Guitar maker Fender opens flagship store in Tokyo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Japanese guitarist and songwriter Erino Yumiki, above, who owns about a dozen Fender guitars, gave an interview during a preview event.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
American guitar manufacturer Fender opened a glitzy three-story flagship store June 30, its first, in Tokyo’s Harajuku district. The store is designed as a museum of sorts for Fender aficionados.
TOKYO >> Fender, the guitar of choice for some of the world’s biggest stars, from Jimi Hendrix to Eric Clapton, opened what it calls its “first flagship store” in its 77-year history.
The American guitar manufacturer has chosen for its location Tokyo’s Harajuku, a hot spot for Japanese youth who love animation, outlandish fashion and, of course, American music. The store opened June 30.
Asia-Pacific is on track to become the biggest music market in the world by 2030, and more stores are planned for the region, Fender said. The company’s revenue in Japan has recorded double-digit percentage growth each year since 2015.
“I’ve played various brands, but what I like about the Fender is its power to help you play at more than 100% of your ability, letting you become aware of your potential and take up new challenges,” said Erino Yumiki, a guitarist and songwriter who owns about a dozen Fender guitars.
The company said social restrictions during the pandemic set off a guitar boom. Some 30 million people picked up an electric or acoustic guitar for the first time during those years, said Andy Mooney, chief executive of Fender Musical Instruments Corp. (Servco Pacific is the majority owner of Fender.)
The company’s revenue during the COVID-19 years ballooned from $500 million to nearly $1 billion.
Although Tokyo already has many guitar shops, the store is designed as a kind of museum for Fender lovers.
The three-story store is filled with Fender guitars, basses and amplifiers, including some exclusive products. The basement has a concert space and coffee shop. There’s even a clothing department, “F is for Fender.”
On the top floor is a shop dedicated to custom-made guitars, where “master builders” from the U.S. will make guitars to order.
“The aging population has the time and the money to really get these custom-made instruments they’ve always wanted to buy for most of their lives but couldn’t afford when they were younger,” said Mooney, noting the potential appeal to the whole spectrum of the Japanese population.
Yumiki, Miyavi — who acted in Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken” — and about a dozen other Japanese guitar heroes took the stage June 29 during a preview, strumming together to celebrate the store’s opening.
Today, the popularity of the guitar also is fueled by digital content, such as on TikTok, drawing in amateurs, and Fender also is targeting the tens of millions of tourists expected to flock to Japan each year.
“We want people to come in here, and we want them to fall in love with the idea of playing music,” said Edward Cole, Fender president for Asia-Pacific.
