Duo’s efforts lead to the creation of Guitar Empire, one of Malaysia’s largest musical instrument supply companies

Updated: Thursday August 29, 2013 MYT 8:54:20 AM

Duo’s efforts lead to the creation of one of the country’s largest musical instrument supply companies

BY JOY LEE
JOYLMY@THESTAR.COM.MY
PHOTOS BY LOW BOON TAT

Customised to the tee: Eizaz Azhar (left) and Ray Lee of Guitar Empire have their eyes set firmly on becoming one of the biggest suppliers of musical instruments in the country. Growing ambition: Guitar Empire currently takes up 17,000sq ft of space in Endah Parade, but Lee and Eizaz hope to eventually turn the whole building into a music hub. Bestsellers : Guitars are the best-selling instrument in the store. Guitar Empire sells about 600 to 700 guitars a month. A turning point: Guitar Empire got a boost when a client placed an order for 300 violins, opening a door for the company to meet manufacturers.

Sometimes an unexpected diversion can turn out to be not just an enjoyable journey, but a profitable one as well. Ray Lee and Eizaz Azhar can attest to that. Lee and Eizaz are founders and directors of Guitar Empire, one of the largest musical instrument suppliers in the country. The company also runs a studio and a music school. Ironically, both do not have much of a musical background. Thirty-six-year old Lee grew up playing the guitar on his own and had frequented functions with his brothers as a group of buskers. He remembers getting kicked out of those functions a lot. As an adult, he took up photography, but remained passionate about music. He later left his job as a photographer to pursue his passion and started a small music school called Mama Treble Clef Studio. Eizaz, on the other hand, only took up classical piano at the age of 18 upon his mother’s insistence. The 27-year-old was in the middle of a degree in electronic engineering when he met Lee at his music school. They became fast friends and eventually discussed the possibility of starting a music studio. Eizaz decided to drop his education, and in 2006, the duo pulled together RM4,000 to start a small rehearsal studio in Endah Parade, Sri Petaling. Lee maintained his music school as it was generating enough revenue to sustain their new project.“We needed another source of income as the studio was new and it was not really making much. But we were very passionate about the studio and we started having people coming in for jam sessions,” Lee said.

However, the music school grew its intake and music teachers were scarce. So Eizaz started learning to play more instruments so that he could help teach some classes. Mostly by teaching himself, Eizaz now plays 10 instruments proficiently.

Moving into retail

Although the rehearsal studio turned out to be a fun venture, the income from it was minimal at about RM3,000 to RM4,000 a month. Additionally, the duo had to work till the wee hours of morning on a daily basis as customers would turn up late at night to jam in their studio.

Realising that they couldn’t work from morning to morning in the long run, Eizaz decided to move into retail, which he noted made economic sense as existing students were already asking where they could purchase new instruments and repair old ones.

Lee and Eizaz pumped in more funds and started a retail arm, Guitar Empire, with capital of RM24,000 in a 900sq ft space a few lots from the studio.

“We had to be versatile. We may have drawn out a plan, but plans change. We were a small rehearsal studio, but we realised that we could grow bigger and have greater influence in the industry.

“And we started to see that there was a big market for musical instruments,” Eizaz said.

Guitar Empire started out retailing guitars as well as instruments that were not so common such as the mandolin and piccolo.

Lee explained that although the market for these uncommon instruments is small, it helps build the Guitar Empire brand as the store has become a reference point for unusual instruments.

Another selling point for Guitar Empire is that it caters to the low to mid-range customers, which makes up about 70% of its client base.

“There is a void in the music industry because people tend to think that it is an expensive hobby because you need to buy instruments and pay for regular classes. But we wanted to make it affordable, particularly the instruments,” said Lee.

Guitar Empire got a boost in 2009 when a client placed an order for 300 violins for an orchestra. Lee and Eizaz had to meet various manufacturers to ger the specifications right for the order.

And this opened the doors for them to deal directly with manufacturers, which enabled them to cut cost and control quality.

“It was really a door of opportunity and we started to import and export instruments on a larger scale as more orders came in. And we grew much bigger,” Eizaz said.

He soon found that customers were also increasingly asking for customised instruments and thanks to Guitar Empire’s working relationship with manufacturers, they are able to customise instruments to their own specifications.

Eizaz’ persistence in the retail segment has certainly proven profitable for the duo as sales of instruments make up the bulk of the group’s annual turnover of RM6.5mil.

On average, Guitar Empire sells about 600 to 700 guitars a month, its most popular instrument, followed by the ukulele, of which about 200 are sold a month.

A new tune

Guitar Empire recently ventured into providing sound-proofing for home theatre needs.

Lee believes this new business segment will also be a boon for the group as it is a growing market that is only in its infancy.

Guitar Empire currently occupies 17,000sq ft of space on the third floor of Endah Parade in Kuala Lumpur. But Lee and Eizaz hope to grow the outlet large enough to take up the whole floor.

“In the mid term, we are aiming to turn this whole third floor into a music and instrument hub. And in the long run, hopefully we will be able to fill the whole building,” Eizaz said.

Lee added that there is potential for the group to grow to such an extent as he points out that there is currently no specific hub for music needs.

“There are small outlets here and there, but we want Endah Parade to be like Low Yat Plaza, which is recognised as a go-to place for electronics and IT things,” Lee said.

The group is also involved with music-related community projects with government ministries, which has opened more doors for Guitar Empire’s growth plans.

“We are very grateful for the opportunities and we are happy with how we have grown. It is a growing industry and there is so much more to do,” Eizaz said.

To commemorate the country’s 56 years of independence, Guitar Empire has designed 500 limited edition guitars.

“Who knows, they will be collectors’ items one day,” Eizaz said with a smile.