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Hawaii State Rep Gregg Takayama, left, and Honolulu City Councilman Brandon Elefante, right, present Guitar Center CEO Ron Japinga, 2nd from left, and Wayne Cowell, EVP of store operations at Guitar Center, city proclamations congratulating the company during the grand opening of the Pearl City Guitar Center, Friday, May 10, 2019, in Pearl City, Hawaii. Photo credit: Marco Garcia/AP Images for Guitar Center.
A blessing ceremony takes place during the grand opening of the Pearl City Guitar Center, Friday, May 10, 2019, in Pearl City, Hawaii. Photo credit: Marco Garcia/AP Images for Guitar Center.
The dedicated display wall of ukuleles featuring Kanile'a Ukuleles at the new Guitar Center, Friday, May 10, 2019 in Pearl City, Hawaii. Photo credit: Marco Garcia/AP Images for Guitar Center.

Hawaiian musician Kawika Kahiapo performs during the grand opening of the Pearl City Guitar Center, Friday, May 10, 2019 in Pearl City, Hawaii. Photo credit: Marco Garcia/AP Images for Guitar Center.


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Guitar Center Opens Landmark Store in Pearl City, Hawaii

Opening of new location – Guitar Center’s first retail store outside of the continental
U.S.– exemplifies company’s ongoing plans for growth and long-term expansion

Westlake Village, CA (May 13, 2019) – Guitar Center, the world’s largest musical instrument retailer, celebrates the opening of its newest retail location – a 19,000-square-foot facility in Pearl City, Hawaii (1000 Kamehameha Hwy. Pearl City, HI 96782). The store marks a major milestone for Guitar Center as its first store opening outside of the 48 contiguous U.S. states and its third of six planned openings for 2019. Guitar Center Pearl City offers an expansive set of services and gear to serve the music needs of the community.

The grand opening took place on Friday, May 10, 2019, kicking off with a special gala celebration that lasted all weekend, including special in-store offerings. Prominent Guitar Center executives were in attendance, including CEO Ron Japinga and EVP of Store Operations Wayne Cowell. Weekend festivities included live music by award-winning local talent, exclusive giveaways, specials on lessons and rentals, and much more.

“The opening of our first store outside of the continental U.S. is a landmark moment for Guitar Center and reaffirms our company’s ongoing strategy for long-term growth and expansion,” stated Guitar Center’s Ron Japinga. “Today’s musicians  are looking for accessibility to a large number of brands and services, and the new store reflects the future of retail experiences by offering a completely immersive experience for the music community in Pearl City and beyond.”

The opening celebration began with Councilmember Brandon Elefante, State Representative Gregg Takayama and Senator Brenne Harimoto presenting Japinga, Cowell and Guitar Center Pearl City Store Manager Tim Ball with honorary certificates, followed by a presentation by the husband-wife team behind Kanile’a Ukuleles. Acclaimed musician and ordained minister Kahu Kawika Kahiapo then conducted an official “blessing” ceremony. The evening then featured live entertainment from award-winning local musicians such as Anuhea and Kawika Kahiapo, as well as GRAMMY®-nominated Polynesian musician Josh Tatofi. Additionally, the Pearl City High School Band Ensemble performed and was presented with a grant of wind instruments including flutes, trumpets, trombones and saxophones, donated by the Guitar Center Music Foundation.

Guitar Center Pearl City is a destination music store featuring showrooms filled with guitars, drums, keys, live sound, DJ and recording. The store includes a wide array of gear to help musicians find their sound – wherever they are on their musical journey. In addition to carrying the latest products, the new store also features a hands-on electronic music experience, rentals, repairs and a contemporary lessons academy that is well-suited for today’s musician. Additionally, Guitar Center is the first music retailer to recycle instrument strings in Hawaii.

Guitar Center Pearl City includes features only found locally such as:

  1. A 43-ft wall dedicated to Taylor brand acoustics and ukuleles that showcases local Hawaiian talent playing the ukuleles, such as Kapena, Pomaika’i, Keauhou and Kolohe Kai, to name a few.
  2. A 16-ft wall dedicated exclusively to ukuleles – featuring Kanile’a Ukuleles and a vast assortment of up to 100 models.
  3. A beautiful Koa Tonewood display dedicated to the rich Hawaiian heritage of the iconic koa tree – which provides a uniquely appealing tonewood for musical instruments, such as guitars and ukuleles. (To help replenish the native Hawaiian forests, Guitar Center is proud to partner with REFOREST HAWAI`I to plant more than 200 koa trees in the sacred Kona forest.)

Pearl City shoppers are also able to enjoy Guitar Center’s multi-channel “endless aisle,” which gives customers the ability to combine in-store, online and phone options to purchase music equipment from anywhere.

Guitar Center Pearl City store and studio hours:
Monday – Friday                     10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Saturday                                 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Sunday                                    11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Photo file 1: PearlCity_RonJapinga_and_Group.JPG
Photo caption 1: Hawaii State Rep Gregg Takayama, left, and Honolulu City Councilman Brandon Elefante, right, present Guitar Center CEO Ron Japinga, 2nd from left, and Wayne Cowell, EVP of store operations at Guitar Center, city proclamations congratulating the company during the grand opening of the Pearl City Guitar Center, Friday, May 10, 2019, in Pearl City, Hawaii. Photo credit: Marco Garcia/AP Images for Guitar Center.

Photo file 2: PearlCity_BlessingCeremony.JPG
Photo caption 2: A blessing ceremony takes place during the grand opening of the Pearl City Guitar Center, Friday, May 10, 2019, in Pearl City, Hawaii. Photo credit: Marco Garcia/AP Images for Guitar Center.

Photo file 3: PearlCity_KanileaWall.JPG
Photo caption 3: The dedicated display wall of ukuleles featuring Kanile'a Ukuleles at the new Guitar Center, Friday, May 10, 2019 in Pearl City, Hawaii. Photo credit: Marco Garcia/AP Images for Guitar Center.

Photo file 4: PearlCity_KawikaKahiapo.JPG
Photo caption 4: Hawaiian musician Kawika Kahiapo performs during the grand opening of the Pearl City Guitar Center, Friday, May 10, 2019 in Pearl City, Hawaii. Photo credit: Marco Garcia/AP Images for Guitar Center.

About Guitar Center:
Guitar Center is a leading retailer of musical instruments, lessons, repairs and rentals in the U.S. With nearly 300 stores across the U.S. and one of the top direct sales websites in the industry, Guitar Center has helped people make music for more than 50 years. Guitar Center also provides customers with various musician-based services, including Guitar Center Lessons, where musicians of all ages and skill levels can learn to play a variety of instruments in many music genres; GC Repairs, an on-site maintenance and repairs service; and GC Rentals, a program offering easy rentals of instruments and other sound reinforcement gear. Additionally, Guitar Center’s sister brands include Music & Arts, which operates more than 200 stores specializing in band & orchestral instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and students, and Musician’s Friend, a leading direct marketer of musical instruments in the United States. For more information about Guitar Center, please visit www.guitarcenter.com.  

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Clyne Media | 615.662.1616 | pr@clynemedia.com   
Guitar Center | 818.735.8800 | media@guitarcenter.com 
Edelman | 323.761.6541 | GuitarCenter@edelman.com


 

















 

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