customer trust. “We didn’t want a big move from such a well-loved and iconic space to be a nega- tive,” he said. “You want customers to feel that it’s a home away from home, and that when they come in, they’ll still see Taylor up front or Justin on the sales floor or Angela in accounts. It’s just about familiarity. So, we were very keen with the relocation to not try and reinvent the wheel but to lean into what made Carter Vintage Guitars so successful in the past.” As a result, Montague said the best compliments regarding the new location from customers has been that it looks just like the old store. “That’s, without a doubt, the great- est compliment,” Montague, said. “When you’re building out something new, it’s easy to want to try something different and that can become ostentatious and just lose the vibe and the feel very easily. So, with the building itself, because it’s such an old building, you want it to feel like the old retail operation used to feel. Therefore, the greatest compliment we’ve received is — whether it’s from Gibson CEO Cesar [Gueikian] or whether it’s a customer coming for the 100th time — has been, ‘Wow. It looks and feels just like the old store.’” Besides the increase in space, which allows the retailer to showcase some 2,000 guitars, the new location has added a few extra flourishes, including a completely soundproofed mini studio, a digital demo studio and a new media space dubbed Carter Studios. “With the new mini studio, people can really immerse themselves in the instru- ment,” Montague said. “In one of the demo suites, we have a dedicated digital demo suite. So, if you’re in California and you’re in love with one of the instruments, but you’re just nervous and you want to find out a bit more about it, what our guys can do is they can take that instrument, go into the digital demo suite, load up the iPad and they can create a video for you and talk you through every aspect of the neck, the tonewoods and the frets. Then, they can play the instrument for you and send that dedicated demo. So, you can always have that in-store experience, but from home.” THE FUTURE OF CARTER VINTAGE When asked where he hopes to see the Carter Vintage brand go now that it has settled into its new space, Montague said he just wants to continue to serve as a “cus-
todian to the incredible brand that Walter and Christie built over the last 10-12 years.” “We want to continuously represent the brand and ensure that the customers get the best experience, whether they’re selling an instrument or buying an instru- ment,” Montague said. “We want to make sure they have an impeccable customer journey on both the buy and the sell side. We had [the White Stripe’s] Jack White in the store the other day, and we want every customer to know they can just walk in
freely and play instruments. Our ethos is always, ‘Nashville’s friendliest guitar store.’ This is something that [founder] Christie Carter was always very proud of, and we’re very honored to continue that legacy for both of the Carters and want customers to always feel that and feel like they can walk in and take a $50,000 instrument off the wall or take off a $100 instrument off the wall and have the same experience. Like I said, we’re absolutely customer-obsessed.” MI
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