Congratulations to Our Final Bonus Prize Drawing Winners!

 

We hope you've had fun participating in Kawai America's Golden Anniversary Japan Holiday Contest.  All the trip winners have been announced.  So, our last step is to announce the winners of our final bonus drawing in which six people will each win a $500 bonus prize!  Congratulations to the following winners:

SCOTT ANDERSON

BOZKURT ERKMEN

STU HARRISON

TOM HELMER, JR.

EVIE OFFORD

JASON SIPE

 

In case you're wondering, several of our Japan trip winners were unable to participate due to scheduling issues.  When their trips were assigned to others, their names were "thrown back into the hat" for our final drawing. 

 

Thanks again to all who participated in our trip contest!  If you didn't qualify for a trip this time around, we hope you'll join us again when we launch a similar contest in the future.  In the meantime, thanks for selling Kawai and have a great spring!





ANNOUNCING THE JAPAN HOLIDAY TRIP WINNERS!

 

Thanks to everyone who participated in Kawai America's Golden Anniversary Japan Holiday Contest!  And congratulations to our trip winners:

SALESPERSON WINNERS

Large Market

(Alphabetical Order)

Scott Anderson (Houston, TX)

Albert Chai (Calgary, Alberta)

Bozkurt Erkmen (San Jose, CA)

Leonard Hannah (Raleigh, NC)

Daniel Merriam (Oakville, Ontario)

Evie Offord (Houston, TX)

Lotof Shahtout (Portland, OR)

Jason Sipe (Phoenix, AZ)

Nate Swygert (Naperville, IL)

 

Medium/Small Markets

Norm Giesbrecht (Kitchener, Ontario)

Gina Marie Senters (Tallahassee, FL)

Jay Tripp (Sioux Fall, SD)

 

 

DEALER WINNERS

A. McBain / Carnes Piano (Large Market)

England Piano (Large Market)

Evola Music (Large Market)

Ft. Bend Music (Large Market)

Frank & Camille's East (Large Market)

Kim's Piano (Large Market)

Merriam Music (Large Market)

Schmitt Music Company (Large Market)

SoCal Piano (Large Market)

Solich Piano & Music Co. (Large Market)

Standard Piano (Large Market)

 

Medium/Small Markets

Schertz's MusiCenter (Medium Market)

Martin House of Piano (Small Market)

 

Congratulations to all!

And stay tuned for our final monthly drawing in which six people will win $500!

 

FINAL CONTEST DETAILS!

We're coming down to the last few days of Kawai America's Golden Anniversary Japan Holiday Contest! Remember, the final day to report sales is this Friday, March 1 by the end of our business day (5:00pm PST). Reporting cards can be sent by fax to 310-604-6913.  You can confirm receipt of documents with Joe Deleski by phone 310-761-6878, cell phone 310-809-9295 or email at jdeleski@kawaius.com.  Sales reported after the deadline will not be eligible. 

Kawai will announce the trip winners on or before Friday, March 15th.  Bonus Prize winners will be announced by Friday, March 20th.  Trip winners are not eligible for the Bonus Prize drawing.  Remember, there will be SIX BONUS PRIZE winners for the month of February! 

 As a final entry in our travelogue of destinations and interesting trip facts, here are some images of the fabulous Kyoto Station where we'll arrive on the last stop of our Japan Holiday. 

It's one of the most impressive stations in the world, featuring a colorful and plentiful array of restaurants and shops for travelers.  An aerial view shows its striking profile against the backdrop of the city. For first-time visitors, Kyoto Station is a destination in itself.

Adjacent to the station is Kyoto Tower that rises up majestically into the night sky.  You can buy a ticket to the top for a stunning view of the Kyoto skyscape.


We'll be staying in the lavish Hotel Granvia that connects directly to the station and provides an elegant "home base" for the final two days of our Japan Holiday. 

We hope you'll be with us!

 

THE BEAUTY OF KYOTO

After leaving Hamamatsu, we'll move by bullet train to Kyoto, one of the most scenic cities in all of Japan.  Kyoto served as Japan's capital and the residence of the Emperor from 794 to 1868.  Even though Tokyo became the country's capital in 1869, Kyoto retains many significant reminders of its royal splendor as a "home to the shoguns."   

Upon arrival, we'll take an afternoon tour of the city that includes the Kinkakuji Temple, also called the "Golden Pavilion."  Surrounded by a lush, peaceful garden and large reflecting pond, this zen temple features a striking exterior with the top two floors completely covered in gold leaf.  It was the retirement villa of one of Japan's shoguns in the late 1300s. The tranquil stroll around the garden walk will provide glimpses of Japan's past and offers a refreshing respite in the midst of our busy travels.

 

Next, we'll visit Nijo Castle which was built as the residence for the first shogun of the "Edo Period" which lasted over 250 years. One interesting aspect of the Nijo Castle are its wooden floors, which were specially designed to "squeak" as an intruder alert against ninja warriors who could move with great stealth, but could not keep the floors from squeaking. (Imagine that... paying extra for squeaky floors!)

 

But amid all this history, Kyoto is a wonderful melange of old and new.  It boasts one of the most impressive train stations in the world that serves as a bustling, energetic hub for this great city.  More on that in the next post!

A Visit to the Kawai Factory

 

On Day 3, you'll experience the biggest highlight of our trip, a tour of Kawai's Ryuyo Grand Piano Factory.  The Ryuyo tour is one of those "bucket list" items for anyone who has ever sold Kawai pianos. 

During the visit, all the points that make the Kawai story so powerful on the sales floor will come to life!  You'll see vertically-laminated bridges being glued to the soundboards, V-Pro iron plates being attached to the rim/soundboard assembly, steel-reinforcing bars being added to the keybed, pianos being strung with strength and passion, and actions being painstakingly regulated after getting hammered over 250,000 times by the torture machine!  Once you've visited the Ryuyo Factory, your Kawai presentation to customers will never be the same. 

Perhaps most importantly, you'll see firsthand the most valuable secret of Kawai quality -- our people.  After visiting Ryuyo, you'll never let anyone say that Kawai pianos are anything less than handmade.  To say anything else would dishonor the hundreds of men and women whose talented hands have been crafting Kawai pianos so for many years. 

When our tour is concluded, we'll make our way to the most visible landmark in Kawai's home city of Hamamatsu, the Okura Act City Hotel, for a receiption and dinner hosted by  Kawai global president, Mr. Hirotaka Kawai.  It will be an elegant ending to an exciting and rewarding day!  

 

 

 

THE LEADERBOARD

We're on the home stretch!  In just over a month, we'll know who will be taking part in our fabulous 8-day, expense-paid trip to Japan!  Plus, after we announce the trip winners, we'll be giving away $3000 in Bonus Prizes to those who qualify for our late-March final drawing (see our previous blog post for details). Remember, here's how we'll choose our trip winners:

For Large Market Dealerships: The top nine salespersons who earn the highest number of trip points will each receive a trip-for-two to Japan. For Smaller Market Dealerships: The top two salespersons in a Medium Market and the top salesperson in a Small Market who did not finish in the top nine will each receive trips-for-two.

THE LEADERBOARD

The lists below are in numerical order (not ranked in order of points earned) and use the participant number that you should have already received. If you don't know your number, contact Joe Deleski at: jdeleski@kawaius.com.

 

Large Market Leaders:

1054, 1365, 2618, 2355, 2644, 2765, 3359, 3405, 3489, 3509, 3760, 3978, 4061, 4563, 4803

 

Small/Medium Market Leaders:

1840, 3064, 3225, 3918, 4981

 

Anything can happen between now and February 28, 2013. So, keep on selling!   Thanks to all of you who are participating on our Golden Anniversary Japan Holiday Contest.

SO MANY WAYS TO WIN!

AND WE'RE COMING DOWN TO THE WIRE!

February is the final month to submit sales in Kawai America's Golden Anniversary Japan Holiday Contest. There are SO many ways you can win!

WILL YOU BE A JAPAN TRIP WINNER?

(WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED BY MARCH 15th)

* NINE salespersons will win trips-for-two to Japan!
* TWO salespersons in Medium Markets will win trips-for-two!
* ONE salesperson in a Small Market will win a trip-for-two!
 

SIX BONUS PRIZES THIS MONTH!

* Bonus Prize Winners to be drawn on or around March 20th.

* Winners of Japan trips are not eligible for the February Bonus Prizes.
* To maximize your chances in the $500 February Bonus Prize Drawing:
        - Submit thirty (30) or more cumulative sales between 10/1/12
           and 2/28/13 to receive one entry in the drawing.
        - Submit six (6) or more sales during the month of February to
           receive one entry in the drawing.
        - For every February sale you submit above the qualifying number
           of six (6), you'll receive one additional entry.  For example, 7
           sales earns one additional entry.  Nine sales earns three
           additional entries.
* We'll draw SIX WINNERS from the hat to win $500 Bonus Prizes!

Be sure to submit your all sales by March 1st to be eligible.  Have a GREAT month! 

Our $500 Bonus Prize Winner for January!

As promised, the hat was full of names!  Those who sold six or more Kawai instruments in January had an equivalent number of entries bearing their names mingled in among many others (some had as many as thirteen entries).  Then, our very own Blanca Gutierrez reached into the hat and pulled out the name of our winner: Scott Anderson of Ft. Bend Music in Houston, Texas!
 

Congratulations, Scott, for being the winner of our $500 Bonus Prize for January, and for doing such a great job selling Kawai pianos!  And thanks to everyone who filled the hat for the January drawing!  Many of you are our leaders going into the final month of our Golden Anniversary Japan Holiday Contest.  We'll be posting the updated Leaderboard in the next day or two.  With every Kawai sale, you're getting closer to a fabulous trip to Japan.

OUR FEBRUARY DRAWING WILL BE REALLY BIG!  So, stay tuned...

The $500 January Bonus Prize!

Just a quick reminder to all our Japan Holiday participants:  For the month of January, we'll have another drawing for the $500 Bonus Prize.  But this time, the more Kawai instruments you sell, the better your chances of winning!   Each Kawai instrument you sell gives you one entry in the drawing. Six sales will give you six chances to win; ten sales will give you ten chances to win.  The more you sell, the better your chances!

So, be sure to report all your sales by this Friday, February 1st. We'll have the drawing on Tuesday, February 5th.  Best wishes and thanks for selling Kawai!  

Leavin' on a Jet Train...

On the third day of our Japan Holiday, we'll leave beautiful Hakone National Park by motorcoach for a short commute to Mishima Station, where we'll take our first ride on the Shinkansen, also known as the "Bullet Train."  The Shinkansen is a network of high-speed railway lines that connects most of the major cities on the larger islands of Japan. These trains are some of the fastest in the world, moving at maximum speeds from 149-186 miles per hour.  

Standing on the platform as one of these trains whizzes by is an awe-inspiring experience.  The visual impact of ground-based object moving that fast within 25 feet of you is pretty spectacular; but the sound it makes as it goes by is even more interesting.  If you've seen the "Lord of the Rings" movies, do you recall the high-pitched shrieks of the Black Riders as they terrorized Middle Earth?  Okay, bullet trains are NOT that bad.  But they're close.  Imagine one very long, metallic shriek at a volume that is pretty scary (but, thankfully, not overwhelming).  The local folks are used to it, but first-time hearers will want to cover their ears!

 

On the inside, bullet trains are as calm as can be.  The ride is surprisingly smooth and peaceful; and the views of the surrounding countryside can be both interesting and beautiful. If it's your first time on a bullet train, you'll likely consider it one of those "life experiences" that you can now take off your bucket list. 

We'll arrive in Hamamatsu in the early afternoon and make our way to Kawai's Ryuyo Grand Piano Factory, where we will be the honored guests for a grand tour!

Announcing Our TWO Bonus Prize Winners!

A happy new year to you all!  As promised, we've drawn two winners from the hat containing the names of all salespersons who sold six or more Kawai instruments during the month of December.  And the happy winners of the two $500 Bonus Prizes in our Golden Anniversary Japan Holiday Contest are...

Brad Blair

Brad Blair of Frank and Camille's East in Long Island, New York and Tom Helmer, Jr. of SoCal Pianos in San Marcos, California.  Our sincere thanks to Brad, Tom, and everyone who qualified for the December sales drawing for doing such a great job selling Kawai throughout the holiday season!  We appreciate your outstanding efforts in representing our brand.

Tom Helmer, Jr.

For the month of January, we'll have another drawing for one $500 Bonus Prize -- but with a little twist.  This month, the more Kawai instruments you sell, the better your chances of winning!  Each Kawai instrument sold gives you one entry in the drawing.  Six sales will give you six chances to win; ten sales will give you ten chances to win.  Be sure to report all your sales by Friday, February 1st.  We'll have the drawing on Tuesday, February 5th. 

Wishing you a great start to the new year!