Guitar Center acquired Audio Visual Design Group (AVDG), which will serve as a key element of Guitar Center’s Business Solutions Group and expansion into integrated solutions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to Guitar Center, AVDG has distinguished itself in the industry by offering system design and installation in both corporate and residential market sectors, providing it with an important channel to serve these markets as it continues its outreach into the world of business-to-business solutions. AVDG will operate as a dedicated arm of the Business Solutions Group, expanding the scope of personalized, account-based services offered by the division.
“The business-to-business channel has always been an important sector for our company, and now, with the changes in the marketplace, we’ve decided to apply additional resources to expand our presence to service clientele who are looking for system design and installation of audio, video and lighting solutions and beyond,” said Ron Japinga, President and CEO of Guitar Center. “With this in mind, we are excited to have AVDG join the Guitar Center family and will be looking for other opportunities to grow our brands in the future. This is a natural growth path for our company, because we are unique in being able to leverage our experience in these different product sectors to offer turnkey solutions to our clients.”
Founded in 1996, and with home base locations in both San Rafael, Calif., and San Jose, Calif., AVDG is a design-build firm specializing in audio-visual systems for commercial and residential spaces worldwide.
“We are excited to join the Guitar Center organization as part of the Business Solutions Group,” said Robert Scharffer, AVDG’s CEO. “We believe that AVDG offers all of our clients more than just AV integrated solutions; we have become their trusted advisor and business partner. Just as Guitar Center is not your typical musical instrument retailer, AVDG is not just another integrator, and as such we want to continue and grow what we have built. Guitar Center will give us access to additional financial and operational resources, offering new avenues of growth and new opportunities to better support our clients.”