About Guitar Center
Guitar Center is a Retail company based in Westlake Village (United States) founded in 1959, and was acquired by Ares Management in April 2014. Musical instruments, equipment, and accessories are retailed by Guitar Center. Guitar Center has completed 2 acquisitions, including AVDG and Tvti. Its website guitarcenter.com draws about 9.6 million monthly visits. Guitar Center offers products and services including Musical Instruments and Music Lessons. Its focus areas include Consumer Goods, Retail Chains and Musical Instruments. Its legal entity is Guitar Center, Inc.
Company details
Guitar Center was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Westlake Village, United States. Operations are centered in the retail sector for musical instruments, equipment, and accessories. A selection of guitars, basses, drums, keyboards, amplifiers, effects pedals, recording gear, and related items is maintained, including both new and used products from various brands. Repair services, rentals, and instructional lessons are offered. Financing is provided for eligible purchases.
- Headquarters Westlake Village, United States
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsRetail
- Website category Computers Electronics and Technology · Consumer Electronics
- Website guitarcenter.com
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook Instagram YouTube
- Acquired by Ares Management (Apr 2014)
- Legal Name Guitar Center, Inc
- InvestorsAres Management
& 4 more
- Investments & AcquisitionsAVDG
& 1 more
- Acquired by
Products & Services of Guitar Center
Guitar Center offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Musical Instruments and Music Lessons.
Selling of guitars, drums, and keyboards is conducted to meet the needs of musicians
Provision of educational sessions and repairs is offered to enhance musical skills
Apps and channels of Guitar Center
its YouTube channel Guitar Center has 1.19M subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from Guitar Center
The most watched videos on Guitar Center's YouTube channel, Guitar Center (1.19M subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on Guitar Center.
Funding Insights of Guitar Center
- Total Rounds 4
- Investors Count 3
All 4 funding rounds of Guitar Center with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2020 | Post-IPO | – | – | ||
| May 2020 | $356.62M | Debt – Conventional | – | – | – |
| Jun 1996 | Private Equity Round | – | – | ||
| Jun 1995 | Private Equity Round | – | – |
5 investors in total: 5 institutional.
Investors in Guitar Center
Guitar Center has secured backing from 5 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Ares Management, Bain Capital Private Equity and Brigade Capital Management.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PE firm investing in the US | nep.com | Minneapolis, United States | ||
Buyouts are targeted by PWP Growth Equity in private equity. | pwpgrowthequity.com | |||
Private investment firm managing assets and expanding into equity, credit, and real estate services. | 1984 | baincapitalprivateequity.com | London, United Kingdom | |
Alternative asset investment management firm | 1997 | aresmgmt.com | Los Angeles, United States | |
Global firm managing credit investments with multi-strategy approaches for institutional investors. | 2006 | brigadecapital.com | New York, United States |
Investor details for Guitar Center
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Guitar Center
293 people are tracked at Guitar Center (72 in leadership, 221 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Matthew Rogers | Director, SEO | Leadership |
Melissa Fajardo Solis | Head Of Business Systems Administration Analysis And Management | Leadership |
Katie Robinson | Senior Director, Brand Marketing | Leadership |
Jeff Gottlieb | President, Music & Arts | Leadership |
Roberto Hernandez | Retail General Manager | Leadership |
Todd Lyche | SVP & Chief Data Officer | Leadership |
Sameer Nandan Bhavanibhatla | Director Of Data And Analytics Engineering | Leadership |
Daniel Cunningham | Director, Performance Media | Leadership |
Robin de Leonardis | Vice President Retail Human Resources | Leadership |
Sophia Lo | VP Of Shared Services Applications | Leadership |
Karen Holland | Sr. Director Of Visual Merchandising | Leadership |
Anthony Richardson | Director Of Merchandising | Leadership |
Jack Hetherington | Director - Used And Vintage | Leadership |
David Yee | Director Technology Services | Leadership |
Mike Schultheis | EVP & Chief Stores Officer | Leadership |
Jerry Brandehoff | EVP & Chief Merchandising Officer | Leadership |
Gabe Dalporto | CEO | Leadership |
Tim Martin | Chief Financial Officer | Leadership |
Chris Cantwell | Vice President, Fp&a | Real Estate | Leadership |
Loredana Santelli | Director Of Financial Planning And Analysis | Leadership |
273 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Guitar Center
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
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Investments & Acquisitions by Guitar Center
Guitar Center has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 2 companies. Notable acquisitions include AVDG and Tvti.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tvti is operated as a company in the United States. | tvti.com | United States | 0 | Jan 2019 | •••• | |
Real estate and security surveillance systems are provided by AVDG. | avdg.com | San Jose, United States | 1996 | Dec 2017 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for Guitar Center
Acquired stakes, deal sources and the complete acquisition history require an active premium plan.
- Acquired stakes
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- Complete history
- Exports
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Guitar Center
8 dated milestones of Guitar Center across 61 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Guitar Center is founded.
- Funding First funding round.
- IPO Lists on the stock exchange (IPO).
- Exit Acquired by Bain Capital Private Equity.
- Exit Acquired by Ares Management.
- Acquisition Acquires AVDG.
- Acquisition Acquires Tvti.
- Funding Latest funding round, Post-IPO,.
Web traffic of Guitar Center
The website of Guitar Center (guitarcenter.com) receives about 9.6M visits a month and ranks #4,278 among all websites worldwide, #639 in Consumer Electronics.
- Monthly visits9.6M
▼ 17.8% vs previous month
- Unique visitors3.8M
per month
- Global rank#4,278
among all websites
- Category rank#639
Computers Electronics and Technology · Consumer Electronics
- Bounce rate45%
- Pages per visit4.5
- Average visit4 min 05 sec
- DevicesDesktop 37% · Mobile 63%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Guitar Center. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sweetwater.com | 100% | 14M | #3,371 | View details | |
musiciansfriend.com | musiciansfriend.com | 98% | #24,323 | – | |
bhphotovideo.com | bhphotovideo.com | 96% | #3,349 | – | |
| fender.com | 85% | 4.8M | #13,430 | View details | |
zzounds.com | zzounds.com | 81% | #25,500 | – | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Guitar Center
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Retail Stores & Chains
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Guitar Center (Retail Stores & Chains) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Home improvement products and services are retailed by Lowe's. | 1946 | Mooresville, North Carolina, United States | USD 86.29 B | 270,000 | ||
Office supplies and business products are distributed online to companies. | 1986 | Framingham, Massachusetts, United States | 13,447 | |||
Pet foods, products, and care services are provided by PetSmart. | 1987 | Phoenix, Arizona, United States | USD 23.3 M |
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Related news about Guitar Center
Complete news archive for Guitar Center
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Frequently Asked Questions about Guitar Center
Guitar Center was founded in 1959 and raised its 1st funding round 36 years after it was founded.
Guitar Center is headquartered in Westlake Village, United States. It is registered at Westlake Village, California, United States.
Guitar Center was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Westlake Village, United States. Operations are centered in the retail sector for musical instruments, equipment, and accessories. A selection of guitars, basses, drums, keyboards, amplifiers, effects pedals, recording gear, and related items is maintained, including both new and used products from various brands. Repair services, rentals, and instructional lessons are offered. Financing is provided for eligible purchases.
Guitar Center offers Musical Instruments and Music Lessons.
Guitar Center has 5 investors. Key investors include Ares Management, Bain Capital Private Equity, Brigade Capital Management, Norwest Equity Partners, and PWP Growth Equity.
Guitar Center operates through Guitar Center, Inc.
Yes. Guitar Center was acquired by Ares Management in April 2014.
The website of Guitar Center receives about 9.6 million visits a month and ranks #4,278 among all websites worldwide.