Homeworld Business Magazine - January 7, 2002 

Chaney Focuses Expanding Clock Base On Office, Home
Monday, January 07, 2002

CHICAGO— Seizing an opportunity to fill shelf space left by the demise of General Time last year, Chaney Instrument will debut a number of new clock lines here at the International Housewares Show.

Chaney’s new brands— Chaney Instrument and Retro Classic— join the company’s previous brands Acu-Rite, Atomix, and Stoney Creek Trading Co. The new brands and products will focus on designs for home decor and office decor.

Growth in Chaney’s clock division is a direct result of adding a number of former General Time staffers and opening an office in the now defunct clock company’s former hometown, Norcross, GA, according to Paul Mayer, Chaney’s president.

“The main reason we went after the Norcross team was to utilize their knowledge and talents we felt would allow us to become a complete clock supplier to the retail marketplace,” he said.

As a result, the Chaney clock roster includes items from opening pricepoints for the mass market and drug store chains, to higher priced more fashionable time pieces.

Although Chaney had been involved in the clock business for many years, both with its own brands and as a supplier of clock motors to Toastmaster and General Time, Mayer now feels comfortable calling Chaney a clock company.

Adding the Norcross staff was a move made soon after General Time ceased operations, and one that seems to be returning early dividends.

Mayer, in a previous interview with HOMEWORLD BUSINESS®, said while a number of companies made overtures toward General Time’s brands including Chaney, he felt having the talent and know-how behind those brands was more important than just having the brands.

Today, three of the former General Time brands, Westclox, Big Ben and Spartus, are under the Salton umbrella of products, while the Seth Thomas name is now owned by the Colibri Group.

In addition to their experience designing clocks, the Norcross staff, headed by General Manager Steven Horovitz, also brings a great deal of experience in dealing with retailers as well as handling the manufacturing side of the business. “Between all of us here in Norcross, we have more than 100 years of experience in the clock industry.”

That experience had allowed Chaney to enter new segments of the clock business more easily. Horovitz said he and his staff are well known by nearly all of today’s leading retailers and have an understanding of what products those retailers need to fill shelves in clock aisles.

The transition into Chaney’s operations was also an easy one. “Once the product designers were brought in, there was really no learning curve. We were able to stay at home and work with the same team. We also clearly understood what we needed to do in terms of new product designs and were given the autonomy to do it,” he said.

While expansion of current clock lines include items such as clock radios and alarms, Horovitz sees the potential for Chaney to step into other areas of home decor, which could include frames and lighting.