20-21_GF.qxp_Grid 30/06/2022 13:09 Page 2
OVER THE
COUNTER
BY DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.
The Human
Below: A card retailer in the making? Hudson Robertson. Below right: Even Hiro received a card! Bottom: David with his new baby son.
Touch I am currently surrounded by cards! Cards for the birth of my new baby son, cards for my first Father’s Day and I love them all! Currently it is only a few days since Hudson James George Robertson entered the world at 4.19pm on 15 June and I am delighted to say mum and baby are well. Hiro (my Lhasa Apso) is now a big brother (even he got a card!) and we are ready for the rollercoaster that I thought had perhaps passed me by at the age of 48. With such happy news and it also having just been Father’s Day I wanted to be positive after what have been some pretty raw columns these last few months.
Business is without doubt still tough. Every day we are faced with challenges and it seems to be the same stories replicated everywhere. Pricing difficulties, erratic footfall, staff issues, personal doubt and just that general heavy feeling as everyone seems to keep talking things down and worrying about bills. I think we all feel that we get over one hurdle to only find the next one is larger, wider, taller and more challenging, but you know what, we all still tackle it and that is a positive in itself. Despite my honest assessments there are still bright points about being a retailer and life in general. You are of course your own boss. We get to work with interesting people and products and every day we are helping to share in people’s news. Good and bad there is a card for it. Now of course being a first-time father I have a new and different perspective on life. I am only four days into my new role but today, 19 June, is also very significant and not just because it is Father’s Day. It was on this day 34 years ago that my mum and dad bought JP Pozzi Newsagents and had their first day trading. In many respects the shop was my Dad’s second baby and just like me they had to wait a long time to achieve it. After a long adoption process my Dad was 40 years old before I bounced into their lives and he 20
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
was 52 before he achieved his second lifetime goal of owning his own business. He cared for both deeply and he loved the pride in owning and running a business that was part of the community. He believed that shops were not just retail spaces, he believed that they were part of the community, part of the history of the town. He was ‘Jimmy Pozzi’, the spiritual guardian of a business that has been on Buckie High Street for 115 years. My wife sourced all kinds of things for the baby, but all the major purchases were made locally in town which meant prams, nursery furniture and car seats were
delivered and fitted. Service is what local retail is about and I believe that this will continue to be our only true point of difference. This week we had a mother travel 45 miles to our shop with her daughter as she wanted to “show her the shop” and both stocked up on cards and gifts. This sort of thing lifts your spirits and keeps you going, it really does. In another example, a few weeks ago I had a call from a customer who wanted to tell me personally how delighted she was with our service, having bought both cards and gifts in our Elgin store. She expressly wanted to say how she felt very welcome in the store. Her words, “very welcome”, hit a real nerve with me. That is what everyone wants to feel… welcome and valued. Ultimately with a small business that is always our aim