I've posted this on another forum, so some of you may have seen this:
Yearly Sales:
Watkins (Hot Spring, Caldera, etc.): $75 million
Thermospa: $55 million
Sundance: $54.5 million
Jacuzzi: APPROX. $50 million
Blue Falls Mfg (Arctic): $52,729,420.03
Tatum Mfg (Gulf Coast & many OEM spas): $35 million
Cal Spas $19 million
Marquis: $17 million
Dimension One: $15.6 million
May Mfg. (Artesian): $7.8 million
Keys Backyard: $7.6 million
Infinity Spas: $1.2 million
Complaints to the Better Business Bureau:
Company 36 mos 12 mos
Arctic 0 0
Artesian 0 0
Bullfrog 2 1
Marquis 3 1
D1 4 3
Watkins 10 3
Master 24 10
Jacuzzi/Sundance 31 n/a
Hydro Spas 37 27
Gulf Coast 48 18
Cal Spas 84 n/a
Thermospas 129 60*
Infinity 4 4*
Keys Backyard 23 9*
Notes:
1) I've been told these are 2004 sales numbers (I got them from Hoovers dot com). So they may be old, but the ratios are probably comparable.
2) Jacuzzi is an estimate because their report indicates all Jacuzzi products (bath fixtures, etc.) I'm basing the $50 million figure on a statement made by Jacuzzi Brands of "over $100 million in sales" between Sundance and Jacuzzi.
3) These are manufacturer sales dollars, not dealer sales dollars.
4) The asterisks in the BBB results indicate an Unsatisfactory rating with the BBB for failure to deal with complaints.
5) BBB complaints are obviously not the total number of "problems": undoubtedly most of them get ironed out by the dealer and/or manufacturer before they escalate to the BBB. However, it's the only unbiased report on hot tub "issues" that I've been able to find.
Having said all that, I think a "complaints per sales dollar" figure gives a reasonable estimate of the "quality" of a manufacturer. For example, Hot Spring & its brands are averaging $75 million in sales & 3 complaints per year, or roughly 1 complaint out of $25 million in sales. On the other hand, Gulf Coast had 18 complaints in $35 million in sales, or 1 complaint in $2 million. So, Gulf Coast's complaint rate is roughly ten times higher than Hot Spring. Thermospa's is twenty times higher than Hot Spring. Very rough estimates, but I think it tells the consumer something.