JULY 22 I BEST BUY I OPENING I BY ZACH PHILLIPS
Best Buy Rolls Out Two Chicago-Area Music Stores

At 12:35 p.m. on July 19, blues maestro Buddy Guy sang “Sweet Home Chicago” before a roaring crowd in Downers Grove, Ill. — not far outside of the Windy City itself. But the occasion wasn’t a mid-day music festival. It was the opening of Best Buy’s new Downers Grove musical instrument store. (Click here to take a walk-through of the new store.)

As part of the electronics retail giant’s latest initiative to add music gear at certain locations, the company opened the roughly 2,600-square-foot mini-outlet inside the existing Downers Grove retail center. The music store features a range of electric guitars and basses, acoustic guitars, keyboards, drums, audio and recording equipment, DJ gear, and, not surprisingly, low prices. A similar Best Buy music store also opened down the road in Aurora, Ill., on the same day.

Including these new outlets, Best Buy has now rolled out roughly 10 music stores across the country, according to Ryan Fergus, Best Buy’s Downers Grove musical instrument supervisor. The two Chicago-area music outlets come in the wake of Best Buy’s announcement on July 9 that it would expand its music instrument retail presence nationwide.

“We’re targeting the whole spectrum, from the Hannah Montana acoustic we’ve got in the acoustic room to the $3,000 Fender [electric guitar],” added Zach Wetta, a Downers Grove Best Buy sales consultant who also handles public relations. “We aren’t going to aim just at the high-class guitar guys that come in here and want to jam. We want to aim at the kids who want to learn.”

MUSIC LESSONS & SERVICES
That aim manifested in the single music lesson studio tucked into the music store’s corner. A 30-minute lesson costs $19.99, and a package of four 30-minute lessons runs $69.99. Customers can also opt for a package of four group lessons for $39.99. And when someone purchase certain select guitars, the customer gets the four-group-lesson package for free.

“We have Fender pros on-site who will be training, along with our employees,” Wetta said. “The idea is you come into our department, you love music, but you haven’t gotten around to learning it yet. Now we have the product to get you started and the lessons and knowledge to move you forward.”

The store will also offer certain guitar-related services, which were advertised at the register. These services and their respective prices are: restring, $4.99; custom restring, $14.99; minor setup, $19.99; full setup, $39.99; detailing, $19.99; minor electronics, $19.99; and major electronics, $49.99.

From left: Best Buy’s Zach Wetta, Ryan Fergus, Lynn Hankins and Scott Azara

SELECTION
Despite a smattering of high-end guitar and drum product, the majority of the store’s instrument selection hovered in the mid- to entry-level range. A special-order kiosk alongside the register also lets customers find and purchase gear that’s not stocked in-store.

“Due to our size restrictions, we can’t carry every Fender, every Gibson,” Fergus said of the kiosk. “So it’s basically a way to get specific models and colors we might not carry in the store.”

THE GRAND OPENING
A capacity crowd filled the back of the Best Buy location to witness Buddy Guy’s half-hour set with his full band. Afterwards, Guy signed autographs. For $599.99, Best Buy was selling a Buddy Guy Fender Stratocaster, which Guy autographed. In between the festivities, anywhere from 15–30 shoppers browsed through the music store’s wares.

One of those shoppers was a young man, around 18 years old. He stared at the wall of electric guitars, turned to his friend and said, “Best Buy is officially my favorite store.”

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Click here to take a walk through the Downers Grove, Ill., Best Buy music store