R Retail Excellence Awards
GUITAR CENTER Westlake Village, California
Founded: 1959 Principal: Gabe Dalporto Locations: 300-plus Employees: 12,000
ing forward as the suppliers played a role in the recent evolution of the company. “I spent my first few weeks on the job out in the field talking with customers, with store associates and with vendors asking them three questions: what we are great at, what needs improvement and what should we do totally differently,” Dalporto said. “The output was consis- tent and formed the basis of our strategy to bring Guitar Center back to greatness. So, it’s not surprising that our strategies and actions are resonating with our sup- pliers — they helped create them.” ELEVATING INVENTORY One of the key changes Dalporto has been focused in on is elevating GC’s inventory to harken back to the store’s early days when Guitar Center was nirvana for pro- fessional musicians. “All of our 300-plus stores now have a new, more premium assortment of acous- tic and electric guitars,” Dalporto said. “It’s the first time in years that we have a strong assortment of drool-worthy pre- mium guitars along with a better assort- ment of mid-tier guitars to compliment a smaller and more curated entry-level set. Customer feedback has been outstanding, and our sales are validating our new strat- egy: We’re expanding our guitar business at a time when it appears to be contracting in other retailers.” Looking ahead to 2025, Dalporto said continued change is on the horizon for Guitar Center. “We’re doing a ton of work internally to transform the customer experience,” Dalporto said. “When customers visit Guitar Center this holiday, they will for sure see positive change. When they visit next holiday, my hope is they get the best experience of any music store anywhere from any era. And that will be a great starting point for the next phase of our vision.” MI
CHANGE IN MOTION A little over a year into Gabe Dalporto’s tenure as the new Guitar Center CEO, the MI giant is making major changes to its product selection, staffing and digital presence — and suppliers are noticing. — By Katie Kailus Guitar Center’s Gabe Dalporto
E arlier this year, Guitar Center and its new CEO, Gabe Dalporto, graced the cover of our May issue where Dalpor- to discussed the transformative plans in store for the future of the MI chain. These changes included improving staff training and support, enhancing its digital presence and increasing its stock of high-end instru- ments across its 300-some stores. While Dalporto has only been in his CEO role for a little over a year, our Excel-
lence-voting suppliers are already feeling a change in the air with one voter saying, “They made a big splash with the changes they’re implementing this year,” and an- other noting, “The stores have been get- ting back to what made them successful in the ’80s and ’90s by hiring qualified sales people and stocking product that the pros are looking for.” Dalporto said it’s not surprising to hear suppliers praise the steps GC has been tak-
46 I MUSIC INC. I DECEMBER 2024
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