Name a challenge that could faze a businesswoman.
Zee Allred probably has overcome it during the course of her career.
Her roles as a wife, mother and a divorcee at one time or another led her to what could have been viewed as roadblocks for a female executive.
Her sense of entrepreneurism, determination and leadership took her down a different path, though, building Irvine-based Pool Water Products into one of the top companies in the pool supply and distribution business along the way.
Pool Water Products is among the largest women-owned businesses with headquarters in Orange County, with an estimated $100 million in revenue and a place in the top 10 on this week’s Business Journal list (see related story, above; list on page 16).
Allred’s professional achievements—along with her long-standing involvement in the local community in philanthropic and nonprofit services—were the basis of the Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her by the Business Journal at its 20th Annual Women in Business Awards luncheon last month.
Academic Pursuit
Allred and her family stumbled upon all-things-pool in the middle of an academic pursuit.
Zee and the late Marvin Allred, along with their two sons, Vern and Dean, moved from Arizona to California in 1952 for Marvin to attend a doctorate program at University of California-Berkeley. They both had studied chemistry in college, but Zee left school to raise children.
“We decided to spend a summer in Newport Beach before heading to school,” Allred said.
Orange County at the time was largely undeveloped, with agriculture its key economic driver. Many of the 34 cities in OC today had yet to take shape, and housing had only begun to replace farms.
“While on vacation, we met a family,” Allred recalled. “The husband was working for [a construction company], and he offered Marvin an office job … [because] the company was in need of someone who had a degree in chemistry to help pool owners and to educate them about water treatment and water analysis. Marvin was a perfect fit.”
The Allreds never made it to Berkeley. It took the couple a “short while” to realize that there was no one in Orange County providing pool-related services and “that there was a potential for the totally new industry, and we were in the right place at the right time,” Allred said.
They took out a $500 loan, began a pool service route, and in 1958 established Allred’s Pool Supply, a retail business that over the following several years grew into an 18-store franchise. The chain stood out from competitors by offering testing of pool water at its stores, an outgrowth of the couple’s background in chemistry, Allred said.
“Pool owners would bring the water sample, and we would perform testing and recommend the proper water treatment,” she said. “We were the very first in Orange County to offer that kind of service. Our customers really liked the fact that we had proper lab equipment and knowledge. We always try to be very professional. This service that we provided was a key for our rapid growth and expansion at the very early stage.”
Hawaii to Cali
The Allreds moved to Hawaii in 1961 to open stores on Oahu and Maui and founded Pool Water Products as a wholesale line while living there.
They moved back to California, where the retail chain had the bulk of its operations, in 1965.
“It became really hard to manage both enterprises from such a distance,” said Allred, who at the time was pregnant with their daughter.
Allred took some time off of work to care for the new baby, Carol, but she was thrust back into the business in 1968 when Marvin had a heart attack. He had open-heart surgery, and his physical condition never fully recovered.
Zee and Marvin eventually divorced amicably and stayed close until Marvin’s passing in 2005.
She gave up her 50% share of Allred’s Pool Supply and took full control of Pool Water Products in the divorce settlement.
Allred continued to grow the wholesaler, opening new locations over the years, starting with one in Los Angeles in 1973. It now has 22 wholesale distribution centers throughout the U.S., from California to Florida.
Business in the pool and spa industry is seasonal, Allred said, “so the number of employees varies from month to month.” It’s estimated that the company has more than 200 employees overall.
“A Man’s World”
Allred recently recalled the male-dominated nature of the pool supply business when she first took over the company.
“It was a man’s world, but I was lucky to know most of them,” she said. “I was always working with my husband, since we owned everything 50-50, so that transition wasn’t that difficult. On the other hand, I must admit that it was really hard dealing with vendors [and] suppliers who didn’t know me.”
An insurance company, for instance, raised her premium because “they thought that as a woman, I was a liability,” she said.
Allred credits her family and employees as crucial to the company’s success over the years.
Her sons went to work at Pool Water Products after graduating from college. Her oldest, Vern, worked as president for a few years before selling his shares back to engage in a different venture.
“Then I named my second son, Dean, as a president,” Allred said. “Dean Allred has retained that position until today. Both of them deserve as much recognition as I do. They worked very hard to keep the company afloat.”
Her daughter also is a partner of the company.
Allred said some of her employees have been with Pool Water Products for more than 40 years, “which tells it all.”
Beyond Business
Allred has made a mark well beyond the business landscape of Orange County. She and her business grew as the county grew, and she has played key roles in the development of philanthropy and nonprofits as a donor, board member and in other leadership roles.
Allred has been involved with the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa for more than 30 years. She was a major donor to the building fund in the 1980s, and has been a member of the center’s board of directors since 1994.
“She represents the best of Orange County,” said Segerstrom Center Chairman Larry Higby. “Incredibly insightful, and always generous.”
Allred also is on the board of trustees of Chapman University in Orange, where she funded the Zee Allred Aquatics Center and Olympic Pool. She received the Chapman University Corporate Citizen award in 2005 and an honorary doctorate degree in 2009.
Allred supports various other organizations here, including the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of Orange County, the Healthcare Foundation of Orange County and the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art.
