Welcome to “Bosses Of The A,” where rolling out chops it up with business owners in Atlanta about entrepreneurship and everything that comes with it. First up is Davon Goulbourne of Repeat in Atlantic Station.
Davon “Von” Goulbourne is the owner of Repeat, a clothing boutique that features the hottest designer brands like Demin Tears, Goyard, Saint Michael’s and more. His store comes with a twist; he gives customers the opportunity to sell their used designer clothes and shoes back, or exchange those pieces for store credit. Rolling out sat down with this budding entrepreneur to learn about his business.
What made you get into the retail clothing business?
I’ve always been into clothes. Doing ATF [a Facebook group to buy clothes/shoes] back in the day, trading clothes with everybody in high school, trading shoes, Jordans … Just the whole trading community was lit back then. So, it’s just something I just kept going with. And here we are.
About how much did it cost to open the store?
It really ranges depending on the size of the store, and the products you carry. The Buckhead location was a little cheaper but the Atlantic Station location cost about $100K.
What were some struggles you faced opening this business?
The biggest problem I faced was the landlord not understanding or trusting the business. They didn’t really get how the business could be successful. They weren’t trusting me, so they started me on like a three-month trial lease. But now I’m the number one store in Atlantic Station, and they offered me a bigger store with a five-year lease.
Your store has been featured in music videos and YouTube content. How has that been?
The first thing I did was a podcast called Twin Telepathi with Chinese Kitty and Seddy Hendrix. Then I did a music video with Lil Mabu and Lil RT. It was crazy. Like, I never been at an actual video shoot. Like, it was like ten sprinters that pulled up right in front of the store. We shot that at like midnight.
Which celebrities have shopped at your store?
A lot have come through: Rylo Rodriguez, Druski, Babyface Ray, G-Herbo. and Karrahboo.
What have you learned since you started running Repeat ATL?
I learned how to run a business in general. Now that I know how to run a business the proper way, I know that I can open up pretty much any business and I can thrive in that business, as well. But I feel like it also helped me, because now that I have this set in stone with my name on it, I feel like anything that I do after this, it’ll automatically pop off because they know about me.
What are some losses you’ve taken in business and how have you learned from that?
So I did open up a restaurant that didn’t go too good. It was really the business partner. I say, when you are thinking about having a business partner, just really know the person you’re doing business with before you get into business. I kind of like was rushing to get into this business because I knew the potential it had and I didn’t really sit down and know who I was really doing business with. So that was like the main thing.
