Company history
Mark Begelman began Mars Music with the purchase of the five-store Ace Music store chain in south Florida. He had gone into one of the Ace Music locations to try a guitar amplifier, but a salesperson told him he couldn't turn up the volume, and that if he purchased it and didn't like it, he wouldn't be able to get a refund. Frustrated with his shopping experience and music stores' limited product selection, lack of clear pricing, and store personnel who wouldn't allow customers to try the merchandise, he used $10 million of his own funds to start Mars Music. The company slogan was "We love it when you touch the stuff" and the chain offered a 45-day return policy. A retail superstore concept, Mars Music had a wide selection of music instruments and pro audio equipment clearly priced on display for customers to try in large stores, each with practice rooms, a recording studio, and a performance stage, all with the slogan "We love when you touch the stuff." Mars Music stores included a "Learning Center" where instrument lessons for individuals and groups were taught, including the "Babies Make Music" early childhood music program and "Weekend Warriors" program designed for adults who want to play on the weekends. At one point, Mars Music was the largest provider of private music lessons in the US. Mars also introduced interactive online instrument lessons with pitch recognition technologies that were new at the time."Chain Of Music Superstores Opens First L.A. Outlets"Partnerships and sponsorships
In January 2000, Mars Music entered into an agreement withExpansion and bankruptcy
In 2000, Mars expected to gross $300 million in sales and was planning for a future initial public offering. In April of that year, Mars launched their e-commerce website, marsmusic.com. But as expansion costs exceeded shrinkingNotes and references
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