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...