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Category:
Published: June 2007
Continuing a tradition of excellence, Peter Judd, owner of Time Square in the Clifton Park Center, explains his values and how they determine his business plans.
Success Magazine: How did you get started in your business?
Peter Judd: My father-in-law actually started Time Square in 1979. In 1985, he opened a second store in Plattsburgh, the same year my wife and I got married. We purchased his Plattsburgh store and we ran that store and transitioned it into a little bit of a higher end business.
I was familiar with jewelry and how to run a store, so when my wife asked me if I was interested in getting involved in the family business, I was excited to give it a shot. We ran that store for about eight years and then that mall closed and we moved back home, but we have kept all of our engraving clientele. Our customer base in Plattsburgh is still strong. We work for them under the Judd Engraving business.
SM: Now what is the affiliation with the Time Square in Clifton Park?
PJ: My in-laws ran the Clifton Park store since '79. Last May we bought them out and sent them on their merry way to retirement.
SM: A lot of businesses have been focusing on web content and sales. What is your stance on that?
PJ: We are developing a website but we are concentrating on personal service at the store as opposed to the internet. It's really all about personalized service and the internet is something that will be secondary down the road.
SM: Do you do offer other promotional products as well?
PJ: Yes, we do anything that a customer or organization would want regarding logos or any kind of customizationwhether it is engraved, embroidered, or silk screened. We do anything for the customers. What I am bringing to Time Square is a wider range of service. Time Square has always been a service oriented store. But it's always been watch services, engraving services, but now with me taking it over I am bringing in the promotional products. So now people can get embroidery, screen printing and promotional ad specials.
SM: You just moved from the front of the mall, to your new space which is larger and in a very prominent corner lot. How is that working for you?
PJ: It's working very well. We love the new location. When the prime corner opened up it was very enticing and we made a point to make the deal go through. We are looking to the future, looking for the mall to go into its next phase and then be in the prime location. We're able to showcase many different products. We have more engravable gift items and purchased a laser engraver which allows us to do engravings on the spot for people. It's very exciting.
SM: What makes you different from other entities that sell watches and engravings?
PJ: What makes us different is experience, knowledge and just the fact that we really care about what we are doing. You are working directly with the owners who have been there for a very long time. I have a passion to have a knowledgeable staff and to have quality merchandise along with happy customers. Our customers need to feel confident that when they come in they are going to be dealt with in a professional manner and they are going to leave satisfied.
SM: In one word, how would you describe yourself in business?
PJ: How about committed. We want everything to be perfect. My father-in-law always says that I am a perfectionist. He makes fun of me for how committed I am, or how obsessed I am with perfection. Profit is never a motive in my head. It's not a bad thing to make money, but I will make sure that things are perfect first. It's very important in our business. The reason that there will be no other stores is that people need to be very knowledgeable and they need to have experience. We don't just change watch batteries in a willy nilly manner. People in our store are very experienced and professional about it. We've changed well over 200,000 batteries in this store. I don't know if there is anyone that can say they've changed that many batteries. It's a dedication to doing things right and wanting people to know that this is the place to go.
SM: Why are you involved in the watch industry?
PJ: I want to provide the very best of something at a reasonable price. We don't sell very expensive watches or throwaway pieces either. We have a very nice line of watches for the majority of the people out there. We change watch batteries, we sell quality items that people have come to know and rely on us for. If people have a large collection of watches, they bring them all in at once. People have been coming to us for over twenty years. So that's the primary business. We are the store that's been there since 1979. People don't necessarily recognize us as that little old shop that was there long ago, so that's what we're trying to do is build recognitionyes, we are the same store and same people. Most of our customers have found us, although some still get lost trying to find us. We also like to have products that are affordable for everyone. We offer a broad spectrum of gift items. Our gift items can all be engraved in-house. We're a very family oriented business.
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