Guitar Center, the Nation's Largest Instrument Retailer, Opens Its 224th Store with New Location in New York Metro Area

Westlake Village, CA (December 20, 2011) – On December 15, 2011, Guitar Center opened its newest retail location, Guitar Center Ridge Hill, at 214 Market Street, Yonkers, New York. The store’s opening caps off a strong year of growth for the nation’s largest instrument retailer, as the Yonkers location is its 10th new store  opened this year and its 224th store overall. The Ridge Hill store brings vast product selection, along with the unparalleled knowledge and experience of its dedicated  staff, to the Yonkers area. To celebrate the opening, Guitar Center hosted a Grand Opening Weekend featuring exclusive savings, gear giveaways and free events tailored to local musicians.

Gene Joly, Guitar Center Executive VP of Stores, stated, “The New York City Metro area is one of the most important music markets we serve. With the addition of  our Yonkers location, musicians from Westchester County and beyond will now have easier access to Guitar Center’s vast assortment of new and used gear at great prices. Like all previous locations we’ve opened in 2011, GC Ridge Hill reflects a number of new design and merchandising principles including a more open layout that makes categories such as live sound, recording and keyboards more accessible to our customers.”

GC’s Ridge Hill location features well-equipped showrooms with the latest products for the musician, from guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments and keyboards to live sound, DJ, lighting and recording equipment. In addition to special Grand Opening Weekend programming, early shoppers also enjoyed exclusive savings throughout opening weekend with deals that included guitar and drum essentials at significant discounts.

Part of the showroom of the new Guitar Center Ridge Hill store in Yonkers, New York.

In addition to special programs at the store, each year Guitar Center offers nationwide programs designed to spearhead creativity and highlight the nation’s most promising undiscovered talent. Yonkers area residents will now be able to participate in these ongoing national events from their hometown:

• Your Next Record gives artists a chance to record with some of the top recording artists in the country, including legendary guitarist Slash, country superstar Keith Urban, and rock icon Travis Barker.
• Guitar Center On-Stage gives undiscovered bands the opportunity to compete against their peers for a chance to share a stage with their idols. The most recent On-Stage competition featured Jane’s Addiction, for more info go to http://gc.guitarcenter.com/onstage/.
• Guitar Center’s Drum-Off and King of the Blues are national competitions that highlight local talent from across the country, giving them widespread exposure and the chance to win incredible prize packages.

Guitar Center Ridge Hill is open seven days a week. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

About Guitar Center

Guitar Center is the world’s largest retailer of guitars, amplifiers, drums, keyboards, recording, live sound, DJ and lighting equipment. Our retail store subsidiary presently operates 224 Guitar Center stores across the U.S. 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. In addition, our Music & Arts division operates more than 100 stores specializing in band instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and students. More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the company's Website at www.guitarcenter.com