Swimwear maker takes plunge into niche recreational market.

Thinner, slicker swimsuits may be all the rage for elite swimmers, but a small San Diego-area swim-gear maker wants to make a splash among recreational and fitness swimmers by incorporating radios into snorkels and offering wetsuits for the pool.

Aqua Sphere. formed in 1998 as a subsidiary of diving gear maker Aqua Lung International, recently shoo, cased it's products in a local hotel pool featuring Aqua Skin wetsuits, five models of goggles, swim caps, gloves, snorkels and fins.

"We approach the market in a different way," said Aqua Sphere's French-born chairman, Jean-Paul Delorme. "Fitness swimmers (have traditionally) not used these products--we want to move the market upscale and get them to buy the whole package."

Don Rockwell, Aqua Sphere's president and chief operating officer, projected 2004 worldwide sales of $30 million and U.S. sales of $12 million, up from $23 million and $9 million from a year ago.

He predicted sales of Aqua Sphere's new, sleeker Seal XP Goggle would outpace sales of the company's best-selling Seal Mask goggle.

Rockwell wouldn't give individual figures for product sales. Overall, Aqua Sphere's four eyewear products have driven revenue, selling about 1 million units a year.

Visibility challenge

The equipment is sold in major sporting good chains such as Sport Chalet, Sports Authority and Big 5. But Rockwell admitted the competition for shelf space, especially in bigger stores, is fierce. "It's difficult to get visibility," he said.

Rockwell built on the good relationship between Vista-based Aqua Lung and their distributor to get their first product in the store.

"We had two things going for us--a sample to give to the swimmers in their head office (in this case, Sport Chalet), and they already knew our company and that we were a good supplier," he said.

Rockwell cracked the door a bit, but it didn't fly wide open. "We were able to convince them to bring (Seal Mask) in, but sometimes it wasn't as much as we liked," he said. "We had to earn our place on each peg hook."

In 1999, Rockwell deployed his sales team at a pre-triathlon event in North San Diego County to win over competitors. Wooing competitive athletes to switch brands right before a race is no easy task, yet Rockwell said they sold many triathletes on their product.

"Two days before the race we were giving them the product to try; they bought them and used them for the race," he said.

Because many stores now sell Aqua Sphere's Seal Mask, he expects it will be easier to market the brand. The company's new Seal XP Goggle will be available in stores in May.

A hybrid between Aqua Sphere's bulkier Seal Mask and the smaller Kaiman goggle, the XP should be an easier sell, notably to females.

"A lot of women don't like marks around their eyes and with the wide silicone feel, it won't leave the raccoon-type markings that traditional goggles have," said Tom Paradowski, owner of Paradowski's Swim and Sport in San Diego.

His shop sells more than 50 different types of goggles, including at least 20 models made by Speedo alone. Speedo also makes swim gear, kickboards and paddles used by competitive and fitness swimmers.

But he said there's still room for less-established brands like Aqua Sphere. "It's a different style that they have created," Paradowski said. "There's a place for them or we wouldn't sell it."

To make sure of that, Aqua Sphere's sales reps train retail staff in how to use their gear.

"We screen the customer and steer them to a product that will fit their use, because pool swimmers, triathletes and competitive swimmers (all have different needs)," Paradowski said.

Making products available in specialized shops, as well as the bulk-oriented retail chains, offers Aqua Sphere different benefits, Rockwell said.

"We put a big emphasis on specialty stores, because our product is new and needs to be sold by someone who is knowledgeable about the product to get our message across," he said.

Rockwell said some products are easier to market than others. The skin suit, for instance, first introduced in stores in 2002, has been a tougher sell.

"It's not obvious to tap swimmers to use a wetsuit in the pool," Rockwell said. "So our job is to explain the need. (We do) this by creating an analogy to the runners" warm-up suit."