Budgell’s Sports & Marine Ltd. | Juan Roberts
Juan Roberts – Budgell’s Sports & Marine Ltd. (Triton, NL)
Budgell’s Sports & Marine Ltd. started in 1977 selling outboard motors and Skidoo snowmobiles. In addition, Budgell’s made a solid name supplying the fishing industry in Triton and all over Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2006, Juan & Sherrie Roberts took over the dealership. “We thought about changing the name, but Budgell’s had been around since 1977 and was recognized throughout the province and with that positivity, we decided to keep the original name” commented Juan Roberts.
Along with selling the Skidoo brand, Budgell’s sold and serviced the Honda Powersports and Utility line up. Great service kept customers coming back over the years from all over the province. Juan had a vision to build a state of the art building where they could showcase all of their top brands and to complement that showroom with a service centre that would ensure their customers are back in action with little down time.
Juan shared with us what the journey was like to bring the dealership to the next level. “Unfortunately it took longer than expected and a small fortune. Over time we had to actually make the land in Triton, most of you know in Newfoundland you either have to blast and make land or dig it out and fill it in with blasted rock. After a few years of ups and downs we decided to actually go ahead to build in 2013. We officially opened the doors for business on July 7th 2014 with over 7500 sq feet of showroom and a fairly big state off the art mechanics bay, the total building is approx 11000 sq feet with an additional store building that is another 5000 sq feet. This expansion was worth it and will be worth it in the long haul. It gives our customers both first time and repeating the assurance that we`re around for the long haul and that we care about their recreational needs, all throughout the year whether its summer or winter.”
We asked Juan and Sherrie about how much time they get out snowmobiling. Like most dealerships, they get out very little due to the busy schedule during the season. Juan mentioned his favourite snowmobile to ride is the Expedition 600 Etec, but he has a soft spot for the XRS too.
Some of the biggest challenges the Roberts’ faced since taking over. Having an old building and knowing it’s not what they wanted and what would their customers be thinking when they came into the shop? “Finding the finances and spending the necessary money to make the shop into something that both our employees and customers would be proud of and excited to actually shop and work there. That has been possibly one of the most proud moments” said Juan.
Roberts’ continued to share with us…“Retaining good people has been a real challenge or should I say keeping the good ones that we currently have. We lost a few but for the most part we have the same staff and have added a few more which is awesome but it`s sometimes unfortunate that this business can’t pay what some of the employees are worth. Alberta and big paying jobs are good for economy but hard to keep employees when you’re competing against that. “
Juan concluded with, “I think we have the best staff on the island, they give the best service to our most valued customers, let’s not forget that our customers are what keeps us alive and we appreciate them, without them we would not have a business and we thank all the customers, all over Newfoundland and Labrador for their continued patronage to Budgell’s Sports & Marine Ltd. “
Hit www.Budgells.com for more information.
