Guitar Center Is Preparing To Potentially File For Bankruptcy

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lossforgain said:
You are thinking of Bain Capital, which has been well-covered in this thread. However, as I pointed out before, we keep referring to them even though they haven’t owned GC since 2014.
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Ares management has been running the show since 2014:

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Polska said:
Love GC or hate 'em, we're getting to the point where you will not be able to run out and grab a new pair of sticks before a gig, or try out a cymbal before purchasing.
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Unfortunately Amazon will figure out how to take care of that. They already have tons of things that they deliver within 2 hours and they already have a service where you can try clothing, shoes etc.. before buying.
 
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I don't think anyone has mentioned this but what I see is the eventual path to factory direct buying. I really don't see a mom & pop revival! Many companies are already doing it and have figured out that it's very possible and profitable to not have dealers as the middle men. The stepping stone for some companies to eventually get to this business model is Amazon. They sell through Amazon with a factory direct storefront and pay very little to do it.
 
That's a shame because the guys in our guitar center are super cool and always willing to help. I've even called up there with random questions about acoustic or edrums and if the guy I get cant answer my question he finds the drum guy who can. Although if they have a liquidation sale I will be in line for that to see if i can score some deals.
 
Dumpy said:
What would always drive me out of the drum department in it’s heyday was it seemed there would be kids playing drums super loud. I couldn’t hear myself think, let alone have a conversation with the employee. It literally got to a point where it wasn’t worth it to try to buy anything in the drum department. Fast forward a few years, you couldn’t find a soul to help you.
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A few months back when things first started to open up, my band booked time at Soundwave Studios in Oakland. I needed a new pair of sticks, Vic 5a; and called my local shop. No dice, they were out. So on the way to studio I stopped by GC cause they had em.

The first thing I noticed; quiet. I asked the clerk and he said as part of the new guidelines no more playing floor models. Folks are urged to get what they need and move on cause of the limited people allowed in the store at one time. I said lucky you and the pimple faced kid just smiled.
 
Casual related observation, I ordered two clearance Sakai single braced boom stands from Amazon, $70 each, I was looking for lighter than the P930 double braced I have now. Probably a decent deal, one came in and still in the sealed box. Came from a third party vendor - The Muzic Store out of Jersey. I called them direct, they said "whoops" and shipped the last clearance one of two they had, it came in opened.

So I have this thing, if it's opened and pricey I send it back, I want an unopened one if I'm paying for new. I called and talked to the owner, Petey. He said he has only one more, clearance thing and it's opened also, it's how he got it when he bought up the clearance stock. Said he would replace it with that or give me 10% off or full refund if I return it. He'd hold the one he has until I decided. So I get it, I'm packing to move and didn't set them up because eh, I said hang on I'll put it together and if it's good I'm not worried and I did, it was fine. Called him today, he still offered the discount refund and I said it's not necessary, the boom is fine. He then said to call him if I need something else, he'll mark it down. Has 13k sq.ft. of stuff and likely something I'd want.

Long post sorry, but customer service. Petey at The Muzic Store earned my attention, that's what I want. I didn't take the discount but I'll look there for the next purchase I need.

Just an FYI if you're looking for vendors outside of the mass retailers and if you appreciate hands on service. Little shout out, might be worth the look.
 
lrod1707 said:
I don't think anyone has mentioned this but what I see is the eventual path to factory direct buying. I really don't see a mom & pop revival! Many companies are already doing it and have figured out that it's very possible and profitable to not have dealers as the middle men. The stepping stone for some companies to eventually get to this business model is Amazon. They sell through Amazon with a factory direct storefront and pay very little to do it.
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Factory direct could be an option if manufacturers are willing to accept a lower volume of sales. I think a lot of them realize that music stores are more than just brick and mortar vending machines for their products. "Try before you buy" still appeals to a lot of people, and having a knowledgeable staff helps sales. There is a lot of junk for sale on the internet that gets high ratings and recommendations, and people think they are informed because if it's on the internet, it must be true. Then there's dealing with returns in much greater volume than they're used to, which means hiring more people to deal with that.
Back to my comment about lower volume. All the pieces in the music industry coexist and feed off one another. If the future of music is a bunch of individuals learning to play music off a screen, buying their equipment off a screen, posting their creations so others that are interested can view it on a screen for free, you'll find that making music will become just another short attention span activity that when it becomes too much work, people give up because they're trying to do it on their own. If the manufacturers that want to also become retailers are serious about it, they'll need to have a return policy. Since they won't have dealers to turn to, it will all be on them. So the new drummer that isn't making progress the way he would like wants to return the set, and since it's within the 30 days, the manufacturer has to take it back and give a refund. Now the manufacturer has a set that isn't new that they may still be paying for themselves that they will try and sell to break even. You don't stay in business long breaking even.
The main beneficiaries of factory direct buying would be the shipping companies, and we all know how wonderful they are to deal with.
Maybe we're already too far gone as far as the music industry as we knew it goes. If the goal is to buy stuff without ever leaving your house so you can make music without ever leaving your house or interacting with another person face to face while doing so, have fun, but it sounds pretty sad to me.
 
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You people are delusional. GC going under will take down a bunch of small business that are name brands in the musical instrument industry. It's like someone backed a truck up and stole all the inventory that was borrowed on from you. It will also kill the upper mid portion of the market. What you'll be left with are the equivalent of Sawtooth drums (big factory in Asia producing essentially unbranded product through fly by night middlemen under the umbrella of Amazon) and A&F. Hope you like your brave new world with no medium sized evil empire, only to be replaced by an even bigger more evil empire that encompasses virtually all of your online purchases.
 
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Daves Drums here in Ottawa has expanded to include the space next door . He knocked out a wall and doubled his size . He's almost always been my first stop .

I shop where I like the owner and have been doing so for many years . I also have an account at Long & McQuades I rarely use , but every once in a while I'll poke around there because its a Canadian store . Home Hardware is also a family operated Canadian franchise . Mom and Pop all the way . I literally go the extra mile and sometimes spend an extra dollar . Bought a snow blower there the other day .
 
Tornado said:
If I woke up one morning and all the Guitar Center stores had Sweetwater signs, I'd be happy.
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Wouldn’t that be a great fantasy?

But then the pilgrimage to Ft Wayne wouldn’t be a pilgrimage. And I think that you’d never have Chuck answering an email, nor would the service be as good. Don’t know. Maybe Chuck would figure it out. He is pretty much an anomaly.

All I know is that Sweetwater is my favorite non local mom and pop.
 
Drummers don't need no stinking Guitar Center.
My local GC is the worst POS for percussion tools I've ever experienced.
Won't miss them for one second.
 
VintageUSA said:
Drummers don't need no stinking Guitar Center.
My local GC is the worst POS for percussion tools I've ever experienced.
Won't miss them for one second.
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My main concern over bankruptcy is the manufacturers who could lose money. Bigger ones can absorb the loss and write it off, making their revenue essentially less, but for an up and comer just seeing the big time, this could kill them. Remember that even the bigger companies would not be unscathed, as these can directly impact their workforce in the form of layoffs.

Other than those concerns, the loss is truly where the consumer voted with their wallets; after all- you can’t stay in business not making money.
 
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swarfrat said:
You people are delusional. GC going under will take down a bunch of small business that are name brands in the musical instrument industry. It's like someone backed a truck up and stole all the inventory that was borrowed on from you. It will also kill the upper mid portion of the market. What you'll be left with are the equivalent of Sawtooth drums (big factory in Asia producing essentially unbranded product through fly by night middlemen under the umbrella of Amazon) and A&F. Hope you like your brave new world with no medium sized evil empire, only to be replaced by an even bigger more evil empire that encompasses virtually all of your online purchases.
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A lot of forum members probably don't remember the MARS Music fiasco. There were quite a few major manufacturers that took serious financial hits when they threw in the towel. That was when the retail music scene was stronger than it is now. Guitar Center closing really wouldn't be good for anyone.
 
ARGuy said:
A lot of forum members probably don't remember the MARS Music fiasco. There were quite a few major manufacturers that took serious financial hits when they threw in the towel. That was when the retail music scene was stronger than it is now. Guitar Center closing really wouldn't be good for anyone.
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I remember it well, and in so many ways, this is reminiscent.

Of course if I remember correctly, an office products company was trying to implement those practices in the world of MI retail.
 
If corporations are people too then they're rugged individuals with bootstraps just like the rest of us. So if they can't keep out of debt and pay their debts they should fail just like any of us.
 
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