Musician’s Friend to expand fulfillment capability

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Business is so good at Musician’s Friend that parent Guitar Center Inc. is building its direct marketing arm a new fulfillment center.

The new 702,000-square-foot facility will be located in Kansas City, Mo., and ready for occupation in January 2007. The new distribution facility will replace Musician`s Friend`s current 250,000-square-foot facility in Kansas City. "As Musician`s Friend continues to grow, we need to ensure our fulfillment capabilities support that growth," says Musician`s Friend CEO Robert Eastman. "The new, larger facility being built in Kansas City will accommodate our continuing expansion.”

The facility also will expand Musician’s Friend’s fulfillment workforce from about 350 employees to almost 500 and stock an inventory of almost 40,000 products Online sales at Musician’s Friend, No. 47 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites, rose 25.3% last year to $211.9 million while total sales, including catalogs, rose 17.3% to $365.1 million.