perspective, creating the right environment for growth and evolution. Fluidra has known how to do this over time, from its founding in 1969 with the right governance and entrepreneurial vision. The company has evolved at each moment, which is a key strength. Knowing when to take people public, make decisions like the merger, and understanding the long path to value creation. After years of consistency in communication and reaching investors, the market began to recognize our value. The merger with Zodiac was a catalyst, as it created the global leader in the pool industry with difficult-to-replicate synergies and increased our size and visibility in the stock market. This helped close the valuation gap with similar American companies. Additionally, increased liquidity from the merger and the current pandemic trends favoring home improvement have boosted our sector. These four elements—intrinsic value, increased visibility, liquidity, and positive sector trends—combined to unleash value.
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Host10:04
I find it paradoxical that the pandemic has been a tailwind for your sector, as initially, one might think closed hotels and pools would hurt business. How has that happened?
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Eloi Planes10:56
Our sector needs to be understood first. The commercial pool market, linked to hotels and large events, suffered during closures and investment halted. However, it represents only about 20% of the global pool market. The residential market, which is 80%, saw a surge. People at home realized their gardens and pools were assets to enjoy and maintain better. The global pool park of 315 million pools requires ongoing maintenance and upgrades, which is our core business. During the pandemic, pool owners used them more and invested in improvements. This trend of staying at home, moving from cities to rural areas with horizontal living and gardens, is likely to last. Our sector has inherent recurring revenue from pool maintenance, similar to elevator maintenance in the housing sector, ensuring steady growth.
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Host14:55
Let's talk about the merger with Zodiac. In business literature, mergers often fail due to cultural issues, but yours seems successful. What made this marriage work despite different cultures—European family business vs. American with private equity background?
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Eloi Planes15:36
You're right; about 70% of mergers don't meet objectives. Two key elements impact this: the intrinsic value of the operation and execution, especially cultural. On paper, our complementarity was tremendous, generating immense value. Execution relied on people and values. Anyone might have bet against us, but we maintained the best of a family company with a long-term vision and a multinational's strengths. The clear family core ensured long-term benefit focus. Ron and the Mica team understood this and executed excellently, surpassing all merger targets two years early. The tough, long negotiations before the merger clarified the framework and helped avoid friction. We aligned on five key points: staying public for governance, managing debt responsibly, ensuring fair valuation, balanced governance with stable and transitional capital, and an orderly exit through the stock market to create liquidity and value. These were non-negotiable and took time to agree upon.
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Host22:39
The US market now represents 35% of our revenue, Europe 46%, and the rest of the world 19%, mainly Asia and Australia. What are your perspectives for entering the Asian market, especially China?
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Eloi Planes23:05
We've been in Asia since around 2004, including China and Southeast Asia. However, the Asian market weighs relatively little because culturally, beyond tourism and hospitality, residential pools are small. There isn't a strong water culture like in Japan. We are present and attentive, as we believe trends will shift, but currently, the market weight reflects global penetration. We are already number two in the US and aim to be number one there, while Europe remains crucial. The global pool park is distributed with 50% in the US, 35-37% in Europe, and Spain alone has 7%. Growth is steady as pools need maintenance, and new construction is slow. We've been present in these markets for years.
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Host26:19
In September 2007, a month before the IPO, you changed the company name from Aquaria to Fluidra to signal focus on pools, essentially killing your diversification. What businesses did you divest from?
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Eloi Planes26:59
We changed the name for trademark reasons, as another entity had a similar name. At the IPO, we presented a diversification story, leveraging our strong international penetration in pools to other water treatment areas like agricultural irrigation and gardening. An Israeli CEO advised us that we were like looking for new wells when we already had a productive one. During the 2000 crisis, we matured and decided to focus on pools, which was a wise decision. This focus allowed us to become the global leader and later merge with Zodiac. It taught us that diversification requires deeper risk analysis and larger scale.
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Host31:02
You started as R&D director. How does Fluidra handle innovation today? Do you develop products internally, collaborate with third parties, or acquire patents?
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Eloi Planes31:31
We do everything. As an industrial engineer passionate about product development, from idea to market is magical. Early on, we realized we needed open innovation—collaborating with universities, startups, and other sectors to find applicable technologies. We established FluidrAtc as a global technology observatory, allowing us to tackle challenges with external solutions. Our innovation is open, but the fast-paced digital and data-driven world requires constant adaptation, especially for industrial companies. It's never enough.
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Host34:12
Many young Spanish people watch this channel and want to start investing long-term. Given Spain's unemployment problem, what advice do you have for them to build a career in the job market? What skills should they focus on?
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Eloi Planes35:01
Knowledge is important, like languages and IT skills, but the key differentiator is attitude. Resilience, honesty, humility, and a desire to learn are crucial. While a good curriculum helps, in final interviews, I look at how people think and act—their attitude. Passion and humility multiply value. People who are arrogant or think they know everything won't succeed. Hunger, passion, resilience, and humility are essential for anyone in any position. Everyone has a great capacity to learn and be creative.
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Host40:59
I've read that people focus on wealth but not the journey. The process matters, and failures build resilience. Humility helps acknowledge luck and learn from mistakes. Your story shows that over time, your team became stronger through challenges. How do you view the long-term vision, especially in family businesses?
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Eloi Planes41:38
Absolutely, the process is everything. We're neither as bad nor as good as current success might suggest—it's the result of years of building piece by piece, with errors and hard work. Difficulties make people stronger. I recall the tough period after the 2007 IPO during the global crisis; as a Spanish small-cap, we faced neglect, but we persisted. The merger with Zodiac was a catalyst. Family companies with a medium to long-term vision build trust, as they have significant personal stake and governance. Sustainability is now a core business imperative, with risks and opportunities. Leaving a better world for future generations is both a moral duty and a business necessity.
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Host48:18
With this positive and constructive note, we end this fantastic three-part interview, which has flown by. Eloi Planes, it's been a privilege to have you. On behalf of the team, I wish you, your family, and Fluidra a great summer and long life. Thank you.
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Eloi Planes48:45
Thank you, it's been a pleasure to be with you all.
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Host48:52
What a marvel to speak with an executive who communicates with such frankness and passion. Eloi Planes, executive president of Fluidra. In 15 minutes, we'll talk about closer topics at Value School with El Berto and Jordi.