Written in Partnership with Amir Bakian
Based in New York, GB Sneakers of GBNY Productions, Inc., is notorious for its personalized customer service, wide variety of statement shoes of the top brands, and even celebrity clientele like Kim Kardashian, Jim Jones, and more legendary names. Gurson Sidana, influential and innovative, is the CEO of GB Sneakers. We had the pleasure of interviewing Sidana, and getting a glimpse of New York’s “haven” for the best kicks.
There is so much competition in retail, what do you believe sets you apart as a business?
The main thing that sets us apart as a business is our customer service and our love for the community. We believe that the customer is the King and they are right no matter what. We also hold monthly in-store events where we give back to the community, from clothing, sneakers, food, as well as basic necessities- hand sanitizer, masks etc.. especially during these tough times.
What are some tips you would give to aspiring entrepreneurs, especially those interested in footwear?
To always follow your dreams and never give up. It took me many years to become profitable in-store and online. So much marketing, events, giving back free sneakers and much more items to the community. So many years where I was losing money but I never gave up and lost hope, kept pushing until my company became successful and profitable.
You are known for excellent customer service. How do you manage to balance daily tasks, ensure each customer/client is satisfied, and have GB Sneakers / GBNY remain standing overall?
I believe in working smart and hard. I’ve worked very hard for most of my life in the retail stores and was always helping customers shaking everyone’s hands and building the business from the ground up. Now I train my teams to have the same vision as me. To make sure to always make the customer happy, it’s never about profit (of course the end result is) but day to day it’s about making customers happy, each customer you make happy is making 10 new customers for the company, since they will go and tell 10 more people, same way 1 customer that you make upset you will lose 10 customers because they will go an tell 10 people about the bad experience they have.
We are aware that P. Diddy’s son Justin Combs has a partnership with GB Sneakers / GBNY! Did such a milestone open doors for the business, and if so, how?
It definitely helps, all the brands we deal with know we are partners with Justin Combs, and this doesn’t open doors directly, but people definitely acknowledge and respect it.
We’re halfway into 2022. What’s next for GBNY?
We are having a Y2K event next Wednesday 5/11 in our Jamaica Colosseum Mall location for the launch of the Air Jordan 6 Retro “Midnight Navy” sneakers. Our goal is to have 1 in-store monthly event now that COVID is on the low and we are able to host events in the store with hundreds of people. We are also focusing on our digital sales (ecommerce) as well as the Metaverse and NFT space. More to come soon.
Company: GB Sneakers / GBNY Productions
Email: [email protected]
Phone number: 1-877-746-7427
Website: http://gbny.com
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