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GC PRO CELEBRATES FIFTH ANNIVERSARY AT 121ST AES CONVENTION— Company poised for another round of market growth —
— GC Pro now represents all the major audio mixing console lines:
Euphonix, Digidesign, Solid State Logic and Neve, and has added several other
key manufacturers’ product lines to its offerings in 2006, with more to come —— GC Pro continues to hire knowledgeable account managers across the country
while customers can access and evaluate all types of equipment in any of
GC Pro’s newly created dedicated listening environments —121st AES CONVENTION, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, October 6, 2006 — GC Pro, the outside sales division of Guitar Center, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTRC) that focuses on the needs of professional users, is celebrating its fifth anniversary at this 121st AES show in San Francisco, and all indications are for the company to continue its ongoing growth rate into 2007. The range of positive indicators include the significant expansion of its sales force; the establishment, over the last 12 months, of dedicated listening environments at 9 key locations within Guitar Center’s stores nationwide including Chicago, Hollywood, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, New York City, Seattle and Sherman Oaks; the addition of key new product lines including Chandler Limited, ADAM Professional Audio, Genelec Active Monitors along with Soundelux and Royer microphones; and the reinforcement of GC Pro’s status as the premier dealer authorized to sell consoles from all four major manufacturers — Euphonix, Digidesign, Solid State Logic and Neve. Individually, each of these achievements warrants acclaim and explains GC Pro’s increasing market dominance. Together, they underscore the fact that GC Pro has taken a multi-pronged strategic approach to a complex market, and that strategy is proving to be a well-thought-out winner.
No other pro audio dealer can call upon the vast spectrum of product lines it has available to its customers as well as the unprecedented level of personnel resources GC Pro offers: in the last year, GC Pro has increased the number of its Account Managers to 21. “This is all about customer service, pure and simple,” comments Tom Menrath, Director, GC Pro. “All of these moves — broadening the product base, ensuring top-flight personnel to guide customers, providing dedicated listening environments around the country in which end users can evaluate new gear — are intended to make the experience of buying at GC Pro something that benefits the customer in every way possible.”
This strategy is paying dividends, evident in the comments it elicits from GC Pro clients:
• Rob Pfeiffer and Jeff Pfeiffer, Emmy® Award-nominated brothers who have created music for the cinematic trailers and television spot marketing campaigns for films including Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, The Da Vinci Code and the latest James Bond film Casino Royale, purchased four Digidesign® D-Command™ digital mixers through GC Pro. “Everything you need is there, and that means it’s a one-stop process,” Rob Pfeiffer says. “They keep track of our technology needs. Everything happens quickly with GC Pro — just like it does in Hollywood.”
• Steven “Lenky” Marsden, producer/remixer for hit recording artists including Christina Aguilera, Sean Paul, Baha Men, The Isley Brothers and Smash Mouth, purchased a Solid State Logic AWS 900+ Analogue Workstation System that took his studio to the next level of sophistication. “Anywhere in the process, I was always able to call and get exactly the person I needed with precisely the information I needed when we needed it,” he says. “It’s a great feeling knowing that that kind of professionalism is always at work.”
• Paul Dinletir, whose music scores can heard on numerous film trailers, animated series, and reality-TV programs, purchased a Euphonix MC Media Application Controller through GC Pro and says, “It’s all about support, really. I get treated like a professional. If there’s a piece of gear I want, I send my account manager Robb Zenn an email and it’s there waiting for me to pick it up. If I need to know more about a piece of gear, Robb does the research and hooks me up with the manufacturer. Everything is a phone call away.”
“These kinds of testimonials tell us we’re on the right track with our strategy for growth,” says Rick Plushner, Director of Sales for GC Pro and a former executive at Euphonix and Solid State Logic who brings his experience to bear on developing GC Pro’s growth strategy. He continues, “Put the customer first, provide the widest possible range of products to choose from, add experienced, knowledgeable account managers and guide clients through the sometimes complicated pro audio environment. It’s a strategy that’s working very well.”
For more information on GC Pro, please visit www.gcpro.com or call 800-935-MYGC to reach the nearest GC Pro account manager.
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About GC Pro/Guitar Center
GC Pro is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.comGuitar Center is the leading United States retailer of guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments, keyboards and pro-audio and recording equipment. Our retail store subsidiary presently operates more than 190 Guitar Center stores across the United States. In addition, our Music & Arts division operates more than 90 stores specializing in band instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and students. We are also the largest direct response retailer of musical instruments in the United States through our wholly owned subsidiary, Musician’s Friend, Inc., and its catalog and web site, www.musiciansfriend.com. More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the Company’s web site at www.guitarcenter.com.
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