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Mickey Judkins of Details and detailsdirect.com
By Katie McKy
In 2020, 5ive for Women profiled three Chippewa Valley businesswomen to see how they
were adapting to the changing conditions of the pandemic. Mickey Judkins, founder and owner
of Details and detailsdirect.com, was one of them.
Details in 2020
Judkins closed Details on Water Street for about two months when the pandemic began,
but continued shipping online orders from the Details website, detailsdirect.com. Judkins had
done e-commerce through her website since 1995, and that allowed her to survive financially
when a major portion of her business, the brick and motor retailing, was shut down.
“Our expenses… loans, payables, insurance, payroll continued, but our revenue was
largely reduced,” Judkins said at the time.
She told her staff to never waste a crisis, so Judkins made new investments in her
business’s cyber-infrastructure.
In 2020, she said, “I’ve made a significant investment in upgrading our website to scale-
up our online business. It’s a little frightening, but we are working to position the company for
growth as we emerge from this global pandemic.”
Did that investment pay off?
Details Today
Judkins thought the pandemic would last a few months. Even then, the uncertainty had
her considering retirement. She correctly deduced that the pandemic would change the economic
landscape.
“I needed to decide if I would push forward in this new economic landscape or stop
investing in the business,” Judkins said. “After much thought, I decided to press on, not realizing
we would battle this virus for years.”
To expand and upgrade detailsdirect.com, Judkins both hired some specialists and used
software that enables less tech-savvy people to interface with it.
“I have a small team that works on the website, some professionals who work
remotely and some on staff who work on it each day,” she said. “It is a continual process
to improve the site. I invested in Shopify, which is a simplified plug-and-play website format.
In other words, it is easy for nontechnical people to maintain the site. It’s like the Apple of
website software, in that it delivers a lot of technology but is easy to use.”
The on-site staff, accustomed to describing and displaying garments, apply those skills to
detailsdirect.com.
“The photographic images and the descriptions the team writes must tell each garment’s
story,” Judkins explained. “You have to connect with people in different ways. Sometimes all
you have is your voice to connect with another person.”
All the shipping is done from the back of the store at 502 Water Street. The website now
outsells the store, but they complement each other.
“It’s a nice combination; it’s a balance. When one is slow, the other is usually okay,”
Judkins said. “Now that people are getting out more, they want to have an experience, so they
enjoy shopping in person. For a while, people were sick of sitting in front of their computers, so
they were shopping less online. The two together create a balance that makes the company
stronger and less vulnerable to market fluctuations.”
Details and detailsdirect.com lets a shopper choose between quick and efficient online
shopping and the sensual and social experience of running your fingers across fabric and
collaborating with the sales staff.
“It combines what I call ‘high tech and high touch,’” Judkins said.
However, online shoppers can have a bit of both if they choose.
“Detailsdirect.com offers personalized customer service if the person wants that
interaction,” she said. “People are surprised when a person answers the phone and takes
care of their concerns. Nowadays, it can be very difficult to get a person on the phone to
help you. Personalized service is our key to success in-store and we offer this service to an
online site.”
Judkins herself delivered that “high touch” option to online shopping in the thick of
the pandemic.
“I worked remotely and managed customer service calls,” she said. “As people were
isolated in their homes, shopping became as much about the connection as the clothes. I made
lots of friends during the pandemic as we all battled fear, isolation, depression, and a need for
human connection. Shopping provided a sense of normalcy to our days.”
The quality of the clothing, the quality of the website, and the quality of the high-touch
phone connections were a winning trifecta.
“The website exploded and we experienced tremendous growth,” Judkins said. “I am
happy to say we have maintained the growth as we gained market share because so many new
customers found us during that time. Women who had rarely shopped for clothes online learned
how to do it and found it a convenient and easy way to shop.”
It was hard work for Judkins, but worth it.
“I never worked harder than I did during these times, but it was rewarding,” she said. “I
think I appreciated everything more than pre-pandemic times.”
Detailsdirect.com has built a loyal customer base, just as Details the store has.
“Many customers find us because they are looking for a popular brand or designer
that we carry,” Judkins said. “Once they find us, we hope to make their shopping experience
fun and successful, so they keep coming back over the years. We have established a trust
relationship with customers all across the nation.”
Judkins believes that the pandemic was a precipitator of positive change.
“I actually think this crisis has created an opportunity to conduct business in a
smarter way,” she said. “However, many industries are trying to return to the old processes
that are less efficient and less productive. Embracing change is a good thing, but something
people resist.”
And Judkins doesn’t hesitate to acknowledge that her people enabled the upgraded
technology to succeed.
“I’d like to thank my staff for their contributions to our success and the customers for
staying with us and supporting us financially, even when I knew they didn't really need
anything,” she said. “They were just helping the cashflow during the crisis. It takes a
community, and we love being part of a caring community.”
It wasn’t just the business model that changed. Judkins changed, too.
“I adopted some new habits. I think I am a more relaxed boss. I try to look at the big
picture and not ‘sweat the small things,’ although we do need to pay attention to the details
of the business,” she said. “I will always wear masks on airplanes to avoid the spread of
colds and viruses. I think it is a good practice. I will continue to try and simplify my business
and my life. I hope I put more attention on the important things in life such as people and my
time with them.”
Resilience
In the end, Judkins embodies resilience, which the dictionary defines as “the ability
to respond to change and adapt to challenging life experiences or difficult situations.”
“We were fortunate to persevere through the pandemic, but we all worked very hard
to survive and we managed to flourish,” Judkins said. “I am grateful to my team who helped
us navigate the changes. Many companies were not as fortunate, and I am aware that the
outcome could have been very different.”
