Blue Thumb Distributing, Inc. proudly announces the acquisition of Aqua Bella Designs. Aqua Bella is a manufacturer of custom, one-of-a-kind fountains supplying the water garden, pond and lake, and lawn and garden marketplaces. The combination of Aqua Bella’s and Blue Thumb’s complimentary brands, will enable Blue Thumb to offer all markets the most comprehensive lineup of water feature equipment & supply solutions in the industry from a single source.
Blue Thumb is widely known in the water feature industry for their extensive line of professional PondBuilder equipment and other products focused on helping the landscape installer and retailer be more successful promoting and selling water features. Kip Northrup, President of Blue Thumb noted, “The synergies between the two long time leaders in the industry open a wide range of new possibilities for the growth of Blue Thumb and offers our customer base a larger, more diversified product offering. Our seasoned team at Blue Thumb, combined with years of market experience, translate to a better customer experience, stronger product offerings and increased quality, and we are very excited about that.”
Aqua Bella Designs pioneered the fountain industry when it first featured its patented design for disappearing fountains using its AquaBox in 2006 and has long been revered as one of the most installation-friendly, highest quality brands in the water garden market today. Olga Sokolova of Aqua Bella says, “We are thrilled with Blue Thumb acquiring the Aqua Bella brand. We see endless possibilities to the market potential that now exists for our product lines. More importantly we believe we will be able to service our customers better with a stronger infrastructure and forward-thinking management that Blue Thumb provides.”
Blue Thumb is committed to a seamless transition. Holding true to their core principles of performance, simplicity and value, Blue Thumb is in the process of moving all inventories from Aqua Bella to their main shipping warehouse in Saginaw, Michigan. The ability to ship Aqua Bella fountains together with pond kits, pond-less waterfall kits, and other water feature equipment will provide an overall lower delivered cost for customers and an expedited and efficient ordering process.
Blue Thumb Headquarters
5327 N. Michigan Road
Saginaw, MI 48604
888/619-3474
March 3, 2014 – GeoGlobal Partners, the leading North American provider of innovative water gardening brands, today announced that it has been acquired by The OASE Group headquartered in Hörstel, Germany.
The merger brings together two leading water gardening companies to create the most innovative and comprehensive water gardening business in North America. Combined, the companies are poised to further strengthen Oase presence in North America while creating a global market leader in water gardening.
GeoGlobal Partners markets primarily in the beginner-to-intermediate water gardening segments in various distribution channels in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. This fits perfectly with the complementary product range of OASE. The two lines of product will merge together harmoniously to serve the beginner-to-intermediate water gardening segments. The OASE START products will allow for significant expansion within the intermediate segment. Furthermore, OASE is the industry quality and innovation leader and the OASE PRO products will cater to the expert segment. The combined group can now provide the full-range of product diversity in North America as they have in their home market in Europe.
For more information contact:
Melodie Elliott
Sunwest Communications
melliott@sunwestpr.com
214-373-1601
This bit of wisdom has been attributed to Will Rogers, Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain. Regardless of the origins of the quote, it continues to ring true in most facets of life — including your business. I suspect that most of you who are reading this are the best at what you do in your […]
Most business owners see competitors as the enemy. Brian Ellefson of Columbia Water Gardens sees them as collaborators, colleagues and friends. In this personal and enlightening article, Brian shares how your business can employ “Co-op-etition” to improve customer relationships and help grow a prosperous pond industry.
Ticks are active through October and until the first freeze, so gardeners, landscapers, horticulturists and pond contractors need to remain vigilant in preventing bites while outdoors this fall
There’s nothing quite like a warm summer day by a babbling brook. But with the first frost on the horizon, a pond-lover’s paradise can quickly become his worst nightmare. Follow Michael Zmina’s tips to ensure that your customers know how to prepare their pond ecosystems for winter.
Smart business owners know that social media is the most powerful way to reach and retain customers. Are you using it to your advantage? Follow Karen Leland’s 10 steps to leverage the fastest-growing social media site in history and grow your customer base overnight.
After 25 or so years in and around the koi and pond trade, Cindy and I have decided it is time for us to take our leave.
We are happy that Lora Lee Gelles joined our team last fall as Managing Editor, and found the business to her liking. She has now stepped up and purchased POND Trade Magazine and will keep it coming to you in fine fashion as she has the past few months.
You may ask why now. For some time now, Cindy has been carrying the load because of a number of health issues I have suffered. She has done a superb job, but with Lora Lee in position to take over, we felt the timing was right.
As you know, we have always run our business out of love of the hobby and the great people in it, and we owe you all a huge debt of thanks for the support you have provided us.
I know you will enjoy the high energy and creativity Lora Lee now brings to the magazine and will support her as she continues to grow the depth of her knowledge and understanding of this industry. You can count on our strong stable of authors to continue to bring you the relevant, fun and interesting stories that have become the hallmark of POND Trade Magazine and I trust you will give her your assistance and feedback to help her best serve your needs.
*We are still around of course, and look forward to following your progress. You can always reach us at tomg@tcpubinc.com and cindy@tcpubinc.com, or 760-451-2255. Let’s keep in touch.*
A large crowd of pond folks descended upon the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center in Shawnee, Okla. in February. Attendees were able to choose from three various seminar tracks to boost their water gardening knowledge. There were many booths to browse and great show specials too. Start planning your trip for next year. This event is not to be missed!
With bank lending to small businesses on the decline, how can a developing pond company raise the capital to grow? In this must- read for any entrepreneur, Robert Gloer of IOU Central explains the various loans that can take your business to the next level.