Guitar Center goes multi-channel with Musician's Friend acquisition

LOS ANGELES - Guitar Center turned up the volume in 1999. When it acquired the Oregonbased Musician's Friend last year, Guitar Center combined the largest bricks-and-mortar musical instrument chain with one of the largest catalog and Internet retailers of musical instruments.

At Guitar Center's annual meeting on May 2, Marty Albertson, Guitar Center's president and co-ceo, said that 1999 was a pivotal year for the company. "We fulfilled several of our goals this year," Albertson said.

Guitar Center's acquisition of Musician's Friend instantly turned the company into a multi-channel retailer with a viable clicks-andmortar retail strategy.

Based in the Los Angeles suburb...