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Guitar Center Overview

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Guitar Center Overview

Guitar Center is an American music retailer chain. It is the largest company of its kind in the United States, with 269 locations. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California.
The staff at Guitar Center come from unusually diverse demographic backgrounds. The company is 18.9% female and 38.1% ethnic minorities. Even though it has great demographic diversity, Guitar Center notably lacks in political diversity. It has an unusually high proportion of employees who are members of the Democratic Party, at 90.0%. Despite having coworkers who agree with each other about politics, employees at Guitar Center tend to have relatively short tenures. Staff members usually stay with the company for 2.3 years. The average employee at Guitar Center makes $47,500 per year, which is quite competitive for its location and industry. In comparison, some of its highest paying competitors, like Helzberg Diamonds, RadioShack, and Lacrosse Unlimited, pay $43,649, $42,848, and $42,772, respectively.
Based in California, Guitar Center is a key player in the retail industry with 8,963 employees and an annual revenue of $2.1B.

The Organization’s Mission

Guitar Center's mission is to enable musicians worldwide to experience the joy that comes from playing an instrument, the greatest feeling on earth.

Industry

Retail

Revenue

$2.1B

Employees

8,963

Founded in

1964

Headquarters

Westlake Village, CA

Website

guitarcenter.com

Organization Type

Private

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The Team At Guitar Center

Key People
  • Michael Prince (Manager)
  • Ron Japinga (ceo)

What do people say about Guitar Center

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Guitar Center Rankings

Guitar Center is ranked #18 on the Best Retail Companies to Work For in California list. Zippia's Best Places to Work lists provide unbiased, data-based evaluations of companies. Rankings are based on government and proprietary data on salaries, company financial health, and employee diversity.

Read more about how we rank companies.

Guitar Center Salaries

How much does Guitar Center pay?
The national average salary for a Guitar Center employee in the United States is $47,500 per year. Employees in the top 10 percent can make over $81,000 per year, while employees at the bottom 10 percent earn less than $27,000 per year.
8.8
Salary Score
Categories
Retail Companies
High Paying Jobs
Lead Operator, Department Manager
Want to know more?
Show Salaries
Average Employee Earnings
$47,500
$42,598
$36,198
$34,066
$30,579

Guitar Center Salaries By Job Title

The average employee at Guitar Center earns a yearly salary of $47,500 per year, but different jobs can earn drastically different salaries. Some of the job titles with high salaries at Guitar Center are lead operator, department manager, assistant manager, and guitar technician. A typical lead operator salary at Guitar Center is $100,094 per year. To get a better sense of the salaries at Guitar Center, other roles such as cashier and warehouse worker can be considered as well. For comparison, the title cashier at Guitar Center earns $22,601 per year.
Job Title
Title
Average Salary
Lead Operator
Salary Range94k - 105k$100k$100,094
Department Manager
Salary Range68k - 87k$77k$77,200
Assistant Manager
Salary Range67k - 80k$74k$73,772
Guitar Technician
Salary Range46k - 110k$72k$71,903
Operations Associate
Salary Range61k - 78k$70k$69,505
Music Instructor
Salary Range40k - 55k$48k$47,602
Sales Representative
Salary Range39k - 55k$47k$46,702
Guitar Instructor
Salary Range32k - 57k$43k$43,351
Operations Specialist
Salary Range33k - 39k$37k$36,520
Sales Associate
Salary Range34k - 37k$36k$35,544
$21k
$110k

Guitar Center Careers

On average, employees at Guitar Center stay with the company for 2.3 years. Employees most commonly join Guitar Center after leaving Best Buy. When they leave Guitar Center, they most frequently get their next job at Best Buy.

Average Length of Employment

Sam Ash Music
2.3 years
Guitar Center
2.3 years
Sweetwater Sound
2.2 years
Musician’s Friend
2.2 years

Top Employers Before Guitar Center

Best Buy
11.4 %
Walmart
10.7 %
McDonald's
6.5 %
Starbucks
6.2 %

Top Employers After Guitar Center

Best Buy
10.3 %
Apple
9.7 %
Walmart
7.6 %
Sam Ash Music
7.1 %

Guitar Center Employee Demographics

9.1
Diversity Score
We calculated the diversity score of companies by measuring multiple factors, including the ethnic background, gender identity, and language skills of their workforce.

Guitar Center Employees Education

Of the 8,963 employees at Guitar Center, 20.3% attended Full Sail University. Employees at Guitar Center most frequently majored in Music, and most employees’ highest level of education is a Bachelors.

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Guitar Center Employee Political Affiliation

Guitar Center employees are most likely to be members of the Democratic Party. The largest donation made to a political party by a Guitar Center employee was by Marty Albertson. Marty Albertson donated $7,800 to the Republican Party.

Employee Political Donations

NameJob TitlePartyDonation
Marty AlbertsonRetail
Marty Albertson
Retail
Retail
Republican Party
Republican Party
$7,800Republican Party
$7,800
JON FeinbergUnion Organizer
JON Feinberg
Union Organizer
Union Organizer
Democratic Party
Democratic Party
$2,700Democratic Party
$2,700
Kirit SarvaiyaDirector
Kirit Sarvaiya
Director
Director
Democratic Party
Democratic Party
$2,400Democratic Party
$2,400
James RobinsonManager
James Robinson
Manager
Manager
Democratic Party
Democratic Party
$1,017Democratic Party
$1,017
Jeremy BlouchOperations Manager
Jeremy Blouch
Operations Manager
Operations Manager
Democratic Party
Democratic Party
$813Democratic Party
$813
Justin KerscherSales Associate
Justin Kerscher
Sales Associate
Sales Associate
Democratic Party
Democratic Party
$589Democratic Party
$589
Aaron TriggRetail Sales Lead
Aaron Trigg
Retail Sales Lead
Retail Sales Lead
Democratic Party
Democratic Party
$572Democratic Party
$572
Christopher ElliottCopywriter
Christopher Elliott
Copywriter
Copywriter
Democratic Party
Democratic Party
$500Democratic Party
$500
Matthew PAZSales Manager
Matthew PAZ
Sales Manager
Sales Manager
Democratic Party
Democratic Party
$445Democratic Party
$445
Animashaun ArnoldManager
Animashaun Arnold
Manager
Manager
Democratic Party
Democratic Party
$342Democratic Party
$342
Show More

Guitar Center Employment Videos

Every Guitar Center Employee (by @mikefalzone)

Guitar Center Financial Performance

9.7
Performance Score
We calculated the performance score of companies by measuring multiple factors, including revenue, longevity, and stock market performance.

Revenue

> $1B

Founded in

1964

Organization type

Private

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Guitar Center Competitors

Competitors of Guitar Center include Helzberg Diamonds, RadioShack, and Lacrosse Unlimited. The average salaries at Helzberg Diamonds rank the highest, with their employees earning an average salary of $43,649 per year. The salaries at RadioShack average $42,848 per year, and the salaries at Lacrosse Unlimited come in at $42,772 per year.
Company
Average Salary

Helzberg Diamonds

Salary Range35k - 54k$44k$43,649
RadioShack
Salary Range32k - 57k$43k$42,848

Lacrosse Unlimited

Salary Range31k - 57k$43k$42,772
Von Maur
Salary Range31k - 58k$43k$42,598

Sam Ash Music

Salary Range31k - 57k$42k$42,413
Perry Ellis International
Salary Range30k - 59k$42k$42,245
Jared
Salary Range32k - 52k$41k$41,336
GNC
Salary Range30k - 53k$40k$40,346

Monograms Plus

Salary Range26k - 56k$39k$38,936

Tandy Leather Factory

Salary Range28k - 52k$39k$38,811
$22k
$59k

Frequently Asked Questions about Guitar Center

When was Guitar Center founded?

Guitar Center was founded in 1964.

How many Employees does Guitar Center have?

Guitar Center has 8,963 employees.

How much money does Guitar Center make?

Guitar Center generates $2.1B in revenue.

What industry is Guitar Center in?

Guitar Center is in the retail industry.

What is Guitar Center's mission?

Guitar Center's mission statement is "Guitar Center's mission is to enable musicians worldwide to experience the joy that comes from playing an instrument, the greatest feeling on earth."

What type of company is Guitar Center?

Guitar Center is a private company.

Who are Guitar Center's competitors?

Guitar Center competitors include Sam Ash Music, Sweetwater Sound, Musician’s Friend, Von Maur, Urban Outfitters, Rural King, Petco Holdings Inc, Jared, RadioShack, linders furniture, Alabama Outdoors, Ski World, Monograms Plus, Lacrosse Unlimited, Tandy Leather Factory, Belk, GNC, Perry Ellis International, Michael Kors, Helzberg Diamonds.

Who works at Guitar Center?

Michael Prince (Manager)

Ron Japinga (ceo)

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Updated December 31, 2020

Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Guitar Center, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Guitar Center. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Guitar Center. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Guitar Center and its employees or that of Zippia.

Guitar Center may also be known as or be related to Guitar Center Inc, Guitar Center Holdings, Inc., GUITAR CENT HLDGS INC, Guitar Center and Guitar Center, Inc.