• Petco for pools
• AutoZone for pools

• Pool & Spa Chemicals: Offers a wide array of products for sanitizing, balancing, and treating pool and spa water.
• Pool & Spa Equipment: Sells essential components such as pumps, filters, heaters, and cleaners for maintaining pool and spa functionality.
• Pool & Spa Supplies & Accessories: Provides various items including covers, liners, safety equipment, recreational products, and water testing kits.
• In-store Water Testing & Expertise: Delivers free in-store water testing services along with expert advice for diagnosing and resolving pool and spa water chemistry issues.

Leslie's Poolmart, Inc. (symbol: LESL) primarily sells pool and spa supplies, equipment, and services directly to end-users and professionals within the pool and spa industry. As such, it serves primarily individuals and businesses that cater to individuals.

The company serves the following three main categories of customers:

• Residential Pool Owners: This is the largest customer segment, comprising individual homeowners who maintain their own swimming pools and spas. They purchase a wide range of products including chemicals, cleaning tools, filters, heaters, pumps, and other accessories for personal use.

• Pool Service Professionals/Contractors: This category includes independent contractors and small to medium-sized businesses that offer pool cleaning, maintenance, repair, and renovation services to residential and commercial clients. These professionals purchase supplies, equipment, and parts from Leslie's to support their service operations.

• Commercial Pool Operators: This segment consists of businesses and institutions that operate swimming pools and spas for public or private use. Examples include hotels, apartment complexes, homeowners' associations (HOAs), public recreation centers, schools, and health clubs. They often purchase bulk chemicals, larger-scale equipment, and specialized supplies to maintain their facilities.

Jason McDonell, Chief Executive Officer

Jason McDonell was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Leslie's in September 2024, bringing nearly 30 years of experience in retail and consumer products sectors. Prior to joining Leslie's, he served as Executive Vice President, Merchandising, Marketing, and e-Commerce at Advance Auto Parts, Inc., where he was responsible for driving omnichannel growth across their family of brands. Mr. McDonell also spent 21 years at PepsiCo, culminating in his role as Canada President and General Manager for PepsiCo Food, a $2.5 billion business encompassing the Canadian Frito-Lay and Quaker brands. He began his career in brand management at Procter & Gamble. Mr. McDonell holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and has completed Executive Leadership Programs at Harvard Business School.

Jeff White, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Jeff White joined Leslie's in October 2025 as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Before Leslie's, Mr. White spent nine years at Sportsman's Warehouse (NASDAQ: SPWH) from 2016 to 2025, where he most recently served as chief financial officer and company secretary. During his tenure at Sportsman's Warehouse, he led significant initiatives, including rebuilding the FP&A and investor relations functions, directing Investor Day activities, and overseeing two successful credit facility renegotiations.

Naomi Cramer, Chief Retail Operations and Talent Officer

Naomi Cramer joined Leslie's in September 2022 and has served as Chief Retail Operations and Talent Officer since March 2025. Before her current role, she was the company's Chief People Officer. Prior to Leslie's, Ms. Cramer was the Chief Human Resources Officer at Banner Health and has 28 years of retail experience, including nearly 25 years in various roles at Target, covering retail operations, real estate, and human resources.

Maryann Byrdak, Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer

Maryann Byrdak has served as Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer of Leslie's since December 2024. She brings over 25 years of expertise in leading technology strategy, digital transformation, operational excellence, analytics (AI), and enterprise system deployments across the retail, restaurant, and nonprofit sectors.

Benjamin Lindquist, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

Ben Lindquist joined Leslie's in August 2013 and has served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary since April 2024. In this role, he is responsible for all legal, corporate governance, and compliance matters. Previously, Mr. Lindquist held various roles of increasing responsibility within the company's legal department.

The public company Leslie's (LESL) faces several key risks to its business, primarily stemming from its financial health, susceptibility to external factors, and challenges in maintaining sales and market share.

1. High Debt Levels and Deteriorating Financial Health: Leslie's is significantly leveraged, with reports indicating high debt levels, negative shareholder equity, and inadequate coverage of interest payments by earnings. Its debt-to-EBITDA ratio is notably high, raising concerns about its financial flexibility and ability to invest in growth. Credit rating agencies like S&P Global Ratings and Moody's have downgraded Leslie's, citing high leverage and a challenging consumer environment, further highlighting the precarious financial position. This financial strain limits the company's capacity for strategic initiatives and increases liquidity risks.
2. Weather Dependency and Weak Discretionary Consumer Spending: A major external risk for Leslie's is its high dependency on favorable weather conditions, particularly during the peak pool season. Unpredictable and adverse weather patterns, such as unusually wet and cool temperatures, have directly led to significant sales declines and disrupted pool openings. This weather sensitivity is exacerbated by a broader environment of weak macroeconomic conditions and soft discretionary consumer spending, which directly impacts sales of residential pool and hot tub products.
3. Declining Sales, Waning Customer Demand, and Intense Competition: Leslie's has reported substantial sales declines, including a 12.2% decrease in sales for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, and shrinking same-store sales over the past two years. The company has also experienced a notable loss of residential customers, with over 160,000 residential customers lost in one year, attributed partly to pricing issues. This declining demand occurs within an intensifying competitive landscape, which puts pressure on Leslie's to adapt to evolving consumer preferences and differentiate itself in a crowded market.

Leslie's (LESL) operates as a direct-to-consumer brand primarily within the United States, focusing on the pool and spa care industry. The company's main products and services include pool and spa supplies such as chemicals, equipment, parts, cleaning accessories, and recreational products, as well as installation and repair services for pool and spa equipment.

The addressable markets for Leslie's main products and services in the U.S. are sized as follows:

• The overall United States pool and spa care industry was estimated at nearly $11 billion as of October 2020.
• The U.S. pool maintenance and cleaning services market was valued at approximately $8.08 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $10.33 billion by 2029. Another estimate for this market was $8.69 million in 2024, expected to reach $11.36 million by 2031.
• The market size for swimming pool equipment stores in the U.S. was $7.9 billion in 2024 and is projected to be $8.0 billion in 2025. More broadly, the U.S. swimming pool equipment market was valued at $3.1 billion in 2024.
• The global swimming pool accessories market was valued at $8.5 billion in 2023, with the U.S. dominating North America's share at approximately 78.5% in 2023.

1. Expansion and Deepening of the Pro Pool Segment: Leslie's is strategically focused on expanding its professional (Pro) pool segment, which has shown recent growth, including a double-digit increase in pro partner contracts. The company views this as a significant area for future growth.
2. Enhancing Omnichannel Strategy and Customer Experience: The company is concentrating on strengthening its omnichannel approach and improving the overall customer experience. This includes initiatives like maintaining better in-stock positions for popular products and leveraging technology such as AccuBlue water testing services to boost customer conversion rates.
3. Growth in Core Chemical Sales: Leslie's expects continued strength in core chemical sales, driven by improved in-stock levels and a focus on supply chain efficiency. This has already resulted in positive unit volumes and sales growth for this product category.
4. Strategic and Operational Transformation Initiatives: Leslie's is undergoing broader transformation initiatives and a strategic operational review designed to improve sales and accelerate the company's return to long-term profitable growth. These efforts include assessing performance across stores, online channels, and distribution centers, as well as optimizing cost structures.

Share Repurchases

• On December 3, 2021, Leslie's Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program for up to an aggregate amount of $300 million of its common stock over three years.
• As of September 30, 2023, approximately $147.7 million remained available under this share repurchase program.

Share Issuance

• Leslie's issued approximately 635,626 shares of common stock between September 30, 2023, and September 28, 2024.
• The company's consolidated statements of stockholders' deficit indicate an issuance of 1,160 thousand shares of common stock under a plan, totaling $1,378 thousand, for the period from October 2, 2021, to September 28, 2024.

Outbound Investments

• Leslie's utilized $107.7 million in net cash for six business acquisitions during fiscal 2022.
• In fiscal 2023, Leslie's used $15.5 million in net cash for five business acquisitions.
• Non-comparable sales from acquisitions and new stores contributed $7.9 million to revenue in fiscal 2024.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures totaled $47.2 million in fiscal 2024, $38.6 million in fiscal 2023, and $31.7 million in fiscal 2022.
• For the nine months ended June 28, 2025, capital expenditures amounted to $19.1 million.
• Capital expenditures are focused on new locations, other growth initiatives, and investments in the business including digital assets, and disruptive innovation such as water testing and new product offerings.